Procrastinating 101: Recovering from "Speed Sickness"

This was a chapter I really needed to read today--"Jumping Off the Carousel" in Marshall J. Cook's Slow Down. . .and get More Done.  Unfortunately, I was so caught up in my current mini health crisis, brought on by, you guessed it, life on the carousel, that I barely had time to skim it.  However, in the interests of getting a blog done today, and of beginning to put into practice some of what I skimmed, I provide this short summary of salient points.  


Cook offers this list of suggestions for changing the frenzied way we spend our time.  

• You can change just about anything about the way you live each day.
• You must work at it.
• You must commit yourself to the effort.
• You must believe that you will be successful.
• You must take total responsibility for the outcome.
• You must do it your way.
• You must spend the time.

He advises further that we identify our own particular version of this modern-day malady, listing 

. . . the symptoms you see in yourself.  When did each symptom on your list begin to develop?  Try to trace the symptom to its origin.  When did you notice the tension in your shoulders, the temper flare-ups, the feeling of frustration and futility at the end of each day?  Which factors in your life accompanied the onset of each symptom?  Did specific changes--new job, lack of money, problems in a relationship, new obligations--trigger the symptom? . . . . Such self-analysis is worth the effort--and yes, the time--it takes.  The more you canname and understand your situation, the more you'll benefit from our explorations in this book--and the more you'll be able to develop your own solutions as we consider possibilities for reclaiming your life.

Since today saw me grinding to a halt, I am acutely aware of some of my symptoms resulting from life in my own type of Type A lane.  My body and my psyche are demanding that I give myself a break.   Marshall Cook couldn't have come along at a better time.