PSA—My next free webinar, “Find and Live Your Purpose,” is coming on May 25, and just a few spots are still available.
Uncover Your Purpose: Is there a divine purpose? If so, how do we find it and live it?
Strategic Life Planning: Set and achieve goals that resonate with your deepest values.
Impact and Influence: Create change in career, family, and community.
"Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin." — Zechariah 4:10 (NLT)
Some of the most impactful, life-changing moves I've made were delayed by procrastination. Almost always, I ask myself, "Why didn't I do this years ago” if I'm brutally honest and resist self-soothing like "I was just not ready” the answer is always procrastination.
Much of life is wasted on this useless state of being. We hide behind it and rationalize around it. Meanwhile, our most significant contributions to the world and those around us remain dormant.
Are you reading this and feeling it? Read on, and you may embark on your next life-changing adventure. I'll list three types of procrastination along with ways to beat it.
1. Emotional Procrastination
Characteristics: Avoidance of tasks due to feelings of anxiety, fear of failure, or overwhelming emotions.
False Rationalizations:
"I need to be in the right mood to work on this."
"I work better under pressure, so I'll wait until closer to the deadline."
Ways to Beat It:
Break Tasks into Smaller Steps: Start with small, manageable tasks to reduce feelings of overwhelm.
Emotional Regulation: Practice mindfulness and stress-reduction techniques to manage the anxiety associated with daunting tasks.
Reframe Thoughts: Challenge and change the fear-based narratives that lead to procrastination.
2. Perfectionist Procrastination
Characteristics: Delaying or not completing tasks due to a fear that the results won't be perfect.
False Rationalizations:
"I don't have the perfect idea yet."
"I can't start this until I know I can do it perfectly."
Ways to Beat It:
Set Realistic Standards: Instead of perfection, aim for good enough to meet the requirements.
Time Limits: Set strict time limits for each task to prevent endless tweaking.
Prioritize Progress Over Perfection: Focus on making progress, however imperfect.
3. "Busy Work" Procrastination
Characteristics: Occupying oneself with low-priority tasks to avoid doing more meaningful, challenging work.
False Rationalizations:
"I need to clear up these smaller tasks first before I can focus on the big project."
"I'm too busy to work on that right now."
Ways to Beat It:
Prioritize tasks, measure what is done, and the tasks that are part of your long-term mission.
Learn time management techniques that maximize the use of your highest capabilities.
Delegate or Eliminate: Outsource or eliminate less important tasks that drain time and energy.
"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." — Zig Ziglar
Bonus tips:
Know where you are precisely to get where you're going. Our Xponential Score is a great free tool. Learn your score here.
2. Surround yourself with people on the move who are successfully beating procrastination.
Brandon Knicely and I unpack much of this in the latest Headspace Live episode.
We discuss how to avoid getting stuck before it happens and how to recalibrate and retool. There was so much good stuff there that we didn't get to the third talking point: fly higher, further, faster. You can tune into our live episodes most Wednesdays at noon central on my LinkedIn, Facebook, or YouTube profile.
What I'm reading:
I am still enjoying Fareed Zakaria's "Age of Revolutions." It provides a wonderful macro-level view of the state of the world today.
Generally speaking, If you want to find an antidote to the surface-level triggers, political turmoil, and populist rhetoric - study three things: 1. The Bible to understand the depth of human nature. 2. History to understand the journey of humanity. 3. Economics to understand the group thinking of humanity.
Fareed's book addresses 2 and 3 very well.
What I'm watching:
The Fall Guy—It's hard to make a good comedy. This one is fantastic and is in theaters now.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare - I'll watch anything Guy Ritchie does.
Challengers - beyond a couple of cringy sexual scenes, this is a masterpiece in character development and storytelling.
P.S. Please excuse the less-than-impeccable timing on Headspace podcast and newsletter episodes. I love keeping rhythm in everything I do, but some travel and strategic shifts at work have slightly thrown the rhythm off. I will post chapter seven of my Little Book of Big Reasons to Love America this Wednesday. It's about the Generosity in American culture.