Fear is a part of life, and some fear is helpful. You’re afraid to stick your hand into a fire or to jump off a cliff. If you weren’t afraid of anything, you wouldn’t live long. But most fears are crippling and influence your decisions in negative ways.
Imagine you’re walking through the woods and get a thorn in your arm. You would likely remove it and go about your life with little thought of that mild injury. But imagine if you didn’t deal with it.
Eventually, that thorn would affect many of your decisions:
* It would become infected and sore.
* You would be careful not to bump anything.
* You’d avoid most sports.
* You would protect yourself anytime someone walked to close.
* Eventually, you might even develop a special cover to tape over it.
* Then you must worry about finding clothes that fit over it.
* You couldn’t swim because the tape might come off.
* It would affect your sleeping position, and so on.
Fears are the same way. A fear of talking to strangers affects the decisions you make in your social life and career. We avoid all types of things to ensure we don’t stir up the negative emotions caused by our fears.
The more fears you have, the less freedom you enjoy.
Try these techniques to transcend your fears and claim the level of freedom you deserve:
1. Become more aware. There’s a big world out there with a variety of perspectives. Yours might not be the best perspective. You might believe that a fear of public speaking is totally normal and justified. But is it, What is the worst that could happen if you make a mistake, No one is going to stone you.
* Look at all your fears and make a list of them.
* Decide which are causing your life the most grief. Which fears do you spend the most time working around, Which are the most limiting,
3. Deal with your fears a little at a time. For example, if you’re afraid of public speaking, try giving a speech to your child, nephew, or niece. Then trying giving it to three of them. Build up your tolerance until you can speak to thousands.
* You can also use a psychologist if you’re not making a lot of progress on your own.
5. Use a journal. Writing can often be more helpful than thinking. We take the things we write more seriously than our self-talk. You talk to yourself constantly throughout the day. What will one more thought accomplish, Use a journal to record your thoughts, fears, and your progress.
Imagine a life without any irrational fears. What would you do if you weren’t afraid of failing, You can measure your personal freedom by number of fears you possess. Everyone develops fears as a natural consequence of living. You have a choice. You don’t have to keep your fears. Spend some time each day dealing with your fears and reclaim your life.
I’m not going to lie to you. I am kind of awful when it comes to procrastinating. Well, that’s not entirely true.
I’m actually really good at it.
But as always, I’m a work in progress and I’m doing what I can to evolve. Since this is one of my areas that, shall we say, requires a little attention in the whole evolution area.
On the plus side, I know I’m not alone. So let’s figure this out together, shall we?
Why Do We Procrastinate So Hard All the Time, Anyway?
Imagine how much we would all get done if we never procrastinated. It’s pretty incredible, right?
Procrastination is the greatest barrier to achieving goals and getting things accomplished. Time is a valuable resource, and procrastination is the greatest enemy of time.
Those who procrastinate the most are also the least effective – I can definitely vouch for that. When I’m “on-task” and getting stuff done like I should, I’m a freaking rockstar. But when I’m in procrastination mode? I have lots of good intentions but very few actual results. Feel me?
Now, let me ask you a couple of quick perspective questions.
Does your most successful friend procrastinate a lot? How about your least successful friend?
I can probably answer those questions for you, right? Either way, we can all acknowledge that waiting until the last possible moment to complete a task eliminates the possibility of finding the most elegant solution. You’re doomed to experience mediocre results, assuming you’re able to complete the task on time at all.
There are several possible reasons we procrastinate:
1. Fear of failure. This is perhaps the most common cause of procrastination. After all, you can’t fail if you don’t try. Unfortunately, you can’t accomplish anything without taking action. If you find your life has been stuck in the same place for a long time, you’re most likely afraid of failing. So you know what we’ve gotta do right?
Reframe the idea of failure and realize that it’s one of many possible results. You can choose to learn from that result and apply it to your next attempt. Repeating this process ensures success.
Expect to fail. The more often you fail, the more quickly you’ll reach your goals. Avoid allowing an irrational fear to become an obstacle to getting things done.
2. The need for perfection. Noting in life is perfect. The desire for perfection results in procrastination. Decide how good it really needs to be. There will never be a perfect moment or opportunity. Your results will never be perfect. Nothing needs to be perfect, so just get busy.
3. Habits that don’t support getting started. Getting started is the hardest part. Some of us have effective habits for getting started on new projects or unappetizing tasks. Others have great habits for putting off these same activities.
Develop the habit of taking immediate action on any unpleasant tasks. It can be small and simple, but get started! You’ll often find that a small amount of momentum is enough to do more work than you initially intended.
4. A lack of self-discipline. Self-discipline is a valuable commodity, especially for the creation of new habits. Use your self-discipline wisely. It’s always in short supply. Use it to develop the habits that will overcome procrastination.
