Hi meaningful leader,
Happy Tuesday! It’s great to meet again…
For today’s article, I want to dig deep into procrastination as I offer hear from other leaders who tend to struggle with it and ask about the best ways to combat it. And by all means I’m far from an expect in procrastination, after all, for years I used it as a crutch to justify my perfectionism and associated fears and insecurities; but we are hear to keep each other sharp and accountable, and to help each other up, so here’s what I know about this ugly foe.
Let’s start by identifying the enemy: Procrastination is a noun that represents the action of delaying or postponing something. It’s that squirrel in the back of your mind that prompts you to look at your phone and waste an whole hour and a half scrolling on social media, when you were in the middle of writing up a report.
When it comes to productivity and time management, procrastination can be the biggest culprit of ineffectiveness and inefficiency, but the roots lie deeper than just a wondering mind and its associated distractions. Procrastination is the hideaway place for deeper issues rooted in fear and insecurity such as:
- Perfectionism – I need this article for the newspaper to be flawless, but my inspiration is gone and my sources had run dry, so since my final product is going to be far from perfect right now, I “procrastinate” its completion because if it’s incomplete, it cannot be perfect, or published….
- Fear of failure – criticism, ridicule, being cast out, feeling unworthy…so if I “procrastinate” on preparing that dreaded presentation, I won’t have to stand in front of everyone to deliver it and fail in front of the whole team…
- Self-doubt – if I “procrastinate” to submit my resume and application for that job I’ve been wanting to pursue forever but I’m probably not even going to get, then maybe they’ll hire someone who’s truly qualified and won’t have to put myself through that painful process…
- Lack of clarity – I know what I want to achieve but I’m not clear on how to go about it, so I “procrastinate” and fiddle around trying many different approaches and abandoning them half way, and then defeatedly stating this is not for me and quitting…
- Poor time-management – when is this due? next week? wow, I have plenty of time, so I “procrastinate” until the last possible minute them start to type until my fingers bleed….
- Lack of focus – I feel worn out, I haven’t been sleeping well and I’ve been eating crap all week, so I “procrastinate” because my mind is foggy and I can’t seem to find the right motivation to get started…
- Lack of purpose – I really have no idea where I’m headed, I hate my job and current circumstances but it’s what I have so whatever, so I “procrastinate” because since I’m going through the motions already why not just take a break now and relax, I’ll worry about it later…
- Impostor syndrome – I can’t believe I landed that major account and they promoted me over the last quarter’s sales, that was sheer luck, so now with this new role, they expect the “super start” to deliver again and I’m not that lucky, so I “procrastinate” on getting started with the new campaign because they’re going to find out soon enough how much of a fake I am, they’ll realize it wasn’t me, it was luck, and they’re going to fire me…
All in all, procrastination is a lie we tell ourselves to avoid getting things done. It’s the easy way out to escape when being confronted by growth. It’s the “safety blanket” we run to and cuddle with when life gets real and we start to feel uncomfortable.
Yet nothing outside of ourselves can be a true source of security, safety, joy, or self-worth. These exist within ourselves and have to be restored and reactivated from within.
Fear and faith are opposite forces. When we, as children, are told something negative about ourselves, like, you’re dumb, or you’re not good at math, or you really don’t have a creative one in your body (all true statements shared with me by people who struggle with procrastination), each negative statement starts to chip out a piece of ourselves leaving us feeling incomplete and unworthy, but the secret is that we are not responsible for what people say about us and how they see us, that’s on them; but we are 100% responsible for our reaction and for how we let it impact us.
So it really comes down to where we are headed to and how we are going to get there. After all, nothing changes if nothing changes…
So what’s it going to be? Because we either do the thing, and move forward or we remain stuck in procrastination limbo and either fumble by not delivering anything, or deliver a half-ass result, because we left it for the last possible minute. The choice is entirely up to us. But I know one thing, success requires action and opportunities happen once in a while, so we must seize them and go all in, like a kid jumping in a pool on the first day of summer. I hope I see you there, no more procrastination. Remember that you have been created for greatness, so please stop settling for less.
I hope this message helps you get unstuck. Fear should fuel you, not paralyze you. Do the things you need to do, even if you need to do them scare to death. I’m rooting for you!
Remember the while you allow self-doubt to creep in, others are intimidated by your full potential.
Have an amazing rest of the week, if you’re in the US, Happy Thanksgiving and God bless.
Maria
PS: In case you didn’t know yet, I’m grateful for you!
