So far today, aside from the bare minimum of crawling out of bed, brushing my teeth and getting dressed, I have: done some yoga; made some phone calls, including to a friend to wish her happy birthday (Happy Birthday, Lady, in case you see this); made breakfast while simultaneously discovering first with horror, then with a not-so-bad shrug that I bought chocolate-flavored coffee rather than coffee-flavored coffee; taken out the trash; paid some bills and other fun and assorted bits required to maintain the status quo. I have not, however, until this instant moment in which we find ourselves, written my blog post. Or anything else, for that matter.
Priorities.
They’re funny, funny things. They’re shape-shifters. They morph and grow and jostle for position, and sometimes they give themselves more weight, more heft, than we do.
That’s another P word. Procrastination.
Which can go away because we’re not talking to it today. That’s right. We can talk about procrastination later.
I’ve come to believe that 90% of writing is placing yourself in front of your mechanism and winning the staring contest with the blinking cursor, which still seems to win an unsettling amount of the time, given that it’s blinking. You’ve got to sit down.
And we’re back at priorities. They can come from inside. They can be external, like the garbage can that has reached its limit and inconveniently does not come equipped with a self-emptying function even if it is the 21st century. Wherever they come from, whatever they may be, you have to leave room for the priorities that really matter to you.
Because those are the ones we tend to let slide.
Check out my full-length novels:
Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)
Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended)
The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.
And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s free!
A Bit to Read 
There is a temptation to claim ‘first’ – but that’s not really a priority.
Priorities are a bit like gremlins: don’t feed them after midnight…
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Ha! I wonder if it went glitchy when it published? I suspect Ian may have tried…
Hmm, I don’t know, if something is bothering me enough any time is a good time for a priority!
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I so agree. Especially women.
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Exactly!
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Priorities and Procrastination – couple of my favorite topics. LOL! Today was the first day I’ve had much energy in two weeks (darn cold mixed with allergies). Cleaned house, did laundry, made dessert treats for both hubby and I (we’re doing a lo carb diet), made sugar-free gummy bears for my chewy candy replacement, caught up on WEP blog posts and now working my way through 2-3 days of A-Z posts. Phew!
Donna B McNicol, author & traveler
Romance & Mystery…writing my life
A-Z Flash Fiction Tales: http://dbmcnicol.blogspot.com
A-Z of Goldendoodles: http://ourprimeyears.blogspot.com
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So sorry you’re not feeling well! It seems to be going around…I wonder if you can catch colds through blogs 😉
But glad to hear you’re on the mend…yes, doesn’t it seem like catching up is extra tough?! Enjoy those candies, they sound awesome!
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A to Z Priorities – I’ve been writing daily, commenting daily, responding to comments daily, but I just today realized I’ve not gone back to look at any responses other bloggers might have made to my comments! Usually, I’m on top of that, especially if I left a question. It’s just not a priority right now.
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With everything you have going on, that’s pretty amazing that you’re doing all of that…the comment responses are a bonus! It’s also tricky on the cross-platforms…I don’t get notified if you respond to my comments, for example, but I do when they’re on a wordpress site.
Still, I’m impressed it looks like you’re KILLING this challenge! But not in a violent way. In an awesome way 🙂
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Priorities shift way too often in this game of Life. I live to procrastinate, but I tend to put it off. P for Persistence: that one is something I learned is important if I want things done (esp getting what I need from others. Not nagging: persistence). Plausible possibilities work wonders. I’ll stop now.
Stu
Tale Spinning
https://stuartnager.wordpress.com/
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P is just one of those letters with so many permutations!
I need to see what’s happening in the Dollhouse, sooner while the sun’s still shining, rather than later in the dark. 😉
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hee hee
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Oh priorities! I’m a great believer in prioritising, but as your post has just highlighted, the smaller more mundane priorities have a way of taking over from the bigger picture serious ones, simply because they prevent us from progressing.
Ah. Unlike Stu, I wasn’t intending to throw in a few more P words, but hey … serendipity ‘n all that 😉
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They’re just so easy for some reason!
It’s amazing how those little things just nibble away your time, one little thing after another. We have to be firm! 😛
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There’s always something demanding our attention and there are also things that just have to be done. It’s the things that we know we should be doing and keep delaying that bug me the most. It’s a case of just bite the bullet woman and get it done! Chocolate flavoured coffee???
Leanne | http://www.crestingthehill.com.au
Q for Quality not Quantity
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