The Art of Procrastination

Yet again, I have managed to find many pressing things that had to be accomplished as a means of delaying having to sit down and get some work projects done.  The official word for this of course is “procrastinating”.  Webster’s defines this as, “to put off intentionally the doing of something that should be done”.  Yep, that pretty much covers what I have been doing!

So what was so hard about these projects?  Nothing really, except that I had to make my brain work, be creative, get focused and actually make myself sit down and do it.  But all I really wanted to do was relax with a good book, see some friends, have fun and most importantly, not have to stretch my brain.  However, I had already procrastinated for the last few weeks so the pressure was on to get going.

Honestly, I love procrastinating.  Great things are achieved when I procrastinate.  The house got really clean, car got cleaned, windows cleaned, I got more workouts in than normal, did a bit of baking, did some shopping, had a nap….life is good!!!  Almost, the only set back being that nagging voice in the back of my head that keeps telling me work needs to get done.  Then it asks me that if I don’t take charge of my life/career, who will?  Then that voice reminds me that the longer I keep procrastinating doing what I need to do, the longer I will not achieve my goals.  That of course makes me feel like a failure, which makes me want to stay on the couch even longer.  So there you have it, the result of procrastinating.

We all do it (or most of us anyway), whether it’s procrastinating doing a menial task, studying for a class, doing a project for work, avoiding a major work/life decision, etc.  There are many reasons why we procrastinate.  Maybe we do not know how to do the task, it is boring, we feel rebellious so are procrastinating or just have no motivation to get it done.  Maybe the project is too overwhelming, or fear of failure is holding us back.  Or maybe we just have no clue where we are going so do nothing.

Being a Life Coach, I have to look deeper into what was really making me procrastinate getting these projects done.  Part of it was simply not knowing how to do some of the technical aspects of the projects….computers and I are not friends so anything technical causes me huge stress and makes me want to run and hide.  Part is fear, fear of putting myself out there and failing.  And the last piece was not knowing which direction to go to.  I have been waiting for weeks for some spark of inspiration to give me direction and motivation to get going.

This is what I have learned, waiting for a spark of inspiration to tell you what to do to get you motivated to move forward mostly just leaves you with a long wait.  You must actually take some time to focus on your goals and make a move, any move.  No one can live your life for you so it is all up to you.  Taking a step forward towards your goal is what gives you the inspiration and motivation to keep going.  Continuing to move forward is what gives you the confidence to succeed.  My motto, it does not matter how slowly you move forward towards what you want in life, just make sure you keep moving and do not allow yourself to procrastinate too long and stop your momentum.