The joy of procrastinating and how to spoil it
We’ve all been there. We’ve all came
up with great reasons for not doing something at a
certain point in time. For some of us this is just
an isolated episode, for others is a way of life.
The only common point is the draining of power and
real control once you are caught in the somehow comfortable
and yet so deadly web of excuses.
1. Remember that you are human and you are allowed
to make mistakes sometimes
Well, the first and most important thing to remember
is that we are all humans and "Errare humannum
est" as the Latin’s use to say. Yes to
make mistakes IS human. Be gentle with yourself and
acknowledge your procrastination. However should we
let this become an excuse in itself or the reason
we should stop trying to change? I am sure few of
us want that and rather see it as the spark that fires
their commitment to change.
2. Acknowledge the fact that you procrastinate.
Don’t blame yourself for it.
Many clients come to me complaining that they have
all these goals they know they can reach, they even
have plans designed to help them get there faster,
are committed to doing something about it and yet
the reality is that they feel stuck, unable to move
forward and follow their own plans. I always urge
them to acknowledge the place they are at and not
blame themselves for it.
3. Check that the tasks you avoid are in alignment
with your overall values and goals.
There are many reasons we fail in taking action to
reach our goals or simply follow through with a plan.
Some of them are obvious others less so. There is
no recipe for fixing the problem overnight.
The problem starts usually with having our plans
designed to take place outside our overall goals and
vision. We are so caught up in dealing with what in
the scheme of things are only details and forget to
remember and reinforce our bigger plans. Just take
a step back and look if what you have planned to do
(and postpone doing) really fits in your long-term
plans and vision. If the action you procrastinate
about is not in alignment with your bigger vision
and values it is probably best to look first in what
else you should be concentration on.
4. Check your target make sure you have not set
it too high or too far
Sometimes we know we are on the right track and know
that this would be the best thing to work on, and
yet find it hard to actually doing it. Look at where
have you set your target. Targets set too high will
overwhelm us and we would feel disempowered before
we start. Remember: every big success has been achieved
one small step at the time. Look at your task and
work out the small steps you’d need to take
to achieve the success you want. Concentrate on each
small step at the time and only consider the challenge
as a whole when checking to make sure you are on target.
5. Find out why are you easily distracted
When we seem to be more interested in the distractions
around us then working on what we planned for, it
is a good idea to take a little time to see why is
this happening. Is it because you don’t like
the subject you are working on (once again look at
the alignment between it and your overall vision),
is it because you are looking for reasons to procrastinate
again (are you afraid of failure, are you afraid of
success, are you afraid of taking action?), is it
because you have done a poor job of planning it (breaking
it down in small manageable steps?).
Try and answer these questions honestly and take
responsibility of your real feelings. You should not
use the answers to create guilt to burden yourself
with. You should use your answers to better understand
how you can help yourself.
6. Set up your boundaries using a non aggressive
non confrontational approach
Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by what we bring onto
ourselves by our inability to set boundaries, to say
no when should. Being swamped with lots of other projects
might push us to the point where we say: "What’s
the point in trying? I can do all these things anyway.
I might as well not start at all." Force yourself
to ask for help or learn how to say no. You are responsible
for setting your own boundaries. You fail to it and
those around you will take advantage.
7. Ask for support not because you want to do less
but because you want to do better.
A helpful tip: Never use an aggressive, confrontational
approach to setting your boundaries. State facts,
talk about your commitments and ask for support not
to do less but to do better and be the best you can.
8. Prioritise and use the priority order to work
your way through the day.
Prioritising should also be part of your boundaries
setting. You have to decide what you should concentrate
on to achieve the results you are after, and in the
process to discover what can be sent at the bottom
of your to do list.
9. De-clutter your schedule
Be tough! Be very, very tough! Don’t keep on
your schedule any task that has been there for a while
and there were no repercussions. Chances are it is
not important. Delete any tasks that are contradicting
each other. Chances are the communication is the issue
here rather than your procrastination. And then...delegate.
Look at tasks that others might take care of (sometimes
even better than you) and let go.
10. Focus
Getting focused is the key to ending procrastination.
Once you’ve established what it is that you
should be doing to keep your actions in alignment
with your overall vision, once you have decided on
the individual steps you should take, once you have
established your boundaries and have asked and received
the help you need, once you have prioritise and organize
your work you are ready. There is no reason for you
not to focus now and get on with the job.
Let me tell you a little secret. Once you go through
this process you will feel enthused and you will manage
to focus your actions and attention on the task at
hand. If for some reason along the way there is a
hiccup relax, take a break and have a look for any
of the conditions we talked about is not there anymore. |
