People
Procrastination kicked to the curb
Early on in our coaching sessions together, Michelle, a British creative director at an Amsterdam advertising agency, remarked, “It never really occurred to me that you could plan your life in the same way you would plan a holiday, or a project at work - that it might be a good idea to actually identify and prioritise the things that you want to achieve to make you happy.”
Michelle came to Happiness Express looking for help to focus on the things that gave her joy, to get organised at home, and to develop herself in new creative areas. Setting the goals for these positive changes was the easy part. Making them actually happen was another thing altogether. And what Michelle found was that the ultimate key to her success and happiness lay not so much in figuring out what she wanted but rather in dealing with procrastination and ensuring that she kept on track towards her goals.
Race ready
As a keen cyclist, Michelle was in the midst of preparing for a cycle race some months ahead. The goal was clear – get race ready. She’d identified the type of training needed, the frequency and the duration, but she knew that she wasn’t always following through on her well-laid plans. So our focus over several sessions was to make this happen. Here’s what worked for her...
Just do it
To borrow from a famous sports brand, Michelle adopted a ‘just do it’ mentality and stopped over-thinking things. This reduced her tendency to create reasons why not to go training – you know, those stories we often tell ourselves to get us off the hook. Instead of procrastinating, she told herself to ‘just put a dent in it’; go out on the bike for half an hour, knowing that once out there the endorphins would kick in and half an hour would likely turn into an enjoyable hour or more.
Schedule it
Michelle also found that plotting the training sessions into her calendar allowed her to see where she might have schedule conflicts with other commitments in her weekly agenda and so to devise workaround solutions. She also used her schedule as a checklist to tick off completed training sessions, giving her a huge sense of achievement.
Vary your approach
When early signs of tedium started to emerge, we explored ways to bring more variety into her training and identified alternative sporting activities such as indoor rock-climbing and running to complement her cycle training and keep things interesting.
Give yourself a break
As an ambitious and highly driven person, Michelle would often mentally beat herself up if she missed a training session. This would fill her mind with negative thoughts, which consumed vital emotional energy and trickled into other aspects of her life. To counter this I invited her to allow herself a certain number of ‘can’t be bothered’ days. She decided that if she skipped three training sessions in a month she could in fact forgive herself and get back on track the next day. Allowing these three ‘can’t be bothered days’ each month gave Michelle a break and freed her of negative energy, enabling her to continue to feel motivated towards her goal.
A good habit is formed
The regularity that Michelle created with her training routine, gathered momentum and started to have a positive knock-on effect in other areas of her life. For example she started taking the time to shop, prepare and cook healthy meals to support her in her fitness goals. And this momentum in turn began to establish regular good habits of fitness and nutrition that required less and less conscious thought and started to become a natural, everyday part of her life.
Paperwork mountain
In organising her life, Michelle admitted that dealing with her home administration – paying the bills on time and keeping up with other types of correspondence – left a lot to be desired. Unlike at work, where she prided herself in being organised and committed to deadlines, her private affairs were often left until the last minute (or later!) resulting in an ever-increasing pile of paperwork and the feeling she’d never be on top of it all. Here’s how she climbed her mountain...
Make ‘you’ a top priority
What was it that made her organised at work but not so at home? A sense of responsibility and seeking the approval of others drove her to be her best self at work. She didn’t want to let anyone down. But by letting her home administration slip, she was in fact letting herself down. So by prioritising ‘Michelle’ and recognising that she could be accountable to herself we raised the level of importance of these home-related tasks.
Take a reality check
Michelle knew she was putting off the inevitable and started reminding herself that not clearing her paperwork promptly would eventually catch up with her, bringing with it various painful consequences. And she knew that the longer she left it, the harder it would be to get started. This gave her a kind of reality check to make a start.
Focus on the benefits
A stern word, however, didn’t always do the trick. So we imagined how it will feel and what it will enable her to do when she is on top of her home paperwork. Identifying the end benefits increased her motivation to get it done. So much so that one Sunday I received a text message from her saying she’d whizzed through her paperwork in the morning and was now enjoying a scenic cycle ride along the riverbank. Benefit in action!
Reward yourself along the way
By looking at the end benefits we also got to thinking how else Michelle could improve her life using this paperwork goal as a trigger. She decided that if she consistently dealt with her letters and bills every Sunday for four weeks she would treat herself to a facial at her favourite spa. Creating rewards for yourself can be a great motivator.
Creative future
Recognising the joy she gets from being creative, Michelle had been playing around with a few ideas to expand her creativity both in and outside of her job. But the ideas never seemed to progress beyond the daydream. “Throughout the series of coaching sessions I came to realize that you can’t just wander along aimlessly and hope that what you want will suddenly turn up in the post one day.” Here’s how Michelle took control...
Scenario plan
A coaching session is a great environment in which to throw ideas around. It’s confidential, non-judgemental and provides the right balance of support and challenge. Michelle used our time together to test out various ideas for future creative business ventures. Throughout the sessions it became clear to her what she wanted to focus on.
Decide with the heart, do with the head
There was sometimes a tussle between what Michelle would really love to do and what her logical, rational side told her was ‘possible’. Together we leant towards her heart’s desire and looked critically at what she would need to do to make it a reality. Taking this positive approach began to subdue the ‘buts’ and the ‘can’ts’ by assuming that there was a way to make it happen, we just had to find it.
Pep talk yourself
Michelle recognised that one of the main reasons she’d procrastinated on pursuing her passion was a certain sense of fear - a fear of failing. She knew that to walk the path she desired she would need to overcome her fears. So she created a mantra of “don’t be afraid” and she would say this to herself every day on her cycle into work. Over time, the effects of this mantra became apparent in her work and private life, giving her the courage to take risks and stretch herself to greater achievements.
Seek support and guidance
Michelle also reminded herself that she needn’t face her fears alone. She had around her a variety of people whose insights and expertise she could call upon to help guide her towards her goal. She tapped into these resources to help her figure out how she could make her dream a reality. Simply reminding herself that she had this support also had the effect of reducing her fear of the future.
Take the first step
Finally, to really get the wheels in motion, Michelle decided to take the same approach as she did with cycling and just do it. If she had an idea for a work or personal project, then she’d just jump in and do it, instead of worrying about the outcome. That’s how she managed to find herself staging a pop-up art installation in the middle of the red light district to draw attention to the shocking amount of rubbish discarded by European citizens.
In closing our series of coaching sessions together Michelle provided the following feedback:
“The coaching sessions helped the penny to drop. They helped me figure out what’s important in my life, to structure a plan and to prioritise the important areas. The sessions also enabled me to identify sticking points and motivations; to realize that my plans can change and adapt, and if they do then to take the time to sit down and redefine them. To sum up, I’d say that the coaching helped me to focus, on what I want and how to get there.”
Nov 2010
For more top tips to overcome procrastination click here.
And for insightful, often humorous quotes on procrastination click here.