The following is a guest post by Amy Knapp.
Image Credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/fangol
Procrastination is a nasty word. Your mother probably accused you of it at some point — your teacher and your partner, as well. What they may not have told you is procrastination is essential for work-life balance. It may be the thing that drives you to make positive changes in your professional life.
We’ve been taught to see procrastination as the ultimate defect in our work life and family life. We put systems in place to try and overcome it: notebooks, calendars, mobile phone alerts, etc., all designed to keep our noses pointed in the right direction. On the books, the laptop, whatever.
Occasionally such tools are helpful, but more often they distract us from making those essential positive changes that need to be made.
It’s easy get to so caught up trying be an uber-productive being and overcome procrastination that you miss the signs your body is trying to tell you. I don’t want to do that task! It makes me cringe. Makes my insides get all cramped up.
That’s procrastination getting you down. What positive changes is your body urging you toward? In other words, what is it about this task that makes you want to crawl back into bed and sleep until sundown?
Rather than jumping onto the task you have been dreading for weeks, sit back and think about it for a second. Why is it not getting done? What is it about this particular to-do that does not sit right with you? Is your body trying to tell you something? What positive changes can you make that might blast that feeling away?
What we often fail to recognize is that procrastination is a big flaming red flag. Something is not right. Maybe the reason you don’t want to open the yellow pages and start cold calling is some part of you knows it’s not the most effective way to get the job done.
Maybe the reason you haven’t got the strength to argue the terms of that contract is that something in your body knows it’s not the right job for you, no matter how much money it pays.
Procrastinators are not lazy and it’s time we stopped labeling them as such.
Start by identifying the tasks you procrastinate most often. Ask yourself those crucial questions. Why do I hate doing this job? Is it necessary? Is there a better way to get the job done? If not, can I outsource this task?
It is unnecessary to overcome your procrastination woes. Somewhere in the world, there is a person who loves to do the jobs you hate. Find that person and collaborate. Assign them the jobs you’ve been sweating over. Use your own time to do the work you truly love.
When you do the work you love, you inject it with your enthusiasm. It becomes infectious. People want to work with you. They want some of what you got.
When you’re sweating bullets and toughing it out at a job you dislike, you’re putting out toxic energy. Suddenly, no one wants to be around you. Your support network collapses because you stink to high heaven of bad energy.
From a place of enthusiasm, you get to see the bigger picture. Big challenges become more manageable. You get a sense of where your work is going. What is its greater purpose?
Speak to yourself kindly, using positive affirmations. Shout them out loud. Outrageously positive statements. “This is the work I love! This work affirms my superpowers!” Take back that soul connection to your work. Tell those negative thoughts about procrastination where to go.
When you can invest yourself completely in the work you are doing, you are rewarded with a deep sense of satisfaction.
You remember what working is all about.
About the Author:
Amy Knapp is a staff writer at InsideTrak, A graduate both music and law, she procrastinates often and with great love for the lessons learned along the way.