5. Fear of success. You might think a fear of success is ridiculous, but it’s very common. Success carries several burdens. You become more visible and have more responsibility when you’re successful. You are the victim of higher expectations in the future.
Tell yourself that you can overcome the pitfalls of success. Avoid letting a fear of success lead to procrastination.
6. The inability to deal effectively with discomfort. At the most basic level, procrastination results when the thought of taking action results in more discomfort than you’re capable of dealing with at that moment. It’s only when the pain of not taking action becomes greater than the pain of avoidance that things get done.
Some of us are more influenced by that discomfort than others. With practice, you can learn to take action even in the face of great discomfort.
Start small and tackle those tasks that are only mildly unpleasant. You’ll find your resistance to those uncomfortable feelings will increase.
Eliminating procrastination from your life results in getting more things done. And those things will be done at a much higher level.
Yeah, I know. We already know this stuff. But we also know that if you procrastinate excessively, your entire life suffers. Procrastination results in stress and poor results – and friends, we are going for happy and awesome results. So it’s time to take control of our emotions and rid oursevles of the tendency to procrastinate.
The results will be worth the effort, I promise. 🙂
“Success demands singleness of purpose.” ~Vincent Lombardi
Some days I’m totally on top of things, focused and centered and productive. I love those days–I get things done and when the day is over, I feel accomplished and positive.
Then there are the days when I’m scattered and randomly jumping from task to task without any real focus.
Those days are less enjoyable, and even though I “get a lot done,” I don’t actually feel like I’ve accomplished much–and I often find myself feeling guilty. That doesn’t feel good.
It feels good to get things done, to be intentionally focused on not only what needs to be done, but also on what I want to do.
It feels good to accomplish what I set out to accomplish, to meet my daily goals–which always lead toward the more long-term goals. And feeling good and accomplishing my goals is a sure-fire way to bring more positive things into my life.
So how do we find focus when we have one of those scattered days?
One Step at a Timer
I don’t know about you, but I tend to multi-task nearly all the time. However, on those scattered days, I feel the need to stop and focus on only one task at a time. Maybe that’s because when I’m feeling scattered, I’m far more easily distracted.
I find that setting a timer for a specific amount of time and forcing myself to focus on a single task makes a big difference. Even five minutes can be enough to shake off that scattered feeling and get back into a focused mindset.
The feeling of being scattered goes right along with a cluttered work area or home. When I’m feeling that way, sometimes just clearing off my desk or tidying up around the house is enough to help me change my mind.
When our living and working spaces our cluttered, we’re bound to feel mentally cluttered too. Even just clearing off a single table top or shining your kitchen sink can make all the difference in the world.
Just Do It Already
A lot of times, when I’m feeling unfocused, I procrastinate or distract myself with busy work. Then, I find myself staying up late into the night to meet my deadlines or finish up my projects. (I’ll admit, sometimes the late nights are a direct result of just plain being busy–but other times, they could be avoided!)
So, when I feel myself procrastinating, just forcing myself to BEGIN doing the task is enough to get me back on track. Even if I’m not feeling it when I get started, I eventually find my groove and keep on keeping on.
Take a Break
Ok, I realize this sounds counter-intuitive, but hear me out. If you’re anything like me, sometimes the fact that you have things to do can cause you to become paralyzed, especially when you’re feeling overwhelmed. So, while taking a break may seem like it would slow your productivity, the opposite is actually true–at least for me.
If I find myself feeling frustrated or unfocused, a fifteen minute break away from my desk can sometimes be all I need to develop a fresh perspective. Sometimes it’s just doing a mindless activity like watching a little TV or walking around the block, and other times it’s talking with one of my family member or friends. And sometimes, it’s just about being still and quiet and not thinking about anything at all.
The point is that if I take a quick break, I come back refreshed and ready to get things done–while if I skip the break, I might waste even more time by remaining unfocused.
Plan Ahead
This might seem obvious. But if you’re anything like me, planning may not come naturally to you. What I find effective is to sit down at the end of my work day and look at what I’ve got going on for the next day. I’ll check my calendar for appointments, check my list of assignments and tasks and then I set up a priority list for the next day.
I decide what MUST be done, then what I would like to get done. I set up a really basic plan of attack for the next day, and then I make a point of sticking to it as much as possible. Of course, things come up and priorities change–but having a basic plan for the day can still mean the difference between being focused and being scattered. You might be surprised how significantly a simple plan can change your perspective and increase your focus.
So, how about you? What do you do to get back on track when you find yourself losing focus or feeling scattered? Tell me in the comments!
Did you ever have one of those days when you’ve got like fifty-bazillion things to do and yet all you seem to get done is updating your Facebook status and maybe a shower, if you’re lucky?
I’ve been there. Who hasn’t?
