It’s a strange thing about the holidays … if you are an enthusiastic, super fan of the season, you might have bought your first pumpkins as décor before October even started. As a result, you may have a few rotting pumpkins already. On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you’re a super busy person, whether you’re a holiday super fan or not, choosing a Halloween costume or decorating for the holidays may get delayed and delayed until the last minute.
I rarely get suckered into clickbait, but recently, there was one that caught my attention. It was for an app claiming to help combat procrastination. Finding myself in the midst of the spooky mist of Halloween all of a sudden, it resonated for me because I have felt intermittently crappy about myself over the last few weeks, recognizing that I have been procrastinating around my end-of-2024 goals.
For a goal-oriented, action-biased person, that’s out of character; hence, the self-flagellation. I don’t know about you, but I find enough reasons to beat myself up without needing to add procrastination to the list.
Soothing scary procrastination guilt
Stream of consciousness, here are some of the rationalizations that fly around my mind in attempts to soothe my procrastination guilt:
- There are easier (read: trivial) things to cross off my list instead, and isn’t that still productive??
- I don’t really have time to do this justice right now, so why bother?
- I need to meditate on this one.
- It’s such gorgeous Fall weather outside …and not conducive to my brain focusing on work.
- Hmmm, or maybe I’d rather go rock climbing.
- Many of my clients are on vacation, so there’s no urgency.
- My friend’s husband just asked for a divorce. I should really spend time with her instead.
- I was out too late last night and want to take a nap.
- I have anemia, and it makes me tired.
- My chronic neck and back pain are really flared up today.
- I just don’t feel like doing it!!
I could go on. Do any of these sound familiar in your context? (I get that you don’t want to go rock climbing, but maybe you’d rather go to the gym or grocery store?) Wait, are these really all lame justifications or are some of them legit?! The latter, of course.
Understanding the difference between procrastinating and delaying
Light bulb moment: there is a difference between procrastinating and delaying! Through that lens, let’s reevaluate some of the above “excuses.” Instead of labeling them all procrastination, I can now see some involved:
- Prioritizing self-care. Anemia and chronic pain are no joke, and one of the challenges is sustaining energy levels. Being physically drained leads to being mentally drained, and trying to do focus work under those circumstances is like pushing on a string. Grace is in order here, not labeling myself as a procrastinator.
- Conscious choices to pause for something that matters more in the scheme of things. Being there for a friend or family member in a tough situation is a sign of strength and loyalty, not procrastination.
- Needing the subconscious mind’s help before taking action. Some of my best ideas come when meditating or otherwise quieting my overactive mind so that real creative inspiration breaks through. Rushing for rushing’s sake is never a good idea.
Facing the fear of procrastination
When discussing horror films with friends, everyone always wonders why the victim doesn’t just run away from the serial killer?! Or at least fight back!! You can apply that courage here.
Now that we recognize when we are postponing for valid reasons let’s get back to procrastination, which the coach in me knows is a symptom of a more significant problem. Based on my own experiences with it, the insidious variety of procrastination typically stems from one or more of a few things:
- Being overwhelmed.
- Experiencing fear.
- Setting too many goals or unattainable ones in light of the entirety of one’s life commitments in a certain time frame – like the busy holiday season.
- Having mental/emotional challenges such as depression or ADHD.
Let’s dispense with the last one first. I’m not a therapist. If you suffer from depression, whether temporary or clinical, please get the help you need. I have been there, and it’s like being stuck in cement. It’s only through some healing that I returned to my “normal” level of productivity. Same with other mental health conditions like ADHD, there are specialized resources available.
Questions to help you re-prioritize your 2024 goals
Overwhelm, fear and goal overload are coachable. So do not procrastinate on reflecting on these questions as you strive to wrap up your 2024 goals:
- What’s critical to my bottom line to accomplish these last few months of 2024?
- What am I really avoiding by procrastinating?
- How does that truth impact my attitude toward doing this thing?
- What really matters right now, and how can I use that information to prioritize and get the right things done?
- What would it look like to press the “easy button” on this thing?
- What distractions can I eliminate to free up time to focus on the things on which I’ve been procrastinating? (Some suggestions: take social media off your phone, turn off alerts that cause you to constantly check email instead of focusing, and draw better boundaries around your time.)
- What’s possible if I overcome my overwhelm and/or fear and get this thing done?
- What are the consequences if I don’t get this thing done?
- What is one small and doable task I can do to build some momentum?
Hopefully, these thoughts will give you a chance to pause, give yourself some credit and help you reflect and reprioritize. I’m sure you can achieve great things and still come up with something really creative for Halloween to have some much-needed fun with family and friends, too.
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
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