Hello,
Thank you so much for clicking on this video with me.
I'm Mark Rowland and this is just.
.
.
A short video on some of my thoughts around the topic of procrastination.
Procrastination.
Gets talked about doesn't it?
As though.
.
.
It's somehow kind of a character flaw.
We call ourselves lazy,
We tell ourselves we.
.
.
Need more discipline and we get super frustrated because We know what needs doing and yet somehow we still don't do it.
But procrastination I think usually isn't just about laziness.
Because very often.
.
.
It's also a lot about feeling uncomfortable about discomfort There's something about the task that we don't want to feel.
It might feel boring,
Overwhelming.
Or maybe really confusing and difficult for us.
We might be worried that we won't do it well enough.
Sometimes a task feels.
.
.
Just too big and our brain looks for something easier.
And more manageable and rewarding instead.
So we pull our phones out and start scrolling or Maybe make another.
Cup of tea or coffee that we don't really want.
Or perhaps suddenly decide that now would be the most perfect moment to sort out our junk drawer in the kitchen that we haven't even opened up in the past year.
And then comes the second problem.
We really start beating ourselves up for procrastinating.
And now we haven't only got the original task to deal with,
We've also added another layer,
One of guilt,
Frustration and self-criticism on top of everything else.
And that really rarely makes anybody feel more motivated.
In fact,
It usually makes the task feel even more heavy.
I think a much better place to begin is one of curiosity.
Instead of asking.
What is wrong with me?
Maybe try to ask yourself what is making this difficult to start right now.
And I think that question can shift perspectives quite a lot.
If the task feels enormous,
Maybe it can make it feel smaller again.
Don't tell yourself you have to finish the whole thing at once just Decide.
What the first tiny action is like maybe just open up the document maybe write down the first sentence in a journal.
Simply maybe if you want to go outside,
Put some shoes on first,
You know.
Send the first email.
You see often the hardest part of a task is crossing that little gap between thinking about doing it and actually beginning to do it.
You can also give your permission to do something just for a two or three minutes.
Maybe five minutes actually.
Five minutes feels manageable to most of us I think.
And once you begin.
Something interesting often happens then.
The resistance starts to drop and the task becomes real like it's happening rather than something sitting in your mind growing larger and larger.
And then if you decide to stop after five minutes.
.
.
That still counts,
Doesn't it?
You started and that really does matter.
It can also help to remove some of the friction that may be around you like put your phone somewhere else or close the tabs that you don't need on your laptop.
So get the things you need ready before you begin.
Remember you're not trying to become a perfectly disciplined person.
You're just trying simply to make it easier for your brain to do the thing that you would really like to do.
And when procrastination happens again,
Because.
.
.
Spoiler alert it will definitely happen again.
Try not to turn it into evidence about who you are.
Because you're a human being avoiding discomfort and that's perfectly normal and natural.
Just understand a little bit what's underneath it.
And then make the next action.
Small enough.
That you can begin.
Anyway that's just a few of my thoughts on procrastination but if this is something you'd like to explore maybe a bit more deeply I've also got a free day audio course here on Insight Timer I think it's called procrastination with compassion if you would like to search for it and in that course I go a little bit further into why procrastination can become a form of self-protection.
How fear and overwhelm can sit underneath avoidance and how mindfulness can help.
Help us respond with more understanding instead of criticism.
So if this short talk on procrastination resonated with you.
.
.
You might like to check that out or not absolutely no pressure to Just for now,
Remember this.
You don't have to feel completely ready.
You just need.
To give yourself a place to start.
Have a beautiful rest of your day.
Go in peace.
Namaste.
