Procrastination is often seen as this terrible thing that needs fixing… but what if it isn't…
In this episode I explore the alternative, where we view procrastination as a message vs a “bad thing” we need to fix!
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Transcript
Procrastination is one of those things that we're
Jonathan Stewart:told we need to overcome to fix.
Jonathan Stewart:And to change it's viewed.
Jonathan Stewart:As a sign that you're doing something wrong, you just need to be more
Jonathan Stewart:organized, productive, better.
Jonathan Stewart:etcetera etcetera.
Jonathan Stewart:But this might not be entirely true, at least in my experience!
Jonathan Stewart:For ease of understanding and so we're all on the same page.
Jonathan Stewart:My definition of procrastination is not taking action on something
Jonathan Stewart:I know I need or want to do.
Jonathan Stewart:Now delightful productivity, advice and habit formation experts say, if you want
Jonathan Stewart:to do something enough, you'll do it.
Jonathan Stewart:And if you don't do it, you're just not trying hard enough
Jonathan Stewart:or you don't want it or...
Jonathan Stewart:You've heard it all before.
Jonathan Stewart:Now, although I kind of get what this person is trying to say, and
Jonathan Stewart:sometimes it might be true for the vast majority of people who are listening
Jonathan Stewart:to this podcast, it never really fits.
Jonathan Stewart:In reality, I've had a lot of things I needed to do and even wanted to do.
Jonathan Stewart:And yet I still couldn't and no amount of sheer willpower will get me to do
Jonathan Stewart:the things that I'm procrastinating on!
Jonathan Stewart:If I could, well I wouldn't be making this episode and we'd all
Jonathan Stewart:be hyper-productive machines.
Jonathan Stewart:Oh, how exciting!!!
Jonathan Stewart:Now all of the work I do with my clients and in my programs and courses
Jonathan Stewart:is based around starting from you.
Jonathan Stewart:The individual, because we all work slightly differently and it's
Jonathan Stewart:important to trust ourselves when it comes to things about ourselves.
Jonathan Stewart:And in this particular case, whenever I am noticing procrastination and
Jonathan Stewart:I don't notice it all the time, I tend to ask the question why!
Jonathan Stewart:You see, I don't view procrastination as a quote unquote failure on
Jonathan Stewart:my part or something that I just need to grow out of or fix with
Jonathan Stewart:a deliciously complicated system designed by a hyper nerd like myself.
Jonathan Stewart:Although I have in the past, tried to build one, which guess what
Jonathan Stewart:was a form of procrastination!
Jonathan Stewart:No, I treat procrastination like a road sign...
Jonathan Stewart:it's mundane, boring, sometimes has a bit of graffiti all over it, obscuring
Jonathan Stewart:the direction, but it is a sign!
Jonathan Stewart:Procrastination is trying to tell you that something isn't quite working or
Jonathan Stewart:is stopping you from moving forward?
Jonathan Stewart:Now for me, it falls into three main camps.
Jonathan Stewart:One fear of getting it wrong.
Jonathan Stewart:aka, perfectionism.
Jonathan Stewart:Overwhelm.
Jonathan Stewart:This can be not sure where to even begin or something else entirely or finally.
Jonathan Stewart:And this is the fun one.
Jonathan Stewart:It's not drawing my attention.
Jonathan Stewart:I'm bored!
Jonathan Stewart:Now a sign isn't a solution it's pointing me somewhere.
Jonathan Stewart:I can then make a decision from there.
Jonathan Stewart:And that's what it is.
Jonathan Stewart:Now, I often know which one of these three it is.
Jonathan Stewart:I don't often like it, but it is one of those three above.
Jonathan Stewart:If I'm not sure, which can happen sometimes, I default to overwhelm
Jonathan Stewart:because if I can't figure out what's wrong, it's because I'm already
Jonathan Stewart:freaking overwhelmed to think about how my emotions are right now.
Jonathan Stewart:Thank you very much.
Jonathan Stewart:Once I have the information from the sign.
Jonathan Stewart:I thank it, sometimes swear at it and take steps to move forward
Jonathan Stewart:And sometimes that actually means just stopping and not continuing and putting
Jonathan Stewart:it somewhere so that when I'm less overwhelmed I'm able to overcome the
Jonathan Stewart:perfectionism moments that I am having.
Jonathan Stewart:I can return later!
Jonathan Stewart:We are bombarded by hundreds and thousands of pieces of productivity
Jonathan Stewart:and business advice every day.
Jonathan Stewart:And that often means we take in advice that doesn't really fit us.
Jonathan Stewart:Similar to the procrastination is bad.
Jonathan Stewart:Just get on with it.
Jonathan Stewart:Sometimes things that procrastination or just signs that are designed to
Jonathan Stewart:actually help and tell us something, not hinder us, no matter how annoying
Jonathan Stewart:it really can feel sometimes.
Jonathan Stewart:Instead of starting from common cookie cutter advice that doesn't really take
Jonathan Stewart:in any of the nuances of how you work.
Jonathan Stewart:Start from you.
Jonathan Stewart:I don't want to go it alone.
Jonathan Stewart:Reach out to me at simplicity.
Jonathan Stewart:Dash specialist.com.