The Power of Procrastination

Procrastination - the enemy of all that we desire. The excuses, the fear, the laziness, all show up in procrastination. It is very powerful and it robs us a life we love. It steals our motivation and destroys our self-esteem.

When we avoid something then we feel badly. First we have to deal with the consequences of not doing whatever we are avoiding. Then we feel down on ourselves for not doing it.

So you'll do it tomorrow, right? Except tomorrow it is even harder. So now you are sitting around thinking about doing this thing and you feel awful. Since you are spending your time feeling awful and not doing this thing, nothing else is getting done either. Now you feel even worse because you still didn't do this thing and you didn't accomplish much else either. So you'll do it tomorrow, right?

Get the picture? A huge downward spiral that leaves you feeling like a ball of sludge.

What can you do? Fight back! You have the most powerful weapon of all at your disposal - ACTION.

Taking action is the key to fighting procrastination. I know that sounds mindlessly simple because by definition procrastination is a lack of action. The key here is understanding why there is a lack of action. Why aren't you doing these things?

• Is there not enough time in a day?
• Are you afraid of the action itself?
• Do you fear the results of the action?
• Are you being lazy?

Once you identify the reason for the procrastination you can take it one step further. Ask yourself a who/what/why question next.

For example: I don't have enough time in the day. My schedule is jam packed and I just can't get it all done.
Why is that? Are you taking on more than you can handle? Are you wasting time? Are you pushing too hard to be effective at what you are doing? Are you unable to refuse any request?

Another example: I'm just plain being lazy. I'm choosing to go play golf instead.
Why? Is the thing you are procrastinating on unimportant to you? Then why is it even on your to do list? A lack of focus and working toward unimportant goals can lead to procrastination.
OR is the thing you are avoiding too big of a task? Does it just feel overwhelming?

After you understand why you're procrastinating tackle the root cause.

If your life is too busy review your priorities and your calendar and clear it out.

If your goals weren't meaningful spend some time deciding what is really important and focus activity on those things.

If the task is too big, break it into bite size pieces.

Take a look at your life. Where are you procrastinating? Take that tiger by the tail, flip it around and look it in the eye. See what is really there and then you can tackle the problem one step at a time.