Rotten Bananas and Your Biz

I've finally got up the nerve to write to you about this "off-the-wall" topic. One of my favourite hobbies is baking, especially banana breads. For quite some time - about a year now - I have been too busy to find the time to do this, or so I've told myself. I always have lots of bananas on hand, and every day when I go into the kitchen I look at them and say "tomorrow I'll find some time". When tomorrow comes I say the same thing and the next day and so on... you get the picture. It's called procrastination.

What I end up doing is putting them in the fridge. Every day, they are a reminder of what I love doing but I never find the time to do and again I say "tomorrow or maybe on the weekend". At this point I am getting really mad at myself for not baking that bread.

But it gets worse. They start rotting and I move them to the freezer. My mom told me this trick. When I go into the freezer, there they are again, staring at me - rotten bananas! By now I have bananas in my freezer that are over six months old!

In deciding to write to you about this, I finally found the motivation to bake that bread, and now I can share with you the joy I felt when I did. I felt really happy when I baked it - as if I just got an A+ on an exam, or had my first date! From then on, I made a promise to never keep rotten bananas again. Finding the time to do what I've always intended to do by making my banana bread - even if it means a few extra pounds for me - made me very happy!

So why am I telling you about this? I've learned some valuable lessons from this experience that may benefit you:

1. Tell someone about your commitment to do what you want to do. That way you're accountable. Having you as my readers made me accountable.

2. Many people become too preoccupied with work and end up sacrificing their own and their family's well being. Stress builds up and they burn out. Be sure to leave at least one day a week for leisure and being with the people that are important to you. And take care of yourself - set aside time each day to do something you enjoy. When you lead a balanced life you'll enjoy good health, have a happy family life, and find peace of mind.

3. In your business, this may mean freeing up your time by delegating to others. If you don't have the expertise for the task, or you hate doing it, why not give the job to someone who has the know-how, is good at it, and actually loves doing it? You can delegate administrative or marketing tasks that bog you down to a Virtual Assistant and take back the time you need to focus on what you do best.

Take a step today to deal with one thing you have been procrastinating about - you will feel happier and more productive!