Procrastination is the Dream Killer
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"Just Stop Procrastinating"
Procrastination can be a dream killer because it prevents people from taking action towards their goals and aspirations. And while I do believe that you can procrastinate because it’s not something you really want in life, I don’t think that’s always the case, so let’s talk about it.
Why Do People Procrastinate?
When people procrastinate, they delay or avoid taking action on important tasks that are necessary to achieve their dreams. This can lead to missed opportunities, unfulfilled potential, and the obvious - a lack of progress towards your ultimate goals.
Procrastination often results from feelings of anxiety, overwhelm, or uncertainty about how to approach a task. People may also procrastinate because they have ADHD, and in this case it’s usually procrastination paralysis which can look like straight up laziness to the outside world, but it’s so much more than that.
Whatever the reason, procrastination can lead to a vicious cycle where people feel guilty and stressed about not making progress, which can further discourage you from taking action. Keep reading because whether you have ADHD or not, I have a solution that can help you overcome your procrastination while you are in the thick of it.
The Power of a Creative Mindset
If you’re self employed and aren’t finding the usual motivation you’re used to getting with deadlines isn’t there or feels artificial, it could be that you know you’re the boss and technically change your deadline.
Having the right mindset, strategies and systems can dramatically help you overcome procrastination and start making progress towards your dreams. But what are they?
When you combine having a creative mindset with working around your energy you building this inner peace of positive energy within you - this is the start of Working Intuitively.
Working intuitively is when you are listing to your instincts as much as you are listening to that gut feeling telling you what to do. It's listening to your body & understanding how you feel, respecting how much energy you have, and never working beyond your energy.
When you have a creative mindset you are living in a way that puts thinking freely ahead of everything. Flexibility and expression are at the top of your priority list, and you aren’t afraid to wonder.
How a Creative Mindset Can Help You Overcome Procrastination
Someone asked me the other day what I thought the definition of creativity was, and my answer to that is freedom. Creativity at its core is undefinable. There is no one set definite answer to what creativity actually is because it’s infinitely changing, growing and completely dependent on the individual. So if creativity is freedom, and it’s also the inspiration behind projects and tasks, then without freedom your creativity is hindered, which leads to procrastination.
Having a creative mindset can be a powerful tool in overcoming procrastination. I’m always harping on the creative mindset because creativity involves approaching tasks and problems in new and innovative ways, which can help break through the mental blocks that often lead to procrastination.
Procrastination is often fueled by negative thoughts and self-doubt. A creative mindset can help you reframe these negative thoughts and turn them into positive ones. By focusing on the potential rewards and benefits of completing a task, you may be able to overcome the fear or anxiety that is holding you back.
A blanket statement to overcome procrastination and pursue your dreams, is to learn how to manage your time effectively, set realistic goals, and break down larger tasks into smaller, more manageable steps. But that’s easier to do a a preventative measure. What do you do when you are in the thick of procrastination? This simple answer is to find the easiest yes.
Find The Easiest Yes
Procrastination at it’s core is the habit of not doing the thing you want to be doing. If you are procrastinating you preventing yourself from following through with the habits and routines that you want to be doing in order to reach your goals.
In order for new habits to replace old habits, you need to do them repetitively while repetitively NOT doing the old habit. Which means knowing what your easiest yes looks like for the version of you who “just can’t” today.
James Clear the author of Atomic Habits said “You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
What does this mean? This means that your systems need to be so easy for you to do that you are able to do them even when you are at your lowest. This looks like create bare minimum routines for yourself. So even when you are procrastinating the shit out of a project, your EASY YES over powers your paralysis and allows you to move into positive energy.
Because procrastination is often fueled by negative thoughts and self-doubt, it’s also keeping you in negative energy. Having that easy yes, that no brainer next step or routine is HOW you actively get out of procrastination.
And because of neural plasticity the more you actively choose to do the easy yes, and follow through with the bare minimum routines - while actively saying NO to allowing yourself to procrastinate - the stronger your neural pathway to this new habit while simultaneously weakening the neural pathway to the habit of procrastinating.
Then on top of that, having preventative practices like having creative mindset to help you reframe negative thoughts and turn them into positive ones, working within your energy levels and breaking down larger projects and tasks into smaller more manageable steps keeps you working in positive energy. And we already know that procrastination lives in negative energy.
If you want some examples of what working in positive energy vs negative energy check out my instagram @hermessybun!
More Resources
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And As Always – Don’t Give Up, Take A Day Off Instead.
Until next time!
xo Danielle
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Danielle’s TikTok: @her.messy.bun