I love to procrastinate. It feels so good. Wait, what?
It does! I like to have fun you know; I’m not “all business”. While I love my work, I love fun even more. So, when I don’t really wish to “dive in” to a project, I get really busy doing things I can check off my list. Does this sound familiar? And yes, this is a form of procrastination.
Are you interested in what you might be doing to procrastinate, where you might honor it, and where you might tweak it, SO THAT you may become your Best Self? If yes, read on.
FIRST, ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS:
Do you:
- Pretend to work while playing computer games or watching shows, thus making the work take hours because you keep getting sucked into the game or show or YouTube or Facebook?
- Start to work on something, then remember something else that’s more urgent, dropping that midway to hop onto something else… only to finally return to the first task a couple hours later, exhausted, and just call it a day?
- Clean up things that don’t really need to be cleaned up (like the tabs on your browser) to avoid doing what REALLY needs to be done (hint: you don’t like it, could be bookkeeping, could be “real” filing…what’s on your “I hate this” list?)
Do you wish you could:
- Spend several hours of guilt-free quality time with your partner or friends every day (because all those projects you used to procrastinate on are no longer hanging over your head)?
- Get into a daily rhythm that keeps you well-rested, happy, and doing your very best work?
- Follow through with your goals consistently, making solid progress without always having to battle procrastination?
>>>Well, wish no more. We’re going to dive deep on March 5th into the Productivity Success Plan<<<
In the meantime, here are some first steps to get you started NOW.
Productivity Success Plan: Beat Procrastination, Step by Step.
STEP ONE. Identify how YOU procrastinate.
Go ahead, list out some scenarios…what does procrastination look like for YOU?
1.
2.
3.
HINT – identity what IS and what IS NOT ‘procrastination’.
What is procrastination, anyhow? Before we can determine how Ugly it is, or how Wonderful it is, let’s determine WHAT it is.
Here’s what it’s NOT!
– Big thinking time: If you are thinking big, I would not call this procrastination. If you are thinking big during the time where every moment counts, with a looming deadline that you are putting off, that’s procrastination.
– Scheduled downtime: Are you 100% productive and billable during 100% of your day? NO. You’re not a machine. And, even your machines need scheduled downtime (or they take the unscheduled downtime…right?)
– Energy-based downtime: When we pay really amazing attention to our most productive times of the day, and how long we can stay productive during those times, we are working WITH our bodies (not against them). So is this procrastinating? I say no.
STEP TWO.
OK, so now you realize you are procrastinating. How do you Get Out right away? Start your own Procrastination Rescue Ritual (more on that coming).
STEP THREE.
Once you’ve rescued yourself, it’s time to Move into the Now. Ask yourself three essential questions to maximize your time and energy (we will do this 3/5).
And here’s a preview of the next 3 steps; more will be coming in future articles and on our call 3/5/18:
STEP FOUR
Removing Distractions
STEP FIVE
What needs to change?
STEP SIX
Celebrate!
Yes, some procrastination is good…more on that next time. In the meantime, just start on step one and watch your productivity skyrocket!