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Helpful Distraction Distract and Divert: April Alert

Decision Making· Goals & Priorities· Mindset

29 Apr

Maybe you’ve thought, former procrastinators, sometimes there’s good distraction that actually helps me stay on the wall and do what I need to do. True.  We just have to be certain the distraction serves to help us be faithful to accomplish what we’re called to do.

What can distract me without diverting me from the work I ought to do?  I think it’s something that takes my mind off the hardship, pain, or aggravation of a chore while at the same time actually helping me make progress on the job.

For Nehemiah and his wall builders, I can only use my imagination.  They had to stay alert to possible enemy attack, so they couldn’t be intently focused on a diversion.  Maybe they sang songs of the Hebrew faith.  Maybe they had work chants.  Maybe teams challenged each other with contests to see who could lay the most stone before the sun set. Maybe they told stories of life they envisioned when the wall was done and Jerusalem rebuilt within.

Sometimes thinking about something other than the work while working results in more work done.  This is true for me in the gym.  I tire more easily when I count reps.  One day with a trainer, she observed, “You work really well with distraction.”  We’d been chatting. Now when I silently review scripture or sing, I lift more weight, and hold up longer.

This brings to mind “The Volga Boat Song” in my beginner piano book.  My teacher said the men would sing  as they strained against the ropes they used to pull boats across land.  Whew.  Definitely need something else to think about there.

Service men and women chant cadences when they’re running for PT. “C130 rolling down the strip/Airborne daddy gonna take a little trip… “ Effective for helping them cover the miles.

Other appropriate diversions help us make progress:

  • Devising games for house clean up
  • Playing games in the car to help pass the miles
  • Substituting gum for cigarettes or crunchy carrots for crunchy potato chips
  • Chewing gum to lift your mood,  release nervous energy, and counter stress
  • Whistling while you work
  • Switch between tasks (to refresh your focus)
  • Aiming for tiny mini goals – run to the third telephone pole, etc.
  • Requiring full out exertion on your project – until the timer goes off
  • And of course, SING!

Find appropriate ways to take your mind off “suffering” and keep yourself on task.  Delay is not an option.  Pay attention to staying on the wall. I read about a lady who said she could clean bathrooms all day as long as she got to wear her favorite French perfume. Find the thing that boosts you on.  Enjoy the progress!

Recognize and defend against the enemy’s distraction and diversion.  When complete, we can know our work was done by our God.

What helpful diversion do you use to help you stay on task?

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BETH STERNE
Welcome! It's great to have you here. I'm a follower of Christ and a learner of new ways. By His grace, I am gaining victory over procrastination. This is where I share struggles I face and lessons I'm learning. Join me and other sisters as we put off procrastination and put on peace.

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"Beth’s procrastination talk led me to understand procrastination as a heart issue in need of God’s restoration not just a change of my ways. Beth’s personal experiences helped me discover practical ways to attack my own procrastination. As a result I have become a more loving wife, mother and friend who is able to use the gifts God has given me more fully. I highly endorse this talk and would love to hear it again and again."
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“Beth’s presentation on procrastination was truly eye-opening. I knew I had a problem with procrastination, but never thought twice about how it impacted my relationships and showed God that I wasn’t onboard with His plan. I began to see each instance took away from being fruitful; I was living for myself! After this revelation, I have been working on procrastinating less. I can see places opening up in my life for more peaceful moments, more time with and for friends and family, and more time for God’s plan to unfold. It’s amazing to know there’s more to life for me than a life full of “should haves” as a result of procrastination.”
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Beth Sterne - Put Off Procrastination
Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise! It has
no commander, no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.
Proverbs 6:6-8
... you have put off the old man with
his deeds, and have put on the new
man who is renewed in knowledge
according to the image of Him who
created him.
Colossians 3:9-10

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