From the outside, it might just look like you’re procrastinating, but in reality, it feels a little more like being paralyzed, am I right?
Well, here’s a tip that might just help you to move past that whole “feeling so overwhelmed that I can’t do a single thing” issue. I hope you’re sitting down for this one, because it is seriously going to blow your mind.
Just do SOMETHING. Pick one thing on your list, even something tiny and easy, and start doing it. Don’t stop until you’re finished. Maybe this is something small–like, I don’t know, a blog post. Or maybe it’s something bigger, like finally organizing your kitchen cabinets. It doesn’t matter what it is. Just do one thing.
When you’re done, look at what you’ve done and pat yourself on the back. You have just ended the vicious cycle of procrastination and paralyisis, and you are on your way to getting back on the productive horse.
Who knew it could be so easy?
And, once you’ve got your juices flowing, do one more thing. And so on.
I know, this all sounds positively basic and simple–but every now and then, we all need someone to tell us, as Nike once did, to Just Do It.
So, enough procrastination. Enough paralysis. Just do SOMETHING. Are you with me?
What are your best tips for avoiding procrastination and paralysis when you’ve got a fifty-bazillion things to do? Tell me in the comments!
“Success demands singleness of purpose.” ~Vincent Lombardi
Some days I’m totally on top of things, focused and centered and productive. I love those days–I get things done and when the day is over, I feel accomplished and positive.
Then there are the days when I’m scattered and randomly jumping from task to task without any real focus. Those days are less enjoyable, and even though I “get a lot done,” I don’t actually feel like I’ve accomplished much–and I often find myself feeling guilty. That doesn’t feel good.
It feels good to get things done, to be intentionally focused on not only what needs to be done, but also on what I want to do. It feels good to accomplish what I set out to accomplish, to meet my daily goals–which always lead toward the more long-term goals. And feeling good and accomplishing my goals is a sure-fire way to bring more positive things into my life.
So how do we find focus when we have one of those scattered days?
One Step at a Timer
I don’t know about you, but I tend to multi-task nearly all the time. However, on those scattered days, I feel the need to stop and focus on only one task at a time. Maybe that’s because when I’m feeling scattered, I’m far more easily distracted.
I find that setting a timer for a specific amount of time and forcing myself to focus on a single task makes a big difference. Even five minutes can be enough to shake off that scattered feeling and get back into a focused mindset.
Clear the Clutter to Clear Your Mind
The feeling of being scattered goes right along with a cluttered work area or home. When I’m feeling that way, sometimes just clearing off my desk or tidying up around the house is enough to help me change my mind.
When our living and working spaces our cluttered, we’re bound to feel mentally cluttered too. Even just clearing off a single table top or shining your kitchen sink can make all the difference in the world.
Just Do It Already
A lot of times, when I’m feeling unfocused, I procrastinate or distract myself with busy work. Then, I find myself staying up late into the night to meet my deadlines or finish up my projects. (I’ll admit, sometimes the late nights are a direct result of just plain being busy–but other times, they could be avoided!)
So, when I feel myself procrastinating, just forcing myself to BEGIN doing the task is enough to get me back on track. Even if I’m not feeling it when I get started, I eventually find my groove and keep on keeping on.
Take a Break
Ok, I realize this sounds counter-intuitive, but hear me out. If you’re anything like me, sometimes the fact that you have things to do can cause you to become paralyzed, especially when you’re feeling overwhelmed. So, while taking a break may seem like it would slow your productivity, the opposite is actually true–at least for me.
If I find myself feeling frustrated or unfocused, a fifteen minute break away from my desk can sometimes be all I need to develop a fresh perspective. Sometimes it’s just doing a mindless activity like watching a little TV or walking around the block, and other times it’s talking with one of my family member or friends. And sometimes, it’s just about being still and quiet and not thinking about anything at all.
The point is that if I take a quick break, I come back refreshed and ready to get things done–while if I skip the break, I might waste even more time by remaining unfocused.
Plan Ahead
This might seem obvious. But if you’re anything like me, planning may not come naturally to you. What I find effective is to sit down at the end of my work day and look at what I’ve got going on for the next day. I’ll check my calendar for appointments, check my list of assignments and tasks and then I set up a priority list for the next day.
I decide what MUST be done, then what I would like to get done. I set up a really basic plan of attack for the next day, and then I make a point of sticking to it as much as possible. Of course, things come up and priorities change–but having a basic plan for the day can still mean the difference between being focused and being scattered. You might be surprised how significantly a simple plan can change your perspective and increase your focus.
So, how about you? What do you do to get back on track when you find yourself losing focus or feeling scattered? Tell me in the comments!
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The feeling of being scattered goes right along with a cluttered work area or home. When I’m feeling that way, sometimes just clearing off my desk or tidying up around the house is enough to help me change my mind.
