Part One – Procrastination – Stomping Out this Demon Within
Welcome back!
Procrastination – this can be the deadliest of enemies. It will take your spirit, haunt your mind, wear you down and throw you out. But, there is a definite good side to procrastination, and that is that it can be overcome!
Starting any task can be daunting. And to take on a task such as breaking your procrastinating nature is not an easy one. But if taken in small bites, you can do it and overcome anything.
Setting to the first task in beating procrastination might be the easiest one: making time. Whether it be on the subway ride going home, waiting for your children at soccer practice, or enjoying your morning latté, you can start this process. It can take as little as five minutes or as long as you’d like.
Let’s identify what is making you procrastinate. Is it:
- Lack of time
- It seems too overwhelming
- It carries some baggage from the past
- You don’t know how
- You can’t afford it
These are all valid reasons, but first lets take them one by one and break each down, so it can be managed.
- Lack of time
- You would be surprised where you can catch a few moments. Besides the ones mentioned above, here are a few more
- Waiting in the doctors’ office
- Getting up just a few minutes earlier
- While you’re on hold with that place that keeps you in “hold nirvana”
- While you are carpooling
- Break it down into the smallest of chunks
- Have a friend or loved one help you with it: there’s nothing like doing a task with someone that you care about to make it go faster and easier
- Locate support groups online or locally that can lend help and positive reinforcement
- This may be one of the most difficult to overcome
- Identify why you’ve held onto it, realize that it no longer holds any control over you, you no longer need to carry it, and let it go
- Get professional help if necessary
- Go to the library and get DIY books
- Find an expert local in your area and pick their brain
- Find an online forum and ask, ask, ask! I have learned a good volume of the information that I have from online resources. They are usable on your time schedule and can create a feeling of comradery and support
- Find free ways to accomplish or get what you need
- Barter your talents
- Locate your local freecycle group and post for what you need. There are freecycle groups in most areas
- Dollar stores are a treasure trove of everything from the mundane to the sublime
- Used stores: consignment shops, Goodwill, Salvation Army or St. Vincent de Paul
If you make a concerted effort, you can find the reasons why you are procrastinating, list them, and overcome them one by one. Will this be a quick and easy process? Maybe….but if not, keep reminding yourself that you deserve to take care of things in your life, have a clean mind, and live life free of worries such as these. I have no doubt that you can do it.
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