Queen of Procrastination đź‘‘

THE QUEEN OF PROCRASTINATION

PROCRASTINATION. What do you think of when you hear the word? For many people, they think of laziness.  And that’s exactly what I used to think. I believed that whenever I wasn’t getting a project or a task finished, I was being lazy. And then what would ensue was a vicious circle of procrastinating and then beating the crap out of myself for not getting the undesirable task complete. But actually, in most cases, when someone is procrastinating they are far from being lazy.

Whenever I had a big challenge or something I was dreading doing I could find so many things to do INSTEAD of doing what needed to be done. For instance, when we were in the infancy stages of creating The Mundy Method, I knew one of the first things that I needed to do was create a business plan. I would rather poke my eyes out with sticks than create a business plan. So every morning I woke up and said “Today is the day I’m going to get this damn thing started”.  But instead what happened is, I spent that day, and the following days creating and rearranging a “to do list” of all that needed to be done to create the business plan. Yep, it was the “to do list” that would be the envy of all “to do” lists. It was filled with colour coded, alphabetized tasks and fancy little check boxes. Then when I couldn’t possibly add anything else to the list, I told myself “Oh Tina, you can’t possibly create a credible business plan while sitting at the kitchen island with your laptop. You need to make sure you have an efficient workspace to develop your business plan”. So I spent weeks researching and buying all the things I “needed” and arranging and rearranging them just so.  Now, as I sat at my orderly little office with all my perfect little supplies and my fancy ginormous “to do’ list with all the colour coded check boxes, I was ready to tackle the business plan. Right?  Nope! Just at the very moment I turned on my laptop I saw a dust bunny under the couch. How could I work on a business plan when Chester (my cat) or Tessie (pup) could choke on that dust bunny. Right?  So the next week was spent deep cleaning the house, the yard, the cat, the dog and anything that stopped moving for more than 10 seconds.

Now I ask you, does this sound like someone who is lazy?  Of course not, but everyday I would beat myself up and tell myself to stop being so lazy and just get the business plan done. Looking back, I certainly wasn’t lazy by any means. I have a spotless house, colourful to do list and fancy schmancy office to prove that. What I was doing was procrastinating.  I was putting off doing an undesirable or uncomfortable task in favour of something I was familiar with. That is the difference. Laziness suggests an unwillingness to move or act. I was moving. Man, was I moving. I just wasn’t getting what needed to get done, done….hell I wasn’t even getting it started.

So how do we overcome procrastination? Well, like any habit, (and don’t kid yourself, procrastination is a habit) you can overcome it by following a few simple tips. These are a few that work for me: 

  • Call yourself out. If you keep putting off doing a task and filling your day with low priority tasks then you are  probably procrastinating. Give yourself some grace but recognize that this is what you are doing and take the steps necessary to tackle the task.  

  • Figure out why you are procrastinating. Are you avoiding the task because it’s boring or you’re not sure how to do it? If so, get it done first so you can move onto other tasks that you do enjoy. Is it because you are unorganized? Then prioritize a “to do” list (and it doesn’t have to be colour coded with fancy checkboxes).  Are you worried about failing? Just remember there is no right or wrong way to do anything. Done is better than perfect and you can always come back and edit later. 

  • Commit to each task and a timeline to finish it by. Focus on “doing” the task and not “avoiding”.

  • Reward yourself when you complete the task. Maybe it’s a nice cafĂ© mocha or lunch at your favorite restaurant. Tell yourself how good you are going to feel when you complete the task and how proud you will feel for doing hard things. 

  • Minimize distractions. Turn your devices to airplane mode and consider using a time management tool such as The Pomodoro Technique.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique 

  • My Nan used to always say, “How do you eat an elephant?’.  Her answer….. “One bite at a time.” Break the task down into “bite size chunks” and tackle it one bite at a time.  

  • Tackle the hardest part of the task first thing in the morning. Even if you are not a morning person, tackling a task first thing in the morning can be of benefit because the rest of the world hasn’t been able to hijack your day.

So you are probably wondering, did she get the business plan completed? You’re darn right I did. And it’s a kick ass plan if I do say so myself. But I couldn’t have done it without using these tips to get it completed. I have since managed to tackle numerous other projects without painting my house or finding a million other things to do to avoid the task at hand.  I’ve relinquished my title of “Queen of Procrastination” and you know what? I don’t miss it one bit. My life is so much more productive and happier. Are you ready to give up your crown?