Procrastination...let's not do it
Can we talk about putting things off?
I know how easy it can be when things get sticky for whatever reason, to put your head in the sand and hope it all goes away. Feel familiar? You are absolutely not alone.
Procrastination is right up at the top of the list of things that my clients say gets in their way of achieving their aspirations for their business and life.
Particularly in today's climate, facing up to the reality of how tough things are can be hard and what we need to pay attention to to keep thriving and growing get's ignored. Much easier to carry on with business as usual and hope for the best.
There are myriad reasons why it's not easy to get stuff done,
why we put off going for what we want or tackling the things that we've said we'll do, even if we know they will help us in the long run. Here's a few common ones that are coming up time and again:
We prioritise the quick win over long term success.
Big goals often require a complex number of moving parts to achieve, which when broken down aren't actually much fun to do or very rewarding in the moment.
When the reward of instant gratification is missing and that juicy dopamine or endorphin hit is absent, it feels like a slog and it's BORING! Much easier to put it off in favour of something that will give us that instant feel good .
I see this in business all the time. The dream doesn't get off the ground because it's too big or we think it will take too long. You don't build an engaged audience or "A" list of clients overnight for example, but to show up time and again with little immediate reinforcement that you're doing the right thing is harder than just putting it off. So that newsletter or book doesn't get written, that website doesn't get built or that brilliant new offering doesn't get created….the list goes on.
It's scary…
Sometimes the stuff we know we need to do requires change of some sort, change isn't always comfortable…sometimes it scares the pants off us. Horror movies are one thing, and some people love 'em, but for most of us, fear isn't something we like to entertain for very long. Fear of the unknown means we can procrastinate on decisions that will move us forwards. Fear of getting it wrong can paralyse us into inaction. Fear of being overwhelmed can mean we just don't make a start, even though ironically procrastination just builds overwhelm in the long run as the to-do list mounts up.
Our inner critic becomes very loud.
That delightful little gremlin lurks in the background until you decide to get started on something, then it pops up with a very convincing negative pep talk about how things will never work, how we're not good enough, how other people are much more qualified, capable, experienced… fill in the blank…than we are. So we don't bother. Well the gremlin may always be there, but continual action in the face of it builds confidence over time and that voice becomes quieter against the new narrative of “ I can and I will”.
It's tiring.
If procrastination is an ongoing habit, it's pretty exhausting. The continual cycle of dreaming and not-doing knocks confidence. When we do make progress it's hard to sustain because something will always come up to halt momentum, so we bail and find ourselves back at square one only with less faith than before that we'll actually achieve anything. There is energy in action, even the smallest steps can help create a momentum that will only build over time.
It's actually the wrong priority.
Sometimes there's good reason for procrastination. It just might not be the right thing and so we have a natural aversion to it. This can be especially true when the thing we are putting off is someone else's idea of the right thing to do and not ours. Don’t be fooled that it’s always this, our subconscious internal saboteur can become very skilled at keeping us from realising big dreams. The muscle of discernment is something that needs flexing and having a reflective practice that examines your habits and patterns is a useful one to help get really clear about what is the right path for you.
We don't know where to start.
Everything becomes a mish-mash of thoughts and emotions and we can't get to the bottom of what to do in what order and it all just feels to much, so we do nothing. When it all stays internal it can build into something that feels insurmountable and almost anything seems more attractive than making a start. Talking it through to get your thoughts in order, dumping all those thoughts on paper so you can play around with them, ordering things into a list of priorities are all simple strategies to help clear the fog.
We're not sure its worth the effort.
If there's no guarantee that the thing you are putting off is going to solve the problem or have the impact you want, you don't want to waste effort so it doesn't get done. The trouble with that is you don't get to test its efficacy without giving it a go and so nothing moves forwards.
Sometimes it's not always possible to pin down exactly what the end result will be for your efforts and it may seem easier not to bother at all. What I do know is that often going with an instinct that something is right, pays off in ways you can't anticipate at the time. The energy that you show up with in the small things and the effort that you put in, ripples exponentially.
We think we can't afford it.
