What’s bugging you right now? Quick. Five things. Ready… go.

My bet would be that at least 3 of the things on your list are things you can actually control. My bet would be these things are on your to-do list and that they have been on that list for quite some time. When things are on our to-do list and we put off doing them until later, we call it procrastination.

Once we start procrastinating, some of us begin to say nasty things to ourselves subconsciously about our procrastination. As we beat ourselves up for not getting things done, we pound on our self esteem. As our self esteem takes a dive, we feel less motivated to do what is on our lists, and we further procrastinate. It can become a vicious cycle.

Most of us procrastinate at one time or another. Right now, at this very moment, I’m procrastinating writing my book proposal. I’m procrastinating by writing this blog post.  But by writing this blog post I am (hopefully!) building my platform which will make me (hopefully!) more attractive to publishers and agents. So I’m justifying this particular procrastination by promising to myself and to you that: I will start on my book proposal as soon as I publish this post. And I promise I’ll take my own advice!!

Why do we engage in procrastination?

Usually there are only a few reasons we procrastinate.

• We feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start.
• We are avoiding something we fear might be unpleasant. Anyone else avoiding trimming the plants and bushes around their homes?
• We feel inferior and our ego is playing tricks on us.
• We fear success. Marianne Williamson said it best in her book “ˆReturn to Love”.
  • “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

How can we overcome procrastination?

• Deal with overwhelm by setting a timer. You know the adage “How do you eat a bicycle? One bite at a time.”? Break your big job into small pieces. Set a timer for what feels like an acceptable amount of time. Since you know that there is a hard ending to the amount of time you’ll spend, you can dive into your task completely. Turn off distractions and focus only on your task until your timer goes off. You’ll find you feel proud of yourself for doing your task even for 20 minutes! This helps combat the nasty self talk. Speaking of which…

• Think and say only kind things to and about yourself. Recognize that procrastination is a human experience that most people have engaged in at one time or another. Be wiling to forgive yourself and just get to work.

• Ignore your ego. My ego is in full swing at the moment: reminding me I need more “likes” on my Facebook page and more people signed up for my newsletter. If you are so inclined, maybe you can help me out with that one here and like my page. Facebook.com/brendawinkle.inspiration.coach. Here’s what I’m going to do about my ego. Ignore it and realize it’s only fear talking.
  • We each have a gift to give to this planet. Whatever it is that you have in your heart to do may have been done before by someone else, but it’s never been done by you. And we need YOU. Our planet needs you. 
  • Trust that because our universe needs you, that as long as what you dream of doing is for the greater good, you’ll be supported and witness miraculous things coming in to help you. The right people will cross your path. The right opportunity will jump out at you. You’ll be led to every experience and resource you need.
• Use the 3D system. Is this a job that has to be done by you? If yes, see above. If no… consider the 3D-system. What’s the best option?
  • Do it. As long as you believe it needs to be done and you won’t ruin your day by doing it. For me, I like doing dishes so I’m happy to take that task on my do-it list. Floors on the other hand? I haven’t mopped my own floors more than twice in the past 10 years. Ok, maybe three times.
  • Delegate it. Hire someone else. Re-assign household chores
  • Dump it. Some things just aren’t necessary and you can temporarily or permanently remove them from your list. Organizing your movies by alphabetical sequence may not bring you joy or really help your household run more smoothly. So give yourself permission to dump that task!

Would you like more support?

I am now accepting spiritual life coaching clients. During your coaching session, I use the ThetaHealing® Meditation Technique to help remove anything that is blocking you from achieving your goals. For availability visit this link. For more information about the ThetaHealing® Meditation Technique please visit my information page here or www.thetahealing.com.

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All my love,

Brenda