5, 4, 3, 2, 1…
Something that I struggle with from time to time is procrastination.
No, I’m not lazy, although sometimes my brain likes to tell itself that when I start moving into procrastination territory. I’m actually super self-motivated, but when it comes to getting into a new routine or I’m doing something really challenging, I tend to have procrastination and perfectionism tendencies. Believe it or not these can go hand in hand.
What is procrastination reallllly?
Overthinking that creates action-paralysis.
Overwhelm that makes getting started feel like an insurmountable task.
Perfectionism. Might sound something like…”whatever I’m doing needs to be GREAT even if it’s my first time doing it, or I’m doing something challenging.”
Here are some ways I move myself from procrastination mode and into action:
Interrupt the thinking that’s leading to procrastination using Mel Robbins’ 5-Second Rule. When I find myself putting something off, I count backwards from 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and I start doing the thing I need to do immediately. Counting backwards across a 5 second window interrupts your overthinking brain that’s giving you reasons not to start. Things like “I feel tired, I’m not ready, I’ll suck, I don’t know what I’m doing” and helps move you into action before your brain can stop you.
Brain-dump the things you’re overthinking about on paper. This helps create space in your brain, allowing more room for the things you actually need to do. I like to break these into different categories:
Monthly to-dos
Weekly to-dos
Things that are worrying me
Things to look up later
Taking good care of myself. When I’m tired, I procrastinate. When I haven’t exercised I’m antsy and thus procrastinate. When I’m not eating nutritious foods I never feel my best (enter procrastination).
If none of the points above help, your procrastination might be a sign your brain needs some space and time to think about what it needs to do next. Take a walk in silence or with music, but ideally NOT while consuming new info. Your brain most likely has the info it needs to figure out what to do next, or to find the resources that will allow you to make a move. Sometimes it just needs a little O2, a little change of scenery or time to actually think without distraction or new inputs (social media/tv etc).
What’s important to you either in your personal or professional life that you’re not doing? Can you take ONE step towards that thing today?
Sometimes it’s the simplest things that have the greatest impact.
