I’m getting a lot done, but …

I’ve been cleaning out cupboards, reorganizing the fridge… I even got on Cal to go through his stacks of unopened mail.

You might be tempted to say, “Way to go, Anne!” “Good for you to get the spring cleaning bug.”

And I do admit that it feels good to be able to find the peanut butter AND the jam without scrounging through layers of precariously balanced containers filled with mysterious contents. 

BUT, here’s the real truth. I’m procrastinating. 

Yes, it’s March. I need to finish doing the taxes. I don’t like doing the taxes. To tell you the whole truth, I really don’t like cleaning out cupboards either, but I like it a whole lot more than I like doing the taxes! 

So when you walk into your kids’ bedroom and they’re on their phone with their friends, watching YouTube, or playing a video game, instead of studying for their math test or writing that essay for English Lit, try having a little empathy. 

They are probably not lazy, irresponsible, or doomed to failure. They are probably procrastinating. Like we all do. All of us at times avoid the pain of tackling projects we don’t like or that make us feel incompetent.

Yet procrastinating to avoid pain always brings another pain, doesn’t it? 

Procrastinating feels good, but it also hurts. There in the back of our minds, there is always this niggling reminder that the thing we are avoiding is still out there.

So instead of criticizing kids or getting after them to get on with their homework, maybe try sitting down and having an honest conversation about why we all procrastinate and how to find a way forward.

And now that I’m finished writing this post, guess what I get to do tonight? 

Here’s to more resilient wins at home and school,

Anne


PS Want to help your kids have less stress and more success at home and school? CLICK HERE to get a copy of our book, The Resiliency Toolkit: A Busy Parent’s Guide to Raising Happy, Confident, Successful Children.