Stop Getting Stuck

Last night I got stuck in between doing two things - what I was doing and what I wanted to do next. This happens to me a lot. Last night I was laying in bed, in my pjs, with freshly brushed teeth and a clean face, almost ready to go to sleep. What I wanted to do next was to read for awhile. I had the night lamp on beside me. I never made it to reading, though. I started feeling the bumps on the backs of my legs, and was surprised at how many there were. If the light had been off, I probably could have forgotten about them. Instead, I looked at them and started picking. I picked at many bumps before I gave up on trying to read and managed to turn the light off. I never even opened my book. I lay in bed for awhile but then decided to get up and go to the bathroom. I told myself that I would just pick at a few bumps I hadn't been able to fully see in the dim light and count how many bumps I had picked at. Of course, once I was in the bathroom I actually ended up picking at a few more bumps. I applied some antiseptic to the skin I had picked and tried to count how many places I had picked at. This was difficult because I was tired and there were so many. I counted that I had picked at about 78 bumps. That was less than it could have been; I had left many of the other bumps I saw alone. After counting, I updated the Daily Count on this blog, went back to bed, and fell asleep pretty quickly.

From this experience, I learned that:
1) The Daily Count is helping me to restrict my picking. I believe if I hadn't known I would be counting the bumps I picked at, I would've picked at even more.
2) I need to stop letting myself get stuck. Sometimes I just don't have the energy or motivation to do what I'd think I'd like to or need to do next. Instead of picking at my skin, dreading what I'm supposed to do next and worrying about my lack of energy and motivation, I should just give myself a break. Picking my skin is worse than not doing whatever it is I think I should be doing next. When I realize I'm stuck, I need to temporarily drop my plans and let myself relax. I might try sitting or laying down, taking a few deep breaths, clearing my mind, and releasing my excess energy.