I caught myself procrastinating the other day.
Here’s how I knew I was procrastinating and what I did about it.
Since, I decide ahead of time the work I am going to do it helps me to see that I am procrastinating.
Instead of doing the work I had scheduled I was:
Making tea ☕️
Eating food 🍪
Going on linkedin 💻
Checking my email ✉️
This all seems pretty benign, but these are all procrastination flags for me.
So I got curious and I asked – what am I thinking about the work I am supposed to be doing and I wrote it down:
💭 It is boring.
💭I don’t want to do it.
💭why [oh why?] do I have to do this work?
💭It’s such a waste of my time.
💭Let’s not do this anymore.
Then, I said to myself – WHOH. Hold on love.
We know this victim road, is it the one we want to travel today?
I asked myself, how do those thoughts make me feel?
Bored, helpless, out of control.
And from here, when I am feeling bored and helpless I don’t do the work.
I don’t take action. I don’t get it done and move on.
Is that what I want?
No. I want to get it done and move on.
So, I took a deep breath and slowed things down.
I said to myself,
Ok – I am in control here. How do I want to think about this work?
This work is easy for me. It’s valuable to others. I am contributing.
Can I believe that? Yes. I can see that and believe that.
And when I believe that, I feel calm, useful, that I am contributing.
What happened next?
I took action to complete the 3 tasks in less than an hour.
And the result I created was a valuable contribution that was easy for me.
It might seem like magic, but it’s not.
It’s self-coaching.
It’s clearing the way for what you want, with your mind.
I created getting it done by managing my mind.
Managing your mind means getting your work done, even when you don’t want to, so it doesn’t flow into your evenings and weekends and you don’t end up overworking.
This is a place you do have control.
Here’s how to start – When you notice that you are procrastinating:
1) Write down your thoughts and feelings
2) Is this how I want to think and feel about it? yes/no.
3) If no, how do I want to feel about it?
4) What would I need to think to feel that way about it?
5) Practice that thought and track your actions and results.
There will always be work that we are avoiding. I am living my dream and I have work that I avoid.
Learning how to manage your mind to stop avoiding work will help you to stop overworking.
Is this work you are doing? Do you see yourself procrastinating? How do you currently manage it? What’s working for you? I’d love to hear in the comments.
And, if you want to learn how to manage your mind to stop overworking, email me at support@melissaeanders.com me and let’s connect to find out more about what’s happening for you and if the work I do with my clients is a good fit for you.
ps – did you know that procrastinating can be a sign of overworking? Seems ironic, but also feels true, right?
Melissa E Anders 