I was going to write this article last week but then I put it off . One issue that comes up regularly with my clients is the issue of procrastination but quite often they put off thinking about it! I see this as being the side-effect of a number of issues including the amount of choices we have nowadays, fear of making the wrong decision, fear that choosing one thing automatically excludes something else and that killer in general: fear. In this article I plan to address 5 keys to help you stop procrastinating.
It’s OK to procrastinate!
Yep, you read that right. There are plenty of times when it is a good idea to take the time to consider your options and to clarify your thoughts. Acknowledge that perhaps your procrastination habit has saved you from making bad choices. It may have stopped you enjoying other things but that’s another day’s work. Accept and enjoy your own procrastination! You may find that as an interesting side-effect you begin to procrastinate less…
Most choices can be changed
Do you realise that most airplane flights are on the wrong track 90% of the time? And how do they manage to reach their destination safely? Simple, when they go off track, they notice and then move back onto the right track. You have the same option. Most decisions you make can be reversed or changed. For example even if you choose a career that is not for you, it can be changed. Yes, it’s frustrating but you have gained invaluable self-knowledge and you never know when that experience could prove useful! Notice and adjust!
Narrow your choices to the next step.
OK, so you have so many choices that the effect of that can be to make you feel as if your head will explode. Make like a computer and narrow down your decision to the very next step you have to make. For example if you want to change jobs, the first step could be to ask 3 –5 people who are in jobs that you are interested in, get that information and then go onto the next step.
What’s the worst that can happen?
This one can be fun…if only to discover what an extraordinarily vivid imagination you have! Take a scenario whereby you choose the wrong profession. Now write down (and it’s much more effective to write them down and then read them back) all the things that could go wrong. One client of mine did this and found that she ended up homeless….to realise of course that in reality she would never let things go that far…
Go with your gut
I am a passionate believer in the value of intuition. I have seen it again and again with my clients. They have accepted jobs and turned down apparently great jobs on the basis of their gut instinct and they have been invariably been right. How do you recognise the voice of your gut (if you pardon the expression!). First of all, it’s gentle, it’s not urgent or nagging. It tends to be persistent but is more like a gentle tapping than the voice of fear which tends to be strident and full of false urgency. You could begin by simply asking your intuition for guidance on something and see what happens.