When it comes to procrastinating on investing in something to move us forwards, particularly when things get tighter financially, our willingness to spend gets reined in and we stall on spending. Sometimes absolutely rightly so. Being discerning about investment is prudent when we don't have excess. But rather than it being smart thinking, sometimes fear of lack can also start shrinking our perspective, causing us to only focus on the short term and so we miss opportunities to build longer term stability by investing wisely.
We think we don't have time.
A procrastination habit often means that we become very busy doing all the other things that aren't what we know will move us in the direction we want to go and suddenly the diary is full. When we get into this space it becomes too noisy to see clearly and we risk pushing the important things that will move us and our business forward to the bottom of the list.
We don’t have a neuro-typical brain.
Let’s face it a standard ‘write list - do list’ approach to life might be easy for some but for others it’s overwhelmingly difficult because our very neurobiology is working against us. If your brain is working at a million miles an hour, or you struggle with sequencing, organising or some of those executive functions that a neuro-typical person just takes for granted getting even seemingly the most basic things done is HUGE. Add in PDA, trauma, shame, the crashes that happen when you’ve burned through your available neurotransmitters and more, it’s no wonder that things get put off. Even with the greatest will in the world, the typical strategies for productivity simply do not work for you. And that’s ok! Compassion buckets of it and getting creative (which is likely a super power of yours) around how to approach life within a system that isn’t built for you is your go to here. You have full permission to ignore the self help strategies that are written most often for the neuro-typical out there and boldly go your own way.
A few Resources to help:
If you need a little more of a pep talk you might like to take 8 minutes to listen to my audio on Procrastination with can be found on the podcast resources page here.
If you’d like to be guided through ordering your priorities for the day then there’s an audio on productivity and focus available here.
if you’d like some in-person help you can join Fiona and me at Purpose and Possibilities, Thursday 21st September 10-1 in Ealing, West London.
AN OPPORTUNITY TO OWN YOUR BRILLIANCE AND STAND PURPOSEFULLY AND POWERFULLY IN YOUR SPACE
Renew your purpose and expand your possibilities
Own your magic and step into your brilliance
An inspirational morning in great company
Between us we have a collective 50 years experience in business and have weathered the whole range of economic storms, maintaining focus, positivity and thriving businesses. We know what it takes to make business work commercially and that enables you to work in an inspired and wholly empowered way.
You’ll leave our morning together energised, inspired and equipped to take your business in hand and finish the year strong.
We’re saying a firm ‘No, Thank You’ to the doom and gloom and are committed to keeping our wonderful community firmly out of the recession-rut and in a space of positivity and inspiration.
It’s even more critical now that you stand out, make your presence known and create an utterly compelling pull for your ideal clients.
We want to show you how to really own your magic, step into your brilliance and leverage that, to put you, your brand and your business in the best possible position.
We can come up with a whole load more reasons why it's difficult to maintain productivity or to move in the direction of those bigger goals and dreams. They all make sense, they are all real and it can be utterly paralysing at times.
But at some level we know we'd rather be moving than stuck, we'd rather feel like we have agency than feel out of control, we'd rather achieve something than be smothered under a pile of metaphorical unwashed laundry.
The intention isn't to make you feel bad about what I know can be a soul sucking, shame inducing cycle. Rather I hope you take is as an acknowledgement that you aren't alone and a reminder that you ABSOLUTELY CAN make inroads, you can keep showing up, you can take the steps you know you need to take to improve things. No matter how many times you stop and start along the way, if you just keep putting one foot in front of the other you absolutely will move forwards.
So keep your dreams alive, hold that vision and know that every action you take is another step towards kicking that procrastination habit back into touch.
You've absolutely got this!
YOU’LL LEAVE THE SESSION WITH:
An innate sense of power and purpose that will create the momentum you will need to carry you through the rest of the year.
Perspectives on building a stronger presence, connecting with your audience and communicating your value.
Insights into creating compelling communications that convert learn the fundamentals of producing collateral that showcase your value and win you work.
The motivation and commitment to take inspired and strategically sound action to move your businesses forwards in the right direction for you.
An expanded sense of possibility when our natural instinct is to contract, hustle and graft in the face of fear and challenge, it’s essential we stay expanded, purposeful and in flow.
