Conscious Procrastination
Good day, this is Revvell from Bodacious Living.com here, on the WIN!
I’m guessing you already know, by the title that, today, I’m going to be talking about procrastination.
The funny thing about this is, as I was considering doing it, I was ~ procrastinating. While doing THAT, I was listening to what my monkey mind was saying and also, how I was feeling.
For instance, my plan was to have this show written, recorded and ready for editing by Saturday. Well, that didn’t happen. The worst day, actually was ~ Saturday! The day was GORGEOUS and, in the high 70’s. I checked the weather forecast for our favorite beach and, it was supposed to be as warm there as at our house soooo, let’s go to the beach!
The voice in my head ~ the good voice ~ said “No! Wait! You’re “supposed to” have your show done today!
The other voice in my head ~ the not-so-good one said “Hey! It’s November! How many days like this can we expect! Go! Live now! Come home early and get it done! You’ve got plenty of time!”
I was feeling as though I “should” stay home and get it done! I told myself I would. My mind was saying “isn’t this your habit?” Isn’t this what you always do? What are you going to do? Wait until Monday again then be rushed and irritated about not having done it? Then, if something comes up, you going to put it off for when? Next week? or... what? Miss something fun?
Does this happen to you? How do you feel when you read that?
As things worked out, we began late, and, I could have had it written and recorded even before we left yet, I procrastinated some more. Research you know.
We got to the beach later than I expected which means we got home later than I expected. It was dark and I just didn’t “feel” like writing and recording... AND, I’ve got all day Sunday to do it ~ said the “not-so-good-voice”, so here I am now, writing and, in a few minutes recording ~ at 3:35 p.m. on Sunday.
What have I been doing? Listening to music while hula hooping; playing with my kettlebells; doing research while in the sun (actually, yes... some), clipping and filing my nails after a long shower; reading some more; took a nap; ate; etc. That was my day up until now. Fun and relaxing yes, yet, all the time I’m thinking about “having” to get this done! That is NOT relaxing!
How many times have you done this? When’s it going to stop? Are you ready?
A few minutes ago I realized I want to go to open mic night this evening at our favorite hang out and thought I’d better get this done! That was the good voice talking. The not-so-good voice said ~ you’ve got 4 hours! It’ll take you 30 minutes to write, less than :15 to record... go down and play the piano, get some more sun, read some more.. eat... hey! how about a game ~ or 3 or 5 or 10, of mahjong? Of course, it’ll never say 3 or 5 or 10 ~ it’ll just say 1, and then it’ll turn into “just one more”....
Can we say computer addict? Or, mahjong addict? What’s your addiction? Ready to stop it?
Obviously, the good voice had won this one.
The question here, is, has this happened to you? You KNOW you’ve got to get something done yet wait until the last minute? Actually, for me, this isn’t the LAST minute as I don’t have to have it done until Monday sometime yet, I’m pretty sure you know what I mean.
You wait until the very end then do a rush job ~ just to get it done on time. Rarely the best you can do because you just don’t have time!
When I was going to networking meetings I would ask women I’d met how they were doing and almost invariably they’d say “Oh! busy, busy....” and I’d ask “Busy making money or, just being busy?” Again, invariably they’d say, “Oh, I wish I was making money!”....
Funny how all monkey minds tend to work alike. If we were in session and I was receiving payment ~ which means they’d agreed to hear my advice which I know not to give at a networking meeting ~ I’d have suggested they begin what I prefer to call a journey book. In that book, they get to write down how they spend their time every day. This is a GREAT way to find out where all this busyness is going and how it’s stopping them from being, doing and having what they say they want.
Of course, part of the problem with this is ~ many tend to procrastinate on getting the book and/or writing down what’s going on throughout the day until our next session.
As an aside, it’s also a good way, if you’re looking to eliminate excess weight, to find out what, when, where, and why you eat. I’ll have more on that later and in my 7-week video series.
