Amidst all my personal chaos, Sunday was an island of things going well.

I woke on time – a bit early, in fact – and showered. I noticed the toilet was completely disgusting. “Hey, I can do that!” I thought to myself. And I did it. Whew, too, because…well, ew. Then after the decision to not send the kids to Sunday School because my daughter was only one day on her antibiotic after being diagnosed with bronchitis, I changed my mind. My son was desperate to go, so instead I took him, and my daughter and I went to get rubber gloves.

Why does a girl need rubber gloves on a Sunday? Because that was the day I was going to fill the hole in my backyard that happened to be precariously located next to the Bilco doors that lead to the basement. I had a bucket of quick concrete which was apparently quite toxic and was sure to burn through my skin the moment it touched it. Don’t get it on your skin, don’t get it in your eyes, don’t breathe it in, don’t even look at it cross eyed or you’ll lose both your hands.

So after the trip for four pairs of rubber gloves (no, it wasn’t overkill – I used three pair) and picking up my son from Sunday School, I filled that hole. It was hard work, and I rather wish I had elbow length gloves, but it got done, and I think I’ve prevented at least one winter of ice creeping in the hole and making it bigger.

After that it was time for writing. 2 p.m. at Borders, I met with five other WriMos to type our little hearts out (and in one case, write a finger off). We had fun, chatting, writing, and making fun of the Christmas music playing long before Thanksgiving has hit. I only wrote about 900 words, which is sort of an abysmal example for a ML to give, but I was marginally distracted by the hardness of the chair.

All in all, I got a lot done on Sunday. I’m looking back to see if I can sort out the difference between yesterday and the days recently that have been a bit more overwhelming than this. There really wasn’t anything beyond the pressure of procrastination.

I’ve been putting off that darned hole for quite some time, you see. I needed to get it done on a warmish day, and aside from the fact that those days are few and far between now that we’re into November, when they do come along I don’t have a lot of free time to cash in on them. The darkness comes earlier, and my weekends are full. Basically, this was probably my last chance to get this project done, and so because I had no other choice, I did it.

Why is procrastination such a great motivator? Why do some of us (me included) so our best work under pressure? And how do we create that pressure artificially, so that we aren’t doing things at the actual last minute, when things that go wrong can’t possibly be repaired?

Deep thoughts, indeed.

Setting goals for yourself might help – miniature deadlines that contain a tangible penalty when they pass without the task being completed. I personally would need something external to enforce these deadlines, however. A friend or family member who could be heartless enough to penalize me and not sympathize with my excuses as to why the task was not accomplished. I believe websites such as stickK may help some people in this regard, although it may not be completely viable in terms of household projects.

Does anyone else have any great ideas or resources? Please, share!