What Keeps You From Action?
We all have moments - hours, days or weeks - where we are putting something off: a task or a project. It could be making a phone call to someone confronting an issue, starting a project, or doing the last step to finish a project.
Considering what "it" is that gets put off, you first need to give yourself a proper diagnosis - to delve into why you keep putting "it" off - before you can create an action plan around it. Today we'll talk about the diagnosis and tomorrow we'll talk about how to address it.
Typically there are two root emotions that allow procrastination to grow. They are fear and loss.
1. Fear falls into two categories: fear of failure or fear of success. We have these fears for a number of reasons. To name a few:
2. We are worried about what others think.
3. We are overwhelmed and not sure how to manage or prioritize the project - we don't know WHAT to do or where to begin; we don't know HOW to do something; we don't believe we can do it or have something of value to offer; if we succeed more will be expected of us in the future. We are thinking of all of this at once!
4. We plain just don't like the task.
5. You might think "loss" is an odd thing to have on this list. But sometimes you could be putting off finishing a project because you love it so much and don't want it to end. All endings are beginnings and all beginnings are the end of something that came before. You might not want to start a project as it signifies leaving another project team behind or going to a different office building. By putting it off, you don't have to deal with the loss of that project or group.
If you are frustrated with yourself and want to get yourself to action, ask yourself is your procrastination due to one of these reasons? When you answer yes, then you can start brainstorming how to address it. If it is none of the above, then ask yourself: Am I really being honest? Why won't I do this task? Keep asking why until you get to the core emotion or reason. If it's not one of the above, what else is it?