Procrastination

     Probably, that infamous title caused you to cringe a bit. (It caused me to cringe, too.) As you may or may not have noticed, I haven't posted for a month, and before that I hadn't posted as scheduled for quite a while. I owe my few faithful readers an apology.

     However, given my situation, I have a perfect example for my topic today. Let's stop procrastinating and get to the point. Lately I've been thinking hard on how to mitigate procrastination in my life, or minimize it, at least. I've come up with three steps. It may sound simple, but it takes effort.

     Step One: Figure out why you're procrastinating.
Some common reasons/excuses for procrastination include-
-1) "I don't want to..."
-2) "I'm too busy."
-3) "It's too scary/hard."
-4) "I'd rather do *insert whatever* "
-5) "I forgot."
-6) "I'm not good enough; nobody cares."

I'm sure we could go on. My non-blogging month was caused by a combination of 1, 4 and 6. (Number 1 fits into most situations.) I didn't feel like writing a blog post because I wanted to draw and write and ride my bike and a host of other things instead. I was also traveling for part of it, which completely threw off any sort of schedule I had. (There I go, making excuses...) But killing procrastination is about doing stuff even when you don't feel like it. Don't allow yourself to make excuses.

Once you have a concrete reason why you're not doing what you're supposed to, it's easier to get rid of it. That being said, step two is probably the hardest.

     Step Two: Throw away your excuses.
I'm going to give examples of ways to go about addressing the excuses listed above.
1) "...But I will." CONQUER THAT WILLPOWER.
2) If it's important enough, prioritize and /make/ time. Chances are, there are hours you're spending on random internet things that have no lasting value. (whew, preaching to myself here.)
3) Very few things are literally impossible. Get the help you need, summon that courage, rally those forces. You can do it. And facing fears builds character immensely.
4) This one goes along with number 2. Think how good it will feel to have whatever-it-is done when you get to do that other thing afterwards. Use the preferred activity as a reward once you finish the task you've been procrastinating over.
5) WELL, REMEMBER. While forgetting is sometimes a valid thing, it can be avoided. Jot yourself reminders, get another person to be your accountability and nudge you on it every once in a while to make sure you get it done.
6) I identify with this one all too well. (All of these, actually...) But even if you truly aren't good enough now, practice. Keep writing that terrible novel, keep drawing those atrocious doodles. If you keep at it, one day the terrible novel could be a published work and the atrocious scribbles may turn into lovely illustrations. Remind yourself that you are your own worst critic, and while the things you're working on may not be top notch, they might not be as horrible as you think. As for the "nobody cares" part, don't let that get to you. Colossians 3:23 tells us who we're working for, and even if not one person cares, God does, and you do. Keep caring even when there's no one else, and remember God is still watching you.

     Step Three: Do it.
You've wiped off all the excuses cluttering your desk, so you're ready for business.
Do your best. Do it for God. Take a water break if you need to. Get stuff done.

     Extra things:
-I've found that making a to do list is an amazing motivator.
-Breaks are allowed, but time yourself or do something else that's super productive. The internet has a magical function that sucks away hours while you think it has merely been five minutes.

     Comment:
     What sort of goals against procrastination do you have?
     What's the top thing you procrastinate on?