Did You Know This About Procrastination

Dawn Damon 0:07

Hey beautiful women. This is Dawn Damon, the Brave Heart mentor and you're listening to the brave hearted woman. This is a podcast designed to help you find your brave so you can live out your beautiful vision. I have been working with women for years. And now I want to help you too. I'm here to awaken the brave heart inside of you so you can ignite the flame of your vision. You can reach your goals and achieve your dreams. Come on. Let's get brave

Hey there beautiful, Braveheart. It's great to be with you again today. Alright, you ready for this? Stop procrastinating? There you go. There's your kick in the rear for today. You can feel the love, right? I thought so that I want to push you I want to push me. And I want to ask you what are you putting off that you should be giving your time to that you should be giving your attention to that's just all too common. Many of us, myself included. We have a pile of unfinished things to do books. We want to read blogs. We want to write cards, we want to send calls we need to return. And what about the list of errands we need to run in the projects we want to get done? Are you depressed yet? Yeah, I know me too. But we choose not to be depressed. Instead, we choose to be motivated, right? Let's not feel bad. But those things that are never far away from our thinking will continue to remain in our brain till we do something about it. We may push them back into the recesses of our mind. But just kind of like an unkempt, cluttered closet, the avalanche of stuff remains and it's ready to cascade over us whenever we open that door. Our minds never find rest. When the mental list of our unfinished items roll around like an unending tide. It's brain clutter. And it's because of procrastination. Procrastination. Let me say it again. Procrastination is the act of unnecessarily, unnecessarily delaying or postponing decisions or actions. In a word, it's avoidance. Now, procrastination can be a minor issue for you, you know, it's just hurting you and your productivity. I don't even know if that's minor, but it can be a small thing stall you from time to time, or it can be a major issue. And it's preventing you from achieving your goals and impacting your work. Your procrastination could be negatively impacting relationships, and ultimately sabotaging your success. Procrastination is a disrupter to you, and you really need to overcome it. We need to learn how strategies and recognize when procrastination is at work in your life. Some researchers define procrastination as a form of self regulation failure. In other words, you should be able to regulate your time, your ability to motivate yourself to get yourself going, and the discipline that it takes to force yourself to do the things you don't like to do. But when you fail to do that you have failed in self regulation. And that's characterized often by inner irrational delay of tasks, despite the potential negative consequences on your life. So procrastination can look different on different people. So let's just talk about this for a minute. Because you might not know or recognize procrastination in your life. So first of all, there's the perfectionist, and the perfectionist puts off tasks out of fear of not being able to complete a task perfectly. So oftentimes, they get paralyzed installed before they even get started. Because they fear if they can't do it perfect. They don't want to do it at all. We have a saying that just says Done is better than perfect. Progress is better than perfection. And I'm certainly not suggesting sloppy work, but I am suggesting that if you're a procrastinator, and you also are perfectionist, those things can go hand in hand and really stall you, delay you and even just prohibit you from making any good progress at all. So just get in started, then there's the dreamer. And they put off tasks because they're not good at paying attention to detail. And so it's, I'm gonna, and someday and I want to, and I think about it, and I dream about it, and I didn't get around to it yet, but I'm gonna, and eventually I'm gonna buy a calendar and put it on my calendar or put it on my to do list. And on that can go. And so the dreamer really needs to learn some discipline, and some self control and self regulation, and say, okay, here are some ways that I can add bumper guards to my life, kind of forced me to do what I say I'm going to do. We'll get into that in just a minute. Oh, I struggle from this next one, I'm going to be honest with you all shiny object syndrome. Perhaps a simple distraction here and there. But potentially someone with ADHD may be, but there's always so much to do. And there's so much creative ideas, and there's so many shiny objects out there and so many great opportunities, and we end up running after everything, and we get nothing done. That's a form of procrastination, because we get bored and you don't want to just focus in on one thing. But when you focus in on one thing, you get it done. And then you can go on to the next one. And what about the person who doesn't believe someone else should dictate their time schedule. So this is kind of the defier. This is a form of procrastination, the one that says I'm not going to let you tell me what to do. And so they drag their feet intentionally procrastinating and putting something off, because after all, you're not the boss of me. Yeah, we know people like that. What about the worrier? That's another form of procrastination. They put off tasks out of fear of change, or leaving the comfort zone of the known. So the warrior doesn't make changes or do things because what if I'm uncomfortable? What if something happens? What if I can't control everything? I think the worrier has some control issues. I've also met the crisis maker, this form of procrastination, they put off tasks because they like working under pressure. So it's they work from one crisis to the next. And they wait till the very last moment. And then that pressure actually is what forces them. And I want to tell you, I'm going to give you a

