For me I think my procrastination is tied to me being a perfectionist. I'm not worried about what others will think but I'm afraid of disappointing myself--that I won't live up to my expectations. There's a lot of conditioning to unpack there 😂
I was about to make a similar comment! Same here. Ironically, I mostly do it with personal projects (like writing here on Substack). Not for professional things. Since there, I my fear of disappointing myself is not as strong as disappointing others!
I like the "focus on the forrest". I also feel sometimes that I get overwhelmed by a task and hence put it off longer. But when breaking it down in smaller bite sizes, I am happy to start working on some first branches and suddenly I am in the flow of actually doing the thing I was procrastinating on!
I hear you Fabienne. This totally makes sense! Though I have to admit, this feeling is something I don't often experience 😉 I guess I must have inherited some genes that allow me to breakdown humongous projects to parts/pieces fairly quickly. It's what happens after that - that's where the procrastination happens 😂
Great post! I do find I’ll procrastinate if worried about the outcome. Sometimes my procrastination or not getting to it is an indication that is may not be aligned with my vision or intentions.
I like how you note self-awareness. Many times if I’m procrastinating, I’ll journal about possible reasons why. What excites me about it or what am I reallt excited about.
As a writer, I like to give myself space to let ideas flow. Procrastination? I think creativation!😃
Oooh - your take on this is very much in line with what Adam Grant said in his TED Talk about procrastination and creativity. Like letting seeds of our ideas germinate. I love that. Thank you Janine!
Another great post, Lou. I used to be a chronic procrastinator but not anymore. (or at least, not as much). For me, I think the fix came in just realizing how much stress, anxiety, and suffering I was creating for myself and that the best and only way to deal with it was to simply start. I love Tim Urban's take on this too.
Hi Cathy. You pointed out something that's not often talked about, I think. It's all these negative, bad feelings we end up having because we've procrastinated about something or some area of our lives. And it's all that negative energy that we end up carrying around that it'd so much easier if we'd just started, to your point! Thanks so much for your kind words Cathy (and for recommending WAGO) 🤗
Yes to all of this! With perspective, I see that I historically procrastinated for control. As a people-pleaser with low self esteem and a huge heart, I was always saying yes and doing more. Resentment and procrastination swiftly followed. As you note, self-awareness helps heaps! It's been a long road out of the town of "what can I do for you?" to build fences around my tiny estate of "what can I do for me."
I totally get you Sheila. A good friend of mine is the same way and I frequently hear her "woes" about the things piling up because she said 'Yes" and agreed all too often. I'll have to tell her about you as she hasn't yet been successful in building some fences. Thank you!
For me I think my procrastination is tied to me being a perfectionist. I'm not worried about what others will think but I'm afraid of disappointing myself--that I won't live up to my expectations. There's a lot of conditioning to unpack there 😂
Oooh, I hear you Tania. My urge to procrastinate comes from a very similar place as yours!
I was about to make a similar comment! Same here. Ironically, I mostly do it with personal projects (like writing here on Substack). Not for professional things. Since there, I my fear of disappointing myself is not as strong as disappointing others!
I like the "focus on the forrest". I also feel sometimes that I get overwhelmed by a task and hence put it off longer. But when breaking it down in smaller bite sizes, I am happy to start working on some first branches and suddenly I am in the flow of actually doing the thing I was procrastinating on!
I hear you Fabienne. This totally makes sense! Though I have to admit, this feeling is something I don't often experience 😉 I guess I must have inherited some genes that allow me to breakdown humongous projects to parts/pieces fairly quickly. It's what happens after that - that's where the procrastination happens 😂
Great post! I do find I’ll procrastinate if worried about the outcome. Sometimes my procrastination or not getting to it is an indication that is may not be aligned with my vision or intentions.
I like how you note self-awareness. Many times if I’m procrastinating, I’ll journal about possible reasons why. What excites me about it or what am I reallt excited about.
As a writer, I like to give myself space to let ideas flow. Procrastination? I think creativation!😃
Oooh - your take on this is very much in line with what Adam Grant said in his TED Talk about procrastination and creativity. Like letting seeds of our ideas germinate. I love that. Thank you Janine!
I'll have to watch that!
Another great post, Lou. I used to be a chronic procrastinator but not anymore. (or at least, not as much). For me, I think the fix came in just realizing how much stress, anxiety, and suffering I was creating for myself and that the best and only way to deal with it was to simply start. I love Tim Urban's take on this too.
Hi Cathy. You pointed out something that's not often talked about, I think. It's all these negative, bad feelings we end up having because we've procrastinated about something or some area of our lives. And it's all that negative energy that we end up carrying around that it'd so much easier if we'd just started, to your point! Thanks so much for your kind words Cathy (and for recommending WAGO) 🤗
Yes to all of this! With perspective, I see that I historically procrastinated for control. As a people-pleaser with low self esteem and a huge heart, I was always saying yes and doing more. Resentment and procrastination swiftly followed. As you note, self-awareness helps heaps! It's been a long road out of the town of "what can I do for you?" to build fences around my tiny estate of "what can I do for me."
I totally get you Sheila. A good friend of mine is the same way and I frequently hear her "woes" about the things piling up because she said 'Yes" and agreed all too often. I'll have to tell her about you as she hasn't yet been successful in building some fences. Thank you!
Please do! Change is so possible. Boundaries are our friends. And the grass really is greener - because we removed the weeds. ;)