Let’s get back to procrastination and take a quick look at what happens when we procrastinate and why ~
In actuality, there are many reasons, yet, most can be categorized under two main headings ~ fear of success and, fear of failure.
For instance, let’s go back to networking meetings. You go, you meet and greet. You give your card, they give theirs, then what? Usually nothing. You may put the card in an envelope. You may even put the date and where you met them on it. Worse case scenario, you toss it or just throw it in a drawer hoping they’ll call you! What are the chances of that? Highly unlikely because they’re doing the same thing you are!
So, you decide THIS time, you’re going to call them and invite the person whose card you’re holding, to a short, one-on-one meet to get to know them better. Tomorrow. Well, tomorrow you are just SO busy! There’s just no time! Tomorrow you’ll do it!
After a few days, you lose the resolve but not the guilt. A few days later, it pops up in your head ~ you “should” call but....
A month later, the cycle begins again ~ a new meeting, more cards, more resolve and still nothing. Oh! You may get in a few calls one day and either get an answering machine where you leave a message or, a quick, “can’t talk now” so, you get discouraged and stop. You listen to what the monkey mind is telling you.
After awhile, you stop going to the meetings because you’ve received no business from them. Sound familiar?
It’s easy to blame external events yet, who really is responsible? IF you’d made those phone calls and gotten to know people and let them know you at a deeper level, is it possible you may have been able to refer someone to them and maybe received a referral yourself? Wont know, will you?
So, what stops us from doing what we know ~ and have been told at these meetings ~ we “Should” do? Fear! The what if’s!
What if they say “no”? What if they say “yes”? Since I invited, am I going to have to pay? I don’t drink coffee and hate Starbucks, where will we go? What’ll I say? Will they just be trying to sell me their product or service? I’m not even interested in what they have!
When you look at them, these questions seem so simple yet, when you’re the one making the calls, they become overwhelming.
The habit of procrastination keeps us in a vicious cycle. If, like me, you’ve got a deadline of having to produce a podcast, blog and/or article every week, you might be be experiencing the anxiety produced by having to produce!
Maybe it’s studying for a test; turning in some project at work or just handling daily routine things like going to the store for that evening’s meal or, you’re stressed about paying bills ~ maybe just because it’s something you “HAVE” to do!
Are there times when you KNOW you “should” be doing something by the evening before and put it off until morning not realizing it will take longer than you’re giving yourself time for? Have you ever called in “sick” because something wasn’t done by the deadline and used that day ~ or part of it ~ the latter part... to do it?
If so, you may be feeling overwhelmed, pressured, upset, like giving up, frustrated and any other number of emotions. You may not be enjoying life because you feel as though you can’t go out and do things because you HAVE to finish (or even just start) something you’ve been putting off!
When you’ve got relaxing time, are you feeling guilty because of something else that needs doing?
Have others told you you’re “just lazy” or, not disciplined or organized? Have you just told yourself that? Have you made list after list and then, ignored them or, done the fun/easiest things on the list overlooking the more important and possibly more tedious jobs?
We’ve all heard the usual, “break it into pieces” or, write the list, prioritize your items and begin with what’s most important? How’s that working for you?
Have you ever said to yourself “I just don’t know why I keep doing this?”
Over the next few episodes, I’ll be helping you find the answer to that statement through some fun exercises and then, we’ll talk a bit about Conscious Procrastination.
In the meantime, I suggest you get a pen and pad and begin writing down how you spend your time each day. It’ll be a revelation for you, I’m sure. Ahhh, this is not something you wish to procrastinate about.... get to it! O.k?
Also, know this. Procrastination is just a symptom of the issue or issues. Over the next few weeks, we’ll get into more depth on the issue(s) themselves. Come back and be ready to play!
Enough for today.
This is, Revvell Revati of Bodacious living .com wishing you a most bodacious day!
Bye for now!
~ Revvell ~
