6 honest reasons why you procrastinate
TRANSCRIPT
6 HONEST REASONS WHY YOU PROCRASTINATE
and what to do about them
www.secondbreaks.com
Do you know enough about the project?
Are you procrastinating because you’re not clear about the first step or what comes after it?
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Quick things you can do if this is the case: • Is there a checklist or some playbook somewhere (Hello Google!) that
you can use to guide you?
• Use a lifeline and brainstorm with a friend. It’s not important that your friend is or isn’t an expert on the subject. Simply talking about the activity often generates an initial set of ‘first steps’.
• Just do something. Putting yourself in motion towards the goal will help point you towards the right direction. Don’t worry about the right sequence. Most everything (unless it’s surgery or a shuttle launch) can be reversed.
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Are you looking at a loooonnng list of tasks and feeling overwhelmed?
(Psst, that’s how I feel whenever I open a box from IKEA.)
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Quick things you can do if this is the case: • Stop feeding the monster and quit looking at the looonnng list.
• Take bite-size pieces of the project. Chunk it up into smaller groups of tasks. Pick a group and add only those tasks to your Daily or Weekly To-Do list. (Store the loongg list or that humongous project plan away in your desk drawer.)
• Focus on the ONE thing you have to do today. Only that. Remember that small steps add up to big giant ones. So, do just a small step today. And then another tomorrow. And another one again the next day. You’ll be amazed where you’ll be by end of the week.
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Oh boy.
Are you having to do something in which you’re not even the slightest bit interested?
Or maybe, you’ve come to the least sexy, most boring part of your project?
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Assuming you cannot delegate the project away, here are quick things you can do if this is the case: • Can you buddy up with someone and do the activity/project together?
• If you can’t do it it with someone, can you discuss the activity with someone or with a small team? Just talking about it may be enough to get the juices flowing so you can get to work.
• Can you change it up a little to give it the oomph it may be lacking? For example, if you’re having to write a long report, consider doing an interesting powerpoint slide instead.
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Did you like cramming in school?
Are you one of those people who gets pumped when faced with tight deadlines?
Are you procrastinating because you’re feeling the lack of urgency?
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Quick things you can do if this is the case: • Create the effect and give yourself tighter and stricter deadlines.
• Find an accountability partner and tell him/her about your deadlines. See if you can have daily or weekly calls (whatever makes sense for the activity that you’re doing) to re-enforce the ‘pressure’ of being answerable to someone about your actions.
• Don’t fret that you’re having to do this, nor lament about your inability to enjoy ‘the long lead time’. You have to honor your nature, and if this is how you roll, then this is how your roll.
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Are you delaying the work because you’re secretly afraid of something?
Afraid of messing it up? Or looking like a fool?
Or maybe you’re afraid it’ll be a huge success, then what are you going to do with your life?!
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Quick things you can do if this is the case: • Yoda said: “Named must your fear be before banish it you can.”
Acknowledge it. Nod at it and give it a name.
• Do you have a mentor or a coach who can help you suss out your thoughts around this fear? If you don’t have a mentor/coach, go get coffee with a trusted friend and talk about your fear.
• Listen to inspiring/motivating talks or podcasts around the topic that concerns you most. Write down your thoughts. Pinpoint what’s triggering it. Ask yourself the question “So, what’s the worst thing that could happen, really?”
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It happens to everyone. And hey, you deserve to be lazy-bones from time to time.
Enjoy the book, or the series you’re binge-watching on Netflix, or the friends you decided to hang out with.
And when you’re done, go back fully indulged and get to it!
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KICKING THE PROCRASTINATION
HABIT IS EASY, !
as long as you know what’s truly behind it
so you can use the right attack plan.
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