Hi friends,
How many of you wake up in the morning thinking you will complete everything on your list before noon? You’re motivated, determined, and ready! You go to make the first move, and then BOOM, the overwhelmingness kicks in, everything goes blank, and you do nothing within the blink of an eye.
Welcome to my 30s and into the 40’s! The years between wanting to do something and never achieving my goals. I used to be that person who would start something and never complete it. I’d have endless tabs open on my computer, start projects, even start a business, and guess what? Nothing! Just piles and piles of infinite things that built up to the point of zero completion.
I suffered internally from constantly putting off important tasks, feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work that needed to be done, and struggled to complete projects I had started. I would often delay starting tasks, even when I knew they were necessary, and I’d find myself easily distracted by other things. Squirrels! This pattern of avoidance and inaction made me realize that I was struggling with procrastination, and I knew I had to overcome it, but how?
First, let’s define procrastination as the act of delaying important tasks. It’s that overwhelming feeling of not wanting to start or complete a task, even though we know we should.
Over the years, I had read about so many different techniques and strategies for overcoming procrastination, and to be honest, I could never follow any of them. It always felt like I was adding even more to my plate, and my brain couldn’t comprehend it when I already had so much to do.
It wasn’t until the other week that I learned some new insights about this beautiful word, procrastination, and it blew my mind.
What I learned, and I never knew, is that it’s a habit triggered by moments of being stressed or burned out. There’s a trigger effect that happens when procrastination kicks in, and it shows up in the following ways:
- it’s a freeze response to the trigger
- it is a form of stress relief
- we don’t want to use any extra energy
- it requires effort, which causes avoidance
- it creates more stress due to the avoidance
- it can become a chronic response to the stress
Do you see the pattern it forms when we decide not to do what we set out to do? Each time we procrastinate, it builds up more work until the pile is so large it’s just one giant cluster fuck. Procrastination can have real, adverse effects on our productivity, well-being, and overall success.
As you know, I’m a huge Mel Robbins fan (maybe a bit obsessed), and three simple—yes, I said simple—techniques that she shared recently really stuck with me and are applaudably share-worthy.
1.) First, acknowledge and understand that you are stressed.
2.) Name your stress (identity) and ask yourself why you’re stressed.
3.) Use the 5-second rule and then push yourself to work on it for 1 minute.
That’s it!
When I heard these three simple techniques, it made me realize that we don’t need a bunch of fancy steps or complicated procedures to stop procrastinating. It’s really just about stopping, stepping back, and breathing for a few minutes before moving forward again.
As humans, we tend to overcomplicate everything! We want simplicity, yet we always overcomplicate. You wouldn’t believe how implementing and following these three steps have helped me complete more tasks than I ever thought possible. It has made my time way more effective and efficient, and I’ve gained hours to give back to myself and the things I love! The next time your mind tries to take you to the circus, try these steps and see how it works for you.
I look forward to connecting again soon, and as always, Namaste!
