Let's work on discovering why you procrastinate and use a tool to help you defeat it.
To begin with,
Find a quiet,
Comfortable spot to get cozy and settled in.
And take a moment to allow yourself to get comfortable where you are.
Move around until you feel just right.
And now it's time to relax.
Go ahead and close your eyes and be present with yourself.
Very well.
Begin by focusing on your breath.
Notice how gentle it flows in and out of your lungs and your body.
Flows in and out.
In.
.
.
Out.
Now,
Take in a nice big deep breath.
And as you release it,
Imagine the tension beginning to leave your body.
Any stress that you're under is just leaving your body as you exhale.
And calmness and peacefulness are setting in.
With each breath,
Your body is relaxing more and more.
And you're becoming more in the present moment.
Breathing in,
Exhaling out.
In.
.
.
And out.
In.
.
.
And out.
Very well.
Now,
Just to practice,
I want you to think of something that brings you great joy.
Take a moment and bring that memory to your mind.
And notice where you feel that joy in your body.
Practice describing that joy to me.
Just do it silently in your mind.
Pretend I'm there with you and I can hear you.
Very well.
It's amazing how our bodies communicate with us.
And now you're feeling stuck and unsure how to move forward.
All of this procrastination is beginning to feel frustrating.
And it's keeping you from completing things in the way you'd like to.
Procrastination can feel like something is wrong with you when really,
Procrastination is a way for your brain to protect you and means that your brain is working well.
And now you need to find the point you detour from your goal or accomplishing your task that you had intended to complete.
What we do know is that you have completed tasks before,
Even when you did procrastinate.
Perhaps you continued to put it off until the last minute or you found a way to overcome internal resistance.
I want you to now find this time in your memory.
Find the time when you wanted to do something but you waited to do it.
You procrastinated.
However,
You did end up finishing this.
You completed this task.
So notice the picture that comes up for you and the feelings you have when you see this image.
Very well.
Now I'd like you to keep going back to before until you arrive at the place where you started when it came to doing this thing,
This task that you know you procrastinated at.
However,
You did complete.
Go back to before,
Back to when you were motivated to do this thing and your intention was to do this task even if it was something you didn't enjoy doing but you knew you had to.
It was the responsible thing to do.
So you did it.
There was a point when you said to yourself,
I'm going to do that now.
I want you to find that point in your memory.
Take yourself to that moment and notice what do you see and what feelings does that image bring up for you?
Now move yourself forward and explore what came up for you that fed the procrastination.
Was it a distraction or something you said to yourself?
Begin to notice what came up for you.
Was it a distraction or something you said to yourself?
Begin to notice the images,
Sounds and feelings that you experienced.
When you get to the image where you begin to procrastinate,
The start of the procrastination,
Slow that image down.
Slow it way,
Way down.
Make it slow motion.
Watch your images again as a movie from the moment you intended to do the task to the time you put it off.
Now find the image of the moment you tell yourself.
Not now.
I don't want to do it now.
Explore what is happening in that moment.
What do you see,
Feel,
Hear?
You're doing very well.
Now because this is a task you did eventually complete,
I want you to look for the moment you see yourself beginning to do the task.
Continue in slow motion.
What do you see,
Feel,
Hear that moved you towards taking action?
What do you hear yourself say to yourself?
Notice how you feel when you watch the image of you beginning to complete the task.
How do you feel when the task is completed?
And where does that feeling come up for you in your body?
Notice what you say to yourself when you're done.
And is this something you want to continue to say and feel?
If so,
How can you add it into your days moving forward whenever a task comes up that you need to or want to complete?
Very well.
Now let's take a moment to focus on something you're currently procrastinating on.
Find that task that you want to complete,
You intended to complete,
However you're currently procrastinating on it.
You want to follow through with what you had intended to do.
Let's support that now.
I want you to begin with by making an image of yourself doing your favorite thing.
Now this thing is something you do all by yourself.
It's something that really brightens your day and gives you so much joy.
Your favorite activity.
Now remember what it's like to do this and think about how much you'll enjoy doing this again and place yourself in that image.
Now really feel what it's like to enjoy that activity.
Imagine you're doing that activity now and you can feel how good it feels and notice in your body where this joy is communicating with you.
Let it grow,
Take it all in,
Feel how good it feels when you do this activity.
Now once you have this image,
Put it out in front of you.
Very well.
Now between that image of you doing your favorite activity and you,
Put a picture of the task you've been putting off.
Now right in the center of that picture of the task,
Make a little pinhole so you can see your favorite activity.
Make a little pinhole so you can see your favorite thing that's behind the task.
Notice how that picture is brighter and you can see through it.
Make the pin hole bigger so you can see your favorite thing.
Continue opening the pinhole until you get the feeling of your favorite thing.
Once you have the feeling of your favorite thing,
Your favorite activity,
Start to close the pinhole.
If the awesome feeling starts to go away,
Open back up the pinhole until you can really feel the good feelings of your favorite thing.
Once your good feelings get really strong,
Close the pinhole.
Continue to do this until your really good feeling stays with you even when you completely close the pinhole.
Take some time and do this now.
Very well.
Now take a moment and pay attention how do you feel about doing that task now.
Do you feel better about it?
Are you more likely to do it?
If not,
Do this process again.
If so,
Congratulations.
I want you to go ahead and return to your breath and as you return to your breath,
Take a moment and honor yourself for the work that you just did and the honesty you gave yourself.
You did a wonderful job and continue to breathe for a moment just following your breath as it comes in and goes out.
Knowing and reminding yourself that you are capable of great things,
You are capable of small things,
You are capable and ready and willing to complete the tasks you intend to do.
That procrastination doesn't have to continue to be a part of you.
Procrastination is something that you can overcome,
That you find ways of motivating yourself and completing the tasks that you want to do or need to do.
You follow through with what you say you'll do and this feels good and then you have time for your favorite activities and this feels even better.
This process is here for you whenever you need it and in the meantime,
Enjoy your journey of completing your tasks.
