DRIVEN To End Your Procrastination? You’ll Gain Personal Energy!
Being a business owner for a healthy chunk of my adulthood, I have found that my personal energy springs a slow leak when too many of those “to-do” items start accumulating and gnaw at the back of my subconscious. You know the ones: the chores, assignments and tasks that cause you to mentally shut down at the very thought of taking them on. Usually, it’s because these tasks are lengthy, inconvenient, unsavory or otherwise beyond one’s comfort zone.
The fact is, the energy involved with procrastination typically dwarfs the task itself. My message to you is this: Don’t fall victim to acknowledging procrastination’s nature only after you’ve completed your tasks. Understand it NOW, and attack your to-do list knowing that you’re capable, and that you’re equipped with the emotional toolbox to free up some storage space for your personal energy. Here are a few examples of tasks that I bet you’ve been putting off, and some clever encouragement for putting them behind you before they pile up.
The Future Is Now
A common example of procrastination relates to planning for a secure financial future. During DRIVEN’s January 2016 community event Tough Talks, a panel of experts addressed the need to have these frank discussions about 401K’s, long-term health insurance, and last wills with our aging parents, our spouses and our grown children before it’s too late. Knowing we need to plan for the future adds anxiety to our present, and it’s a classic opportunity for self-sabotaging procrastination. As a colleague once said, “Every woman, no matter how wealthy, fears she’ll be a bag lady someday”. Such a worry is not always at top of mind, but the subconscious thought is as draining as front-and-center anxiety. May I encourage you to take a baby step and start one of those conversations TODAY? Besides the reward of a predictable future for yourself and your loved ones, you’ll enjoy the surge of energy that results from tackling a tough talk!
Ah, Those Pesky Chores
Doctor visits. Seeing the dentist. Car inspections. Preparing your income taxes. Making your expense reports. It’s tough being a responsible adult. Life is full of periodic chores that aren’t exactly inspiring or pleasant, and thus, are easy to put off until a later date. Before we know it, two years have slipped by without a teeth cleaning or a mammogram (BTW: Taxes are due soon!). Besides being foolish, these procrastinations are subconsciously leaking our energy like an older car engine slowly leaks oil. Meanwhile, most of these things are even easier to do or endure than our actual work-related responsibilities. With that in mind, make those appointments, suck it up, and get it done! Remember, there’s nothing more energy-enhancing that crossing items off your to-do list.
The Hard Part Is To Start
Work assignments that we’re not excited about often get pushed off like a root canal. For example: During my freshman year of college, I was the queen of all-nighters. I just couldn’t convince myself to get started on term paper assignments, and the very thought of writing one would automatically redirect my attention to ice cream. Before I knew it, the due date had arrived, and I hadn’t even begun. My entrepreneurial self now realizes that my procrastination was due to fear…the fear that I wasn’t smart enough to be attending Cornell, and the fear of being exposed for being incapable of superior work. I was on track to learning the hard way about being careful what you think, for it just might come true. Enter, my brilliant roommate Ruth, who taught me her technique for busting out of that procrastination stranglehold. The day she was given an assignment, she got started on it. A read-through and a jotting down of initial thoughts were enough to stimulate her subconscious to begin working out a framework of the assignment. I took her advice, and achieved substantial results! Ideas flowed freely, and soon the “task” became an energy-filled mission to exhibit my command of the subject. Since the starting is often the hardest part, getting into the habit of beginning an assignment right away will put that hard part behind you, and clear the path for an energetic creative flow.
The DRIVEN Solution
You can learn more about how to master your procrastination tendencies by securing tickets NOW (not later) for DRIVEN’s February 12th Procrastination Buster webinar, with guest Jean Brown of The Self-Styled Life. Jean is a recovered procrastinator, and through her conversation with me, the secrets to her recovery will be revealed. This workshop with be the perfect lead-in to our spring/summer 2016 Certificate Workshop Series exploring procrastination’s biggest victim….Personal Energy. The first of 4 workshops is live, and takes place on April 28th. So be sure to secure your space today.