Tackling Procrastination

Leaning into what it is we fear about a certain task can set us free from resisting doing it.

I think we are all prone to procrastination to some degree. And it's a self-esteem saboteur. An under-cover double agent in the organisation that is your mind. When I am procrastinating I find other 'more important' things to do, instead of the task I am avoiding. This way I can delude myself that I am not, in fact, procrastinating. However, somewhere in my being lies the knowledge that I am doing exactly that, and it is damaging to me. We know what we know even if we don't want to know. And it is this knowing that damages self-esteem. As long as I am pretending to be doing more important tasks I am colluding with the saboteur and allowing further erosion of my self-esteem. In order to tackle procrastination I must face it head on. So, first, I have to acknowledge that this is what I am doing. Then I must do what I have been avoiding. This may sound easy, but is often more challenging than seems credible. This is because procrastination is a fear based behaviour. Fear of ourselves is the lurking poltergeist we pretend is something else - the wind, the cat, the neighbour. Why are we so fear-avoidant when at the same time we extol bravery, which, by definition, is action despite fear? [A discussion for another time - that was an hypothetical musing] It is useful to face the procrastination and quiz it. Ask yourself, why am I avoiding this task; what is it I fear; and then be realistic with the answer. I am afraid that if I post a blog people will find me wanting, or unfunny when I'm trying to be funny, or ill-informed when I'm writing didactically, or I resent the time required to fill out this paperwork, or people [them again] will think I'm slovenly if I don't clean the house. I am afraid that they will judge me, or I will judge the the result of the task a failure. Next ask more - how important is this; and what are the consequences of not doing this. Inaction is still action - we cannot shirk our responsibility by not doing, although I think we delude ourselves that we can by saying "I haven't done it yet. I will do it tomorrow/later/another time. Generally I find that when I face my fears head-on they are so much smaller in my direct vision than they are out of the corner of my eye. I am also then able to realistically assess them and make a decision. I can decide that I am too fearful to go the the movies alone, or ask a friend for help and then I own that about myself, accept it as my best at this present moment, and work towards changing it. Or, as is mostly the case, I realise that I am not too afraid, and I take the action. I get it done.