Are you a PRO at procrastination?

Wasting my time trying to avoid those things I know I have to do to create a successful business, I am a PRO at procrastination – with capital letters. What about you?

I mean, who isn’t, right. Even my computer, a rickety old little Samsung computer (#noad), loves to procrastinate on any and all commands I give it. But it works, despite, the broken keys… It even has the “Q10 writing app” that helps me write distraction-free… Unless…, you know, I decide it is a good idea to pick up my phone to put on a playlist to “help” my writing mojo, which ends in me thumbing through Instagram, watching random video’s on YouTube, and another one, and another one.

Procrastination. We all know it, but we all fall into its clutches.

It’s like suddenly everything else becomes waaaaayyyy more interesting than that book you’re trying to write, that online program you’re trying to outline, sometimes even that vacation you’re trying to book because the booking process is just so tedious.

Procrastination is a choice not to try.

If you believe Mel Robbins that “procrastination is a choice not to try.” When I heard this I thought, damn girl, I try all the time.

But, what she means is that it’s a habit you can change. So hold your horses, she isn’t calling us slackers – because that’s certainly what my type A personality who never thinks I do enough, heard… at first.

But I still procrastinate, so there might be something to it.

Procrastination is a form of stress release.

It doesn’t really have to do with the thing you know you have to do, but with stress. You’re procrastinating because you are looking for some relief from all that is going on in your head so you turn to avoidance as a habit to deal with that stress. I use nail-biting too (#workinprogress).

Procrastination
The trigger: STRESS
The pattern: You avoid doing what you have to do by doing something else.
The reward: you get some stress relief.

There is always a reward for procrastinating

But we all know that it’s temporary.

You don’t feel bad for nothing at the end of the day when all you did was watch YouTube (And, chica, don’t go pretending you never did that while you were supposed to work on that business plan! “Don’t go frontin'” *which really brings up the question what it would be like to go backin’ but okay. I digress. I get it – expressions are weird like people are weird.*).

This stress can be about many things, but in our case, when starting a business, it’s often because we are making the dream so big that we can’t find a way to start or we are worried about finances….

Procrastination is a choice.

Which means that we can make a different one. We can start to try. And if you think about it, what, exactly, is scary about trying?

Nothing!

You acknowledged that the stress is there. We’re not going to magically erase the stress, but we know it’s there now. AND we now know that procrastination is the pattern we use to relieve that stress.

But how to break it?

The 5 Second Rule

According to Mel Robbins, it’s as simple as saying 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. which awakens your prefrontal cortex, enabling you to interrupt the habit. And then start doing. Just for 5 minutes. Start writing, making that call, whatever it is you need to do, just try.

There’s no judgement in trying. Call it exploring, adventure, whatever you need to make it resonate with you. Whatever you need to call it to make you get out of your head, stop thinking and start doing. Take a small step towards whatever it is you’re overthinking about.

Anyone can try. Like I’m trying to write this blog post which at the beginning of this writing exercise almost got lost in procrastination. So I decided to write about that.

We’re gonna procrastinate sometimes, but it doesn’t have to stay an unconscious habit. If all that’s stopping us is a simple 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… go, then why not do that?

Adventure Awaits!

Love,

Susanna