what do they call it a spoiler alert. Yeah, procrastination. Guess what? It is a habit. And as as a habit, you can undo it, we're going to talk about that the overdoing this is another form of procrastination, they take on too much. And they struggle with finding the time to start something or complete a task. You know, anyone can get something started. But can you finish? And so if you're procrastinating, take a look and say, Have I taken on too much? And am I struggling with finding the time to complete this? And then lastly, there's the over their head, you procrastinate, because it's just too much. You don't know what to do? You bit off more than you can chew. And now you're concerned about, hey, what do I do? How do I, how do I start this thing? I'm stalled because I really don't know what to do. And so I'm avoided it. Alright, so as I said a minute ago, procrastination really is a habit. It's not who you are, but it is what you do. It's how you handle stress. And the good news is, is that if procrastination is a habit, and it is, then you can break it, and you can learn a new, better habit, one that serves you well and helps you reach your goal. You know, I like to suggest books to you because I believe that readers are successful people. And so Mel Robbins, the author of the five second rule, she says that procrastination is a habit of avoiding work isn't your problem. Stress is your problem doing the do that's not your problem. It's how you're handling the stress of what you're facing. And I talk about this also in the freedom challenge in my book, and I talk about being set free from procrastination because it's a form of fear. And worry, we just talked about that. But procrastination can have serious effects on your life. You don't without researchers have also shown us that procrastination can bring to you higher levels of stress, which brings illness and lowers your immune system. You increase the burden that you place on social relationships. People get mad at you all the time. Because you're procrastinating, you're not coming through, you're not delivering on deadlines, or resentment from friends and family, co workers, fellow students, worst of all, maybe your spouse, and it's become a point of contention, because you procrastinate. Or what about the consequences again, of missed deadlines, delinquent bills, you're not paying bills on time, the classic procrastinator who has to file income tax returns late every year, or asked for that extension, because you just didn't get around to it. Well, let me help you. With that. Let's see if I can empower you today with some tips. All right. So the first thing that I want to offer you is to say organize your space,

you need to get the clutter gone. So we all know that your space, if it is unorganized, even if you've ever looked at someone's desk, and it's super messy, and they say yeah, but I know where everything is. I've said that before. And it's probably true. But the clutter actually keeps your brain it's like having too many tabs open on your computer, it just slows you down. So organize your space. Take care of the cluttered deal with a piece of paper one time, don't put it in a pile and say I'm going to deal with it later, file it, throw it away, take care of it. So you can have a clean space and organized space. And you'll find that you'll just feel a level of peace that you've not known before. Secondly, I want to talk to you about clarity be clear on your top three priorities. And I would really recommend no more than three priorities. Because if you work on too many things, once again, that will stall you you don't know what to work on. First, you don't know where to start, you don't know which project what to do. And you end up getting overload on decision making. You can only make so many decisions in a day. That's why you'll see a lot of successful people. They just wear the same outfit every day, the same black T shirt, like Steve Jobs, and many others who have followed him a same T shirt, the same pair of jeans because it's one less decision. And you get decision overload. So you need to be really clear on your top three priorities, what is it that you want to work on? And what is it that you want to accomplish, and then keep this list in front of you. Keep it as your friend. And notice every day how much you are getting done, if you will make some intentional time. And just give yourself an intentional investment in the first thing on your priority list. You'll get it done. The third thing I want to offer you is start small, small things if you've got goals on your list that are way too large, break them down. You hear this all the time, I'm sure but it really is true. You need to break them down into small, incremental bite size goals. So that you can actually get something done and then your self esteem will soar. Because you're reaching your goals, you're checking off the boxes, and that feels so much better. Number four, keep your vision so you can make consistently wise decisions. No vision is like a wild horse and you just go all over the place. But this is kind of like the number to stay clear. Keep your vision in front of you and you can overcome indecision five, connect to your future self. I want to talk to you just about this for a moment. In fact, I really want to do a whole show on this because so many people who don't stick to their goals do not have a relationship with their future self. What do I mean by that? Love yourself because one day you will be 50 or 60 or one day you will be standing at that opportunity and you didn't prepare. One day you will look in the mirror or you will stand on the scale or you will hear that doctor report. So make sure that you love your future self right now and do things for her that are powerful and beautiful and loving. Understand that you do have a future you and how good will this feel in the future? How good will you have you ever put something away in the right place and you go out After it again, maybe few months later, and you hope that it's there and you open it up. And there it is put away right where it belongs. And you say to yourself, Oh, I'm so thankful that I took care of this. I do that a lot. I'll open something else say, Oh, I'm so glad I put this away correctly, because here it is, right where I remembered it would be, I was loving my future self. I was take care taking care of me. By connecting to the fact that one day I'm going to be thankful, so love your future self. Number six, remove distractions. If you're procrastinating, then turn off those sources, turn off your phone, turn off the TV, turn off the music, turn off the interruptions, go somewhere quiet, that remove those distractions. And then I just want to give you one more focus on the reward. It's kind of like connecting to your future self COUNT THE COST counted this way. What will I lose? If I don't do this? What kind of life am I giving up? If I don't write this book, or start this business? Or kick this habit? Or finish this? What kind of life? Am I saying no to? What is the cost? So be serious and overcome procrastination? And if you're not sure, then you need to identify what it is that you might be avoiding. And ask yourself why am I avoiding this? Do the five? Why? Question on yourself? What am I avoiding? Why am I avoiding this? Why? What will happen? Why? What am I feeling? Why? What am I afraid of and confront your avoidance, and then notice and manage your emotions. There may be some emotions there that you're running from, that you don't want to face. And so procrastination can be a sign of a deeper problem. So I want you to pay attention to that. But most of all, my friend, I'm talking to you today, because I really want to see you reach your goal. I really want to see you feel good about yourself and accomplish the thing that you keep writing down on your to do list. So I want you to look at that list. And I want you to say am I clear on my top three priorities? Am I clear on what it is that I should be working on? And what it is that I'm really passionate about? Or am I feeling filling my day with a bunch of things that really are not going to bring me to my desired outcome? And I'm just avoiding something that I should really be confronting. Alright, so I hope you'll take that I hope that you'll chew on that for a bit. And I hope that it changes your life. Because you know what, you got too many amazing, awesome things that you need to be doing. And so I want to see you get to it. Alright, that's what I got for you today. This is Don Damon your Braveheart mentor, reminding you find your brave and live your vision

thanks for hanging out with me today and becoming brave. If this has helped you, be sure to share it with someone and subscribe so you never have to miss another episode. For more about me my books, my coaching or online courses, visit Dawn damon.com. And as always be brave and live your vision