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21 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,July 11,2019 theifp.ca Buy 1, Get 1 Hearing Testing, Hearing Aids • Accessories ARE YOUR EARS 60 YEARS? It's TIME to get them TESTED! Ph: 289-891-8833 120 Mill Street, Georgetown Hearing Testing, Hearing Aids AccessoriesHearing Testing, Hearing Aids and Accessories New OptOmetry Office in DOwntOwn GeOrGetOwn Dr. Ben Giddens Dr. Andrea Kozma Dr. Stephanie Britton has opened a 2nd location at the mill Street medical centre. DOwntOwn GeOrGetOwn 83 mill St | 905 873 1867 metrO plaza 371 mountainview rd S | 905 873 1861 family eye care ServiceS Day, Evening and Saturday Hours | Same day appointments for urgent eye care. Please phone. GIDDENS OPTOMETRY Prearranging your burial or cremation is the last gift you can give your family. It releases them from having to quickly make decisions in their time of grief. It also frees them from the need to pay costs associated with your cemetery arrangements. Contact one of our family counsellors to discuss your wishes and options. Owned and operated by The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of the Diocese of Hamilton 905-877-8500 | www.devereauxcemetery.ca A Final Gift to Your Family Cell: 416-996-9338 jay@hilltoptreecare.ca www.hilltoptreecare.ca It's Lonely at the Top! Cell: 416-989-7809 Dave LoDuca QUALITY BATHROOM RENOVATIONS C C T I L EE RAM I Gold 2018 Halton Hills CONTRACTOR - 7 years! Thanks for your support! Procrastination: delay- ing or putting something off. It pretty much boils down to avoiding some- thing that needs to be done in the future in favour of something else you'd rath- er do in the present. Think of having an as- signment due for a class. While you know that starting it now will give you more time to complete it, you put it off. Watching a movie instead will be fun right now - an instant re- ward - while you won't have the satisfaction of completing the assign- ment for a week - a delayed reward. So, you pick the instant reward over the delayed reward and watch a movie, maybe for a se- ries of days. By this point, you're getting more anxious about the assignment with only a few days left to go until the due date. So, the reward of getting it done becomes more im- mediate - a few days in the future is closer than a week - and you finally tackle the job. Other than choosing an instant reward over a de- layed one, you may also put off what you think you can and even what you know you can't because of fear of failure, dislike of the task to be done, or feel- ing overwhelmed. Howev- er, the procrastination or dread of a task may be worse than doing the task itself. Think about how you feel and what you may say to yourself while pro- crastinating: "I shouldn't be doing this," "Why am I so lazy?", "How am I going to get this done on time?" All that takes a toll on your stress and anxiety levels. So, what can you do to address procrastination? Here are a few tips: • Just start. Even if you don't finish the whole task, even just a small start can motivate you to keep going. You don't have to be perfect from the start ... you just need to start. • Break up the task into smaller steps. We're less likely to put off a small task than we are a larger, more daunting one. • Ask for help. Could someone else's encourage- ment or guidance help ad- dress why you're procras- tinating? • Set up rewards. Could playing our favourite mu- sic while doing the task help us start and keep go- ing? How about treating ourselves to a favourite cup of tea when we accom- plish part of a task? This can create those more in- stant rewards and reduce the chance that we'll pro- crastinate. Melanie McGregor is the communications and advancement specialist at the Canadian Mental Health Association Hal- ton Region Branch, which provides mental health/ addiction community support and education. Visit www.halton.cm- ha.ca for more informa- tion and follow @cmha- halton on Twitter. OPINION ADDRESSING - AND AVOIDING - PROCRASTINATION HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO HELP, WRITES MCGREGOR MELANIE MCGREGOR Column