When I wrote “Open the Curtains”, I advised changing three small things if you want change in your life. One of the three things I changed was to write this blog regularly. I have failed; but if I were to dwell on the weeks’ missed then I would beat myself up too much to write any further posts. So, today I am not going to beat myself up. Today I will write you a blog post on procrastination and how to overcome some of the pitfalls.
There are many different reasons why people procrastinate, yet I can only really speak for myself. Recently I procrastinated because I was a tobacco user for around ten years and quit a little over a month ago. There are many physical and mental benefits to quitting tobacco, but quitting is not an endeavor for the faint of heart. I have experienced a litany of symptoms from tingling in my face to breaking out. The longest-lasting, however, has been the difficulty concentrating.
Nicotine was a coping mechanism for many years and the same that my parents used. Quitting nicotine has been the same as quitting any bad habit in that half of the battle is finding another way to cope with life. For a couple of weeks, the only way I could cope was by distraction and, subsequently, my residence is very clean. Things that require an amount of focus (like writing) weren’t going to happen while I was losing my mind to withdrawal symptoms.
Another reason why I, and I’m sure many of you, procrastinate is being overwhelmed by a task. This is something that I will always have to struggle with long after I can blame nicotine withdrawal. First, there is an idea. The excitement about the idea strikes us and we begin to think of all of the things that have to go into it. For me, this always ends in being mentally exhausted by this list of one hundred things that exist only in my head. To combat that, I take the list out of my head and write it on paper. When I start to get the steps on paper, I realize that it is not as daunting as the list in my head made me believe. The nature of keeping lists in our heads means that we ruminate on them and, if you’re like me, then you also tend to forget things on them anyway.
There is also the “I don’t feel like it” reason for procrastination. Mel Robbins did a wonderful TEDxSF talk on procrastination where she points out, “You’re never going to feel like it.” It’s true. Whatever it is that you don’t feel like doing, you will never feel like doing. I don’t feel like writing this post right now. It’s Saturday, my birthday is tomorrow, and I want to play video games. Yet, I do this because at the end of the day, whether this is read or not, I will still feel better about myself knowing that I pushed through and brought this post to whoever needs it today.
So, whatever your reason for procrastinating is, don’t beat yourself up. Be honest with yourself, find a method that motivates you, and do the thing. It is better to be late than never arrive and better to fail than not try. Since the best advice is saved for last, remember that any small victory is still a victory.
Notable mentions:
Mel Robbins- How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over How to stop screwing yourself over | Mel Robbins | TEDxSF – YouTube
“Open The Curtain” https://diaryofafloppingfish.wordpress.com/2022/01/29/open-the-curtains/
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