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Procrastination – Pull My Finger Out Time!
For those of you not familiar with this term, it basically means that I have noticed my procrastination levels are quite high.
Now I am aware I am consciously bringing them into line!
Let Me Explain…
In April 2021, I reached a realisation that teaching in schools on a permanent basis really wasn’t for me… I felt like I needed to keep pushing despite my health and lack of time to do anything for myself. I spent all evenings and most of the weekends marking or planning! While yes I was making a difference for the kids, so would anyone else instead! I couldn’t provide what they needed, so it shouldn’t be on me to drive myself into the ground to try.
Supply work on the other hand I love! Every day is different, no planning, I meet the kids where they are, minimal marking, the kids change every day (or hour!)……….. But that is beside the point!
Long story short I ended up on gardening leave after my senior leadership believed one person over four others and said I wasn’t doing what they told me to do. So I got my union involved and off I went to some therapy and time off. Shortly after I came across a Facebook ad about being my own boss, working my own business and something clicked.
I didn’t have to follow the prescribed path of humans!
Didn’t have to get a good education, a degree (or two!), work a job I didn’t like but needed to pay the bills until I retired then died!
I could have time and financial freedom and off I went down the road to entrepreneurship in June 2021.
So What Now?
Since then I have been a busy bee! I am far from lazy and have been constantly doing ‘things’ in every spare minute around my family and teaching. But I realised that ‘busy’ doesn’t necessarily equate to ‘being on task doing productive, money earning things’. So of course my business isn’t anywhere near where I’d like it to be by now! But that’s on me and my procrastinating… No blame on anyone or anything else!
“Procrastination is the habit of delaying an important task, usually by focusing on less urgent, more enjoyable, and easier activities instead. It is different from laziness, which is the unwillingness to act.
Procrastination can restrict your potential and undermine your career.”
I have lots of pretty creatives, done lots of free courses and tried lots of ideas and approaches!
But haven’t actually contacted that many people or shared many paid for courses or opportunities.
Which is kind of integral when you are running a coaching business!
So Now I Have Noticed My Procrastination What Am I Doing About It?
- I have a morning routine that I am working on getting more efficient with. Get up when I wake up, toilet, meditation, yoga, daily study, write my goal, attend a daily mastermind. Then if still no sign of my little one I get on with my checklist.
- I have a daily check list that MUST be done each day as a minimum. It includes; sending emails to new leads and follow up emails offering content and value, and responding to messages received from potential leads, as well as a few other things.
- I have a more concise Get Done list! This list gives me things to get on with when not sure what I should be doing.
- Spend one evening a week creating and posting social media posts – I use Later.com for my scheduling as it makes life much easier and quicker!! – instead of doing it a bit here and a bit there.
- I have started blogging more frequently – Tues and Friday
- 10 minute tasks when I notice I am procrastinating! So when I notice I am not being productive (scrolling social media, tweaking creatives to the nth degree etc), I get up and do a task that will take no more than 10 minutes and then get back on task.
Don’t Worry Though! Procrastination Is Not Laziness!
Procrastination is not laziness, but it is also not productive.
This is a big habit change I am making as I can be a queen procrastinator!! You will be surprised at how long I can spend making something look nearly identical to my first iteration by moving things a tiny amount at a time….
It is quite funny from my new perspective at how much I actually procrastinate! (I can also guarantee I’ll re-read this blog post and change / add in / take out several parts at least three times before posting it!!).
But what I want you to hear is this: Procrastination is your paradigm giving you every other option than doing the thing you know you should be doing because it knows if you do that thing then life will change. It is against your current habits and results. So it doesn’t like it!
Take this as a sign that what you know you should be doing WILL change your life and get you moving towards the changes you want to see in your life.
So use some of my tips above or on the image below and get on with it!
Does This Resonate?
Do you struggle with procrastination? Would you notice if you did?
The way I notice is that I start to hear a little voice in the back of my head telling me to go and do such and such (usually a “Shouldn’t you be doing emails / creatives / quotes / writing a blog post etc?” type thought), and then I think “Yeah, when the time reaches ****”, then the time reaches the time I set and I think “I’ll just do this one more thing”………. and before I know it its half hour later minimum and I’ve got nothing to show for that time!
I have also found a lovely little creative from CAHMS on their Twitter feed which I have shared below with a link back to their post which has some really good tips on how to stop procrastination and be more productive!
What Next?
So there you have it! By writing this all here I am creating some accountability. Hopefully as my subscribers / followers grow I will have people to be accountable to. This is way more effective as they don’t tend to let you off the hook as easily as you do for yourself when you make an excuse! These new habits will only strengthen further.
Do you need an accountability partner to help you break through your procrastination and be more productive? I’d be happy to help! Drop me a message by getting in touch today. Either here or through any of my social medias or schedule a call to discuss it with me directly.
Hope to talk to you soon and that this post helps you as much as it has me by simply writing it!
Here’s to your future productive self!
Take care =)
Jaiye
PS. Four times I re-read today! But maybe that was because I said that is my (unproductive) tendency rather than saying I would only read it once! This can be my next habit to replace I think!
