Now or Later iStock

There’s An Upside To Procrastination—Yess!

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Is there such a thing as productive procrastination, and if so is it really good for you?

Now or Later iStock

 

FINISHING SCHOOL | Is there a form of procras- tination, which is defined as the obvious and intentional putting off of something that must or should be done, that is more acceptable than others? I think there is, and I now have a label for it: Productive Procrastination. I ran into this phrase recently on urbandictionary.com, a website I turn to for pop cultural understanding—or to avoid getting down to research and writing stories for this website.

According to the Urban Dictionary, productive procrastination is defined as “Doing stuff to keep busy while avoiding what really needs doing. When all is said and done, your room is clean, your laundry is folded—but you haven’t started your English paper.” The UD seems to imply that productive procrastination is ultimately undesirable, but I don’t see it that way. If the thing you do to avoid a task at hand is something that also really needs to get done—a necessary task that lingers on some long-standing back-of-brain To Do List—and you actually get to put a check-mark beside it, that can’t be bad thing, can it?

When is deadline is rock-solid and imminent, I will always perform. It’s when projects can wait—like the laundry, or rethinking the marketing strategy for my sideline, for example—that I typically find the energy for them when there’s something else I’m supposed to do. That’s how I roll (as they say on the UD), and I refuse to beat myself up about it because in the end everything always gets done.

That said, super long-term procrastination can be a huge problem. My happiness guru Gretchen Rubin writes a lot about this topic on her blog, The Happiness Project. Here are her top tips:

Gretchen Rubin’s Top 7 Ways To Avoid Procrastinating

1. Do It First Thing In The Morning.
2. Try Doing It Every Day.
3. Have Someone Keep You Company.
4. Make Preparations, Assemble The Proper Tools.
5. Commit.
6. First Things First.
7. Reflect On The Great Feeling You’ll Get When You’ve Finished.

For specifics on how to implement these ideas, visit Rubin’s blog, www.thehappinessproject.com, or check out her article on the huffingtonpost.com —Annabel Lee

Photo: iStock

Interlacing Fingers And Toes - C. Phaisalakani

Use Your Fingers To Wake Up Your Tired Toes

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Here’s how to wake up your feet by interlacing your fingers and toes.

Interlacing Fingers And Toes - C. Phaisalakani

 

FIVE-MINUTE-YOGA | Perhaps we lose touch with our feet because they’re so far from our heads. How else could we shove them into narrow shoes and ignore them until they hurt?

Good yoga feet with active, mobile toes bring life to every pose. They help you connect with the ground in standing poses and pull your energy upward in inversions.

In fact, if there were just one practice you were to take on for five minutes a day, this one would give you the biggest and fastest rewards.

How To Wake Up Your Feet Read more
Marathon Walking - iStock

There’s More Than One Way To Do A Marathon

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There’s more than one way to do a marathon—and every kind of victory is sweet.

Marathon Walking - iStock

 

JUST DO IT | Marathon walking is a pretty big deal right now, and it’s getting bigger because fitness fanatics who’ve been jogging their shins off are finding that while finishing a 42-km race may be an accomplishment, it isn’t necessarily the best thing for the body. Read more

Eve Johnson, Half-Hero Pose

Stretch Tight Thighs With Half-Hero Pose

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Try half-hero pose to give your thighs a good and effective stretch.

Eve Johnson, Half-Hero PoseOne of the most fruitful areas for a new yoga practitioner to explore is something I call television yoga. It’s not a formal practice. You don’t have to put on special clothes, roll out a mat or light a candle. And if you watch TV, talk on the phone or sit and listen to music, you don’t even have to make time for it. You just have to be willing to devote some of your sitting-down time to gentle, intelligent work with your body. Any seated hip opener will do. But if you’d like to stretch your front thighs, it’s hard to beat the half-hero pose. Read more

Reverse The Curve - C. Phaisalakani

Reverse Your Curve With This Easy Pose

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We’re becoming a nation of stoopers; “reverse the curve” with this challenge.

Reverse The Curve - C. Phaisalakani

 

FIVE-MINUTE-YOGA | Most of what we do, including typing, cooking, driving, reading and gardening, encourages us to lift our shoulder blades, jut our heads forward and round our backs. Don’t get stuck there. Instead, reverse the curve with a chest-opening pose. You’ll make more space for your lungs, bring your shoulders back into place, relieve upper back tension and stretch your front chest muscles. Even five minutes a day makes a difference—as long as it’s every day. Read more

Stair Walking - iStock

Sit 23+ Hours A Week? You Must Move Now

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When you sit all day, you may need more than dedicated workouts to keep yourself in good health.

Stair Walking - iStockFITTER BY THE MINUTE It is well known that heart disease is one of the leading causes of death among Canadians. But a recent study was shocked to find that going to the gym does not make up for all the sedentary time we spend. This is bad news for professional sitters (i.e., those of us who sit at desk to make a living). A recent New York Times article indicated that even if we live reasonably healthy lives but sit for more than 23 hours a week, we are 64 percent more likely to die from heart disease. According to the study, even for those who have nixed cream and go jogging, it is not enough to counteract the effects of all of that sitting. So unless you are planning on a career change to bike courier or rickshaw driver, insert a bit of activity into your office hours by giving your daily grind some heart.

This simple active routine will boost your heart rate (not to mention your popularity and productivity). Read more