Advice from a procrastinator: Do three tiny tasks today

I'm a procrastinator. I put off doing big things--and even tiny tasks that take less than two minutes to complete. Do you do this too?

This morning when I picked up my frying pan, I the handle wobbled because the screw needed to be tightened. To be honest, I'd noticed the loose handle weeks ago, but I ignored it. I kept telling myself, "I don't have time to fix it now. I'll fix it later."

Today I grabbed my screwdriver from my toolbox, tightened the screw on the frying pan handle, and returned the screwdriver to its place. Done! In less than two minutes, I fixed a little problem I'd been putting off for weeks. It felt good. What a sense of accomplishment!

It took seconds to tighten screw on frying pan handle

Here are some tiny tasks that can completed in about two minutes:

• Change the batteries on the smoke alarm, remote control or another gadget
• Move that thing that's been on the kitchen counter for days and put it away where it belongs
• Clear stuff off  top of my dresser and put it where it belongs
• Clear the stuff off the bathroom counter and wipe it down
• Move shoes left by the door to shoe bag in bedroom closet
• File tax papers so I'm organized to do my taxes
• Take Goodwill donation bag from living room to my car
• Clean my laptop screen and keyboard

Completing a few of these tiny tasks I've been putting off for days, weeks, months cleared my mind to focus on more important things. 

Bolstered with a feeling of accomplishment, I headed to the bathroom to complete a more difficult task I'd been avoiding. My bathroom exhaust fan and cover were packed with compacted dust. The fan wasn't doing its job. 

I'd put off this task because I didn't even know how to do the first step of removing the fan cover. But there's a YouTube video to teach you to do anything. After watching a short video, I was confident I could do it. 

I was grossed out by the gunk I discovered in the cover, including the remains of a large moth. 

I used tweezers to pull the compacted dust from the exhaust fan's cover.

Don't let your bathroom exhaust fan get this gross!

Clean fan can do its job now.

It took about 30 minutes to complete this task: watch the video, get the stepladder, remove the exhaust fan cover, unplug the fan from the power, clean the cover, soak it on hot, soapy water, and wipe down the fan blades as best I could. 

• Now when I'm showering, I won't tell myself: Clean the fan.
• When I pick up my frying pan, I won't think: Tighten the screw.

Of course, life goes on. Many other tiny tasks need my attention. But tackling some easy tasks creates breathing space in my home and my head--and brought a satisfying sense of accomplishment. Why do I put off the easy stuff?

What two-mnute tiny tasks can you do today? Fix it. Clean it. Put it away where it belongs. Then pat yourself on the back. Give yourself a gold star. 

Next on my list: Tackle the BIG thing I've been putting off: finish writing my book, Paddling Her Own Canoe. No time like the present to tackle the next chapter.

I'm paddling my own canoe through life's waters. Sometimes choppy. Sometimes smooth as glass.

Pivoting Pro: Laid off--but ready for what's next

Like tens of thousands of workers, I was laid off recently. 

I've spent the past three years working in communications for the local community college: writing stories, news releases, web content, and producing a series of videos. My contract ended, and with it, my income, healthcare and other benefits.

But I'll be OK. First of all, I am not my job. My life is much bigger than how I make my living.

This isn't the first time I've been laid off or the first time I've been up against hard times. I am resilient, resourceful, and creative. I've pivoted in my career so many times that if I weren't 5-foot-2, I'd play for the NBA. 

Over the years, I've pivoted from one job and learned to new skills to do another job. 

• I've learned to manage communications for nonprofit organizations. 
• I've learned how to be a reporter for a daily newspaper. 
• I've learned how to write grant proposals for nonprofit organizations.
• I've learned how to stand in front of a TV camera and be spokesperson for an organization.
• I've learned how to write for the Web and social media.
• I've learned how to produce videos. 
• I've learned how to be a much better writer.

Who knows what skills I'll learn next? 

Writing and communications jobs I've done in my career:

I've done many kinds of work that isn't aligned to my college degree or career path. I'll be you have, too. 

• As a teen, I was a carhop at A&W, a lumber sorter and grader at a lumber mill, and a dishwasher in a nursing home.
• I paid for college by working as a file clerk and then by doing data entry.
• I managed shipping and receiving for a college bookstore.
• I created and ran events for an independent bookstore. And I was the Story Lady.
• I managed a small, rural branch library and again was the Story Lady.
• I managed a federal program to assist homeless veterans
• I managed a federal program to provide heating assistance to low-income people
• I managed retail operations at a National Park Service visitor center
• I ran my own book marketing and literary events company.

Who knows what interesting work is ahead for me?

Other kinds of work I've done not related to journalism and writing:

I've worked long enough to know what I want in my work:

My past work experience has also given me clarity about what I don't want in my work:

So here I go again. I'm ready to take on new challenges and see where I can make a difference. 

No need to wish me luck. My dad witnessed my well-developed pivoting skills. He told me: "You're like a cat. You always land on your feet."

I do. 

But do let me know if you hear of someone who needs a writer and communications professional who is resilient and can pivot like an NBA pro.

What jobs have you done? What do you want to do? What do you NEVER want to do again. (For me, it's being micromanaged. Life's too short.)

Here's a nifty free word cloud generator if you'd like to create your own word clouds.