FEATURED ARTICLE
Procrastination
If we are good at anything, we are good at procrastination.
There are a million excuses, some might even sound legitimate, as to why we have yet to start or do something. How many stories do you tell yourself?
I always smiled at the people in my office who told me how busy, how overworked, and how stressed they were. But, amazingly, when it came time for vacation their desks were always clean and they were all set to go.
We procrastinate. We think we are busier than we are. We think we don't have time, but we do.
We spend more time thinking about what we want to or should do than in actually doing it. How often have you finally tackled a project only to realize it took less time than the time you spent procrastinating about it? Many, I am sure.
What are the signs you are procrastinating?
You never schedule the time to do it
You think about it in distant terms
You think you are not ready
You don't plan on doing it
You don't know when you'll do it
You know you should, but can't find the time
You are afraid, but unwilling to admit it
You fear failure, so not starting is not failing (to you)
You allow less important things to come first
You aren't sure, you're afraid, you worry about doing it
You are afraid what might or might not happen
You think by not starting you can't fail (if you don't start you have failed)
You can add to the above excuses. Just know that 99.9% are excuses.
Let's be clear, to decide to do it after X is finished is not procrastination. That's planning and scheduling. All things in the proper order at the proper time. That works.
We want the job. If we start now to get the skills needed to qualify for the job, that's not procrastination. That's doing the steps in order. But, if we want the job and never start the first step of learning the skills needed to qualify, that is procrastination.
How do we kill procrastination? Just start. Start right now, right here and take the first step. The minute you go into action, procrastination is over. Now it's the excitement of working towards the goal, doing what you've wanted to do, and doing what you know needs to be done.
The longer you have procrastinated on a job, the better it feels when you start and finish it. You realize it was far easier and took less time than expected. There is a sense of accomplishment and confidence. All good things.
When you know you are procrastinating -- stop. Decide what is causing the procrastination. Then, knowing the cause, you can determine the best solution and then start the implementation.
It's amazing how good you'll feel once you start. We try to kid ourselves and create excuses. But, it doesn't work. We know when we are procrastinating. We also know how good it feels, and how empowering it is to stop procrastinating and just do it.
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