Do you ever feel like there’s so much to do but so little time? Maybe you feel overwhelmed by all of it? OR, perhaps you have a deadline coming up but you just don’t care about the material at hand so you push it off until it’s too late?
If this is you, I hear you! As much as I’d like to think of myself as a planner, I know all too well the feeling of being bored by a topic or overwhelmed by the multitude of assignments on my plate that it stops me in my tracks.
You’d think that if it was the latter, I’d at least try a bit harder but there have been times when I just couldn’t make a decision. And no! I wasn’t pregnant during that time so I couldn’t blame it on pregnancy brain.
So let’s get into it. Let’s talk about procrastination: what is and what are the myths that surround it?
What is Procrastination?
Procrastination, simply put, is the inability to do what you should be doing to meet a specific deadline. In other words, you’re putting things off because it’s more exciting or interesting to do everything else besides what you need to do.
Not to worry though, we ALL procrastinate. Like I mentioned above, I do it too. Procrastination is a human quality so don’t feel bad about it. Join me in owning up to it and know that it’s okay to do so. Notice though, that I’m asking you to own up to it but not continue on this path.
*** Read that last statement again, my friend, because it is so powerful***
Over the next few weeks, we’re going to really delve into this topic. I’m also going to create a free training series for you to help you gain momentum on this journey so that you can tackle last minute projects efficiently and say good-bye to procrastination when it comes you. No, this is not a sexy topic but this is going to help you gain clarity and either complete a project you’ve been working on, an assignment you’re struggling to finish, or create something you’ve always dreamed of.
If you’re a teacher or a parent, I sincerely hope you teach this concept to your children so that they know they are not alone. The following section about the myths will help you understand the reasons why many of us believe we procrastinate.
Myths About Procrastination
1. Laziness: Many of us believe that others don’t complete tasks because they are just plain lazy. When you don’t complete an assignment, do you feel it’s because you’re always lazy? At times, we all get into this rut but for the most part this isn’t true for many of us.
2. Perfectionist: This tends to be called a myth but realistically, this is more of an excuse that we make for ourselves. We tell others that we haven’t completed an assignment because we’re a perfectionist. HOWEVER, are we really a perfectionist if we don’t get our work in on time or do it at the last minute and not hand in our best work possible?
3. Bad Time Management Skills: This is a great excuse to hide behind because we don’t have the ability to create plan and when we do, we overestimate or underestimate how long it will take us to complete the assignment, so we don’t bother with it until the last minute.
4. Lack of Self-Discipline: We tell ourselves that we aren’t good at creating and following through with a plan, so there’s no point in creating one in the first place, so we might as well not bother with it and leave it to the end.
5. Work Well Under Pressure: The adrenalin from completing assignments at the last minute can be a bit of a thrill for some people. However, when we put our work off until the last minute, even if we think we’re doing our best work, we both know that we could have done better had we started earlier. However, between the thrill and combining it with a few of the other myths above, this sounds like the perfect reason to procrastinate.
Final Thoughts
If you notice, I mentioned that those myths are just that- myths- excuses that people label others with or believe about themselves and hide behind them but for most of us, especially if you don’t have a learning disability, they aren’t true.
So now that we’ve admitted that we all procrastinate, we don’t want the above mentioned myths to hold us back. What’s the next next step? If you have something that is almost due or a dream that you wish you had started but you keep putting it on the back burner because of the above myths or other ones, then the video training below is for you.
In this video you’ll learn how to move past the limiting beliefs that are holding you back, create a quick plan, and dive right into your task. IF you’re a parent of teacher, show these videos to your children before a deadline and work on it with them.
Ready to get started? Then click on the image below.
If goal planning is already your jam, then grab your FREE planning journal and enjoy dreaming big and gaining momentum.
While the above roadmap is a great starting point for goal-setting, the following, which is a more comprehensive guide, will go into more depth and will focus on my 6 step goal-setting plan for success.
Your intermediate or middle school aged children can also join in on the fun.
Thank you so much for joining me. I would love to hear about your progress in the comments below.
Take care,
Charlotte
