Do you do this? When you have plenty of time to finish a task at leisure – spend so much time doing completely unrelated things. Or you spend most of that time doing research, long after you’re ready to tackle the task, so now you have to rush. Oh I can phrase this in a million different ways, because I know them all.
I Am A Procrastinator.
And so are you, I’m sure of it.
Most of the time, I get away with it. I somehow manage to keep myself out of big (i.e. deadline-missing, face-losing, client-complaining) trouble.
But I waste so much time! Time that I could have spent doing REALLY PLEASANT, joyful, relaxing, connecting, adventurous, stimulating, mind-expanding things…
So what to do?
Well, first of all, you could simply go on the way you do. If it doesn’t get you into deep trouble. You could accept that a task, any task, takes about two, three or four times the amount of time required, because of procrastination.
Or, you can decide it’s a waste of precious time – and emotional well-being (because usually procrastination at some point causes jitters and anxiety).
In that case, listen up.
First thing to look at is: WHY are you procrastinating?
Usually, there is a deeper cause.
More often than not, it’s fear.
Fear of failure, to be precise.
We can be quick and focussed with the small stuff, right?
The unimportant stuff.
But a workshop for a big client, a lecture for a really interesting course, a prestigious project… They are the buggers.
There are fears of not being good enough, not having enough skills, not being the right person, letting the other person down… Failing.
This fear is unpleasant, but needs to be faced.
So you need to go inside. Sit with it. Breathe with it. Feel it.
This is something we are not used to doing. We are great at running from the unpleasant (as I wrote in my last blog), not so good at turning towards it.
However, that is exactly what is needed, before we can move on.
In my online zen course that starts next Tuesday, I’ll be teaching you all about staying with the experience, and not letting your (difficult and unpleasant) thoughts and emotions run your life.
If you haven’t checked it out yet, do it now! Here is all the information you need.
