Hi,
My name is Angela and this is a guided practice to help you when you're in a procrastination paralysis or feeling stuck with taking action on something.
You might apply this exercise to any small task in which you're feeling stuck,
Whether it's writing,
Doing the dishes,
Cleaning your room,
Maybe doing a project,
Whatever it is,
We'll start with a gentle meditation and then conclude with practical application to create some momentum for you.
Find a comfortable place to sit.
If possible,
Please have the items that you'll need nearby.
Whether it's maybe your laptop,
A notepad and pen,
Or sitting near the area that you need to clean or organize or do the task.
If accessing these items or getting to that place is part of your procrastination,
That's completely understandable and very common,
So no need to worry about that.
You can just sit where you are and follow this guided practice.
You might pause the recording here for a moment if you need to get your items to set up.
Close your eyes and take a breath and concentrate on being present.
And slowly exhale the tension,
Worry and self-judgment.
Take another deep breath in,
Breathing in concentration and being present,
Holding it for a moment and exhaling tension,
Worry,
Judgment.
Once more,
Breathing in concentration and being present.
And slowly exhale tension,
Worry and judgment.
Bring to mind the task that you've been avoiding.
Notice any feelings that come up,
Just having that in your mind.
Maybe it's frustration,
Overwhelm,
Resistance,
Self-judgment,
Anxiety.
Whatever the feelings are,
Instead of pushing them away,
Simply acknowledge them.
Just notice them.
Name the feelings in your mind.
See those words as if they're moving across a ticker tape or a screen and then disappearing off the edge of the screen.
Observe the feeling and see it rather than being consumed by it.
Now notice your thoughts as you think about doing the task.
Whether it's self-judgment,
Self-defeating thinking,
Maybe it's punitive,
Disappointment.
Whatever it is,
Observe the thought.
Notice the thought and see it as a thought rather than being consumed by it.
Name that thought in your mind.
See those words again as if they're moving across a ticker tape or a TV screen and then disappearing off the edge of the screen.
Notice where you carry these feelings and these thoughts in your body.
Breathe into that specific feeling in that part of your body and consciously exhale out that feeling on your out-breath.
Now breathe into that specific thought in that part of your body and consciously exhale out that thought on your out-breath.
Take in these messages on every in-breath.
I don't have to do it perfectly.
I can even start by purposefully doing it imperfectly.
I don't have to do everything.
I only need to do one small thing,
One small action.
For this exercise we will turn away from the macro,
Big picture perspective and instead I'm shifting your attention to the micro,
Immediate perspective,
This very moment and looking at the very next step you will take.
Turn your awareness to the very first step in your mind's eye,
The smallest possible action you can take on the task at hand.
Really envision yourself doing it.
It can be turning on your laptop,
Opening up a document,
Writing one word,
Turning on the faucet,
Opening one cabinet or one drawer.
Whatever it is,
Envision that one small action step.
I will help you create an association with the countdown and the action step.
Counting with me in your mind 5,
4,
3,
2,
1 and envision yourself taking the one small action.
Again,
Counting with me in your mind 5,
4,
3,
2,
1 and imagine yourself taking this action and doing it with ease.
Counting with me in your mind 5,
4,
3,
2,
1 and imagine yourself taking this action and this time making a mistake,
Not judging yourself,
Giving yourself permission to try again.
And counting again 5,
4,
3,
2,
1 doing the very small action.
Again 5,
4,
3,
2,
1 imagine yourself taking the action and doing it with ease.
Once more 5,
4,
3,
2,
1 imagine yourself taking this action and making a mistake,
Not judging yourself but trying again and doing the very small action.
Take a deep breath in and exhale out.
Slowly open your eyes,
Take a moment to get grounded,
Feeling your body against the surface beneath you and looking around at your surroundings.
Take another deep breath in and exhale out.
Bring your attention to the visual you had a moment ago and count to yourself or aloud 5,
4,
3,
2,
1 and picture and imagine yourself taking that one small action even if it's not perfect or done correctly.
Very good,
You've already begun building momentum,
Now it's time to practice.
No more thinking,
Let the meditation flow into action,
Just count and take the first small action step.
5,
4,
3,
2,
1 and take that first small step right now.
Go ahead and type one word,
Let your fingers press against the keys or type one letter or open one drawer,
Let your hand reach and pull on the handle or turn on the faucet.
Very good,
Take one small action towards your task.
Very good,
Try once more,
5,
4,
3,
2,
1 and that small step,
Take that right now.
Type one word or another word,
Open one drawer or put one thing in the trash or turn on the faucet,
Whatever it is,
Take that one small action step.
Very good.
We're now going to practice another way with a timer.
Go to your app on your phone or if you have a kitchen timer or another way to set a timer.
You can keep this meditation going but you'll set your timer for one minute,
Don't start it just yet.
When I say start your timer now,
Again you'll keep this meditation going,
You'll press start on your timer and you'll take that one small action step,
It's for one minute and you can just do that step only and let the timer run out or if you're inclined you can do one more small action within that minute.
Take a deep breath in and out,
Ready?
Start your timer now and I'm doing the same on my end for one minute.
Go ahead and take that one small action step.
Right now type that one word or another word or open one drawer or put one thing in the trash or turn on that faucet.
One small action.
Remember you can just do that one step only and let the timer run out or if you're inclined do one small action.
Okay our minute's up.
You've already begun.
I'm so proud of you.
Keep going.
You got this.
Know that you can come back to this space anytime and as much as you need to help build your momentum when you're stuck in that procrastination paralysis.
I'd love to know how you did.
You can always add a note when you review my meditations.
Thank you so much for listening.
I'm so grateful.
