I’m a recovering procrastinator. I still struggle with it.
I didn’t know until the last year and a half or so that it’s all because of the negative emotion my brain was creating about certain tasks.
The very same tasks I myself decided or agreed to do, of my own free will!
If you’ve struggled with procrastination, you know that it’s not easy to overcome it. It becomes a habit of sorts. But the way to break this habit is pretty simple: just do it (take action) anyway. Do what you planned to do. Despite negative emotions like feeling bored, uncertain, obliged, scared, etc.
When you become more consistent at “doing it anyways”, the time and emotional energy you waste indulging in procrastination will significantly decrease. You’ll avoid a lot of the would-be stress which your brain would otherwise have saved up for you to experience later, closer to your deadline.
Stress, or pressure, is an emotion that can serve as fuel for actions. But I offer that it’s not the most efficient fuel.
Sure, it may help you get to the end result (finished project) but at the expense of a lot of unnecessary fuel/energy consumption.
How about becoming more energy efficient? Let the negative emotion be there. It doesn’t have to be a problem nor does it represent that your goals are unimportant or irrelevant or anything negative about you as a person. Nada.
But intentionally choose an alternative fuel source that’s more efficient. Maybe an emotion like: committed, dedicated, resourceful, trustworthy. Now you’re getting somewhere.
And your tasks that move you towards your goal are more likely to be completed with greater ease.
What’s been in your procrastination pile recently? Can you identify the negative emotion that you’re trying to avoid by putting off the planned actions? What would it take for you to do this thing anyway, despite that negative emotion?
Now, choose an efficient emotional fuel that fires you up and get on with your bad self! Take action!
P.S. Procrastination is for real, but it doesn’t have to be your M.O. I want to show you what’s possible when you eliminate procrastination from your to-do list. Schedule a free consult if you’d like to explore what your life can look like without having to “rely” on procrastination to get things done!
