“The best way to get something done is to begin.” ~ Author Unknown
I bet you have one.
A list of things you really want to accomplish – but never get around to doing.
You make up all kinds of excuses about why you haven’t done them yet. I don’t have enough time. I’ll do it tomorrow. I’ll do it sometime in the future.
But, in the end, they don’t get done and you don’t get to experience the satisfaction of follow through.
Such is the corrosive nature of procrastination. And I’m intimately familiar the process. It’s kept me from pursuing goals small and large.
Procrastination while on vacation
I was on vacation with my family a few weeks ago. We’d traveled to my home island of Tobago. My wife expressed a desire to wake up early to watch the sunrise. I was fully onboard with the idea.
About halfway through the trip, we hadn’t done anything about our goal yet but I thought, eh, we still have some time left.
The next morning, Laura woke me out of a dead sleep and said, “We’re going to watch the sunrise now.”
I said, “But it’s four in the morning!”
She said, “If we don’t go now, we’ll never go.”
I knew she was right, so I dragged myself out of bed, got dressed and we were off.
We snuck out of the house and slipped into the darkness. By the end of our experience I’d learned a few things about what it takes to overcome procrastination:
1. Just do it
Don’t wait for the right time, or the right circumstances, or the right person.
Don’t ruminate or overthink.
Taking action is probably the single biggest weapon you have against procrastination.
If I’d taken too much time to think about the fact that it was four in the morning and that the sun wasn’t rising till 6:30, I’d never have gotten out of bed.
What are you procrastinating on right now? What’s one small step you can take toward achieving it?
Just do that.
2. Have an accountability partner
It’s really hard to be accountable to yourself. We’re experts at rationalizing, denying, pretending, and justifying.
Having at least one trusted accountability partner will be there to help when your own mind starts working against you.
Laura was my accountability partner. She immediately recognized my rationalization and helped me off that path. Her encouragement and example allowed me to stick to my commitment.
Have an intention to do something? Enroll an accountability partner to save you from yourself.
3. Expect obstacles
The people who consistently beat procrastination think differently from the rest of us. Whereas we want the path to be clear of obstacles before we begin, they expect to encounter obstacles every step of the way.
On our adventure, we encountered a few obstacles. The first location we picked didn’t have a great view, so we drove to a different spot. When we got there, we had to wait a few hours for the sun to arrive. It took a while for us to get our camera working. And finally, thick clouds blocked our view of the rising sun.
But the obstacles also provided us with opportunities. Waiting for the sun gave us some much needed alone time. As for the clouds, we thought it would ruin our sunrise experience. Instead, they enhanced it. They made it more interesting and beautiful.
What obstacles are you facing on your path? Don’t let procrastination convince you to quit because of them. They are a sign to keep going.
Go Chase your sunrise
The image above (that’s me holding the sun) has become a powerful symbol for me of what’s possible when I push through my own barriers.
What would you like to accomplish? Draw or take a picture of yourself accomplishing that thing. Make it your own symbol of what’s possible.
And go do something today to make it a reality.
Thanks, this is inspiring on many levels. It reminded me: here is a small example. The other day I was going to walk the dog. I always take my phone at least, mostly for if I see something I’d like to take a photo of. However, my son had misplaced his phone, again, and wanted to talk to his friend as they both played a computer game. I was irritated, but let him use my phone, so I took my digital SLR with me which I hadn’t been doing lately, taking a break from it and enjoying not having the weight of it especially while walking the dog. Anyway, my irritation turned to delight when I saw the sun setting and I got some great shots that wouldn’t have been possible just with my phone, as good as it is for a phone camera. Yes I am an expert at procrastination, but the point is related to how you said that what you first perceived as a negative actually became a good thing, the clouds, the alone time, etc. So yeah, I loved your post and I’m glad to have become more aware of these kinds of things. And, I have been procrastinating in finding my son’s phone. Also in getting more vigilant in making him more accountable and responsible for his own s*it. lol.
Lol….Kerri, I love your example here. Procrastination can creep up on us in so many areas of life! When we can push through the wall of procrastination, we’re confronted challenges that often turn into unexpected delights. Let me know how you make out with getting your son to be more accountable….I’m working on the same with mine and, boy, it’s hard work!
Thank you Cylon, and I shall!! I think I may have gone a little too far the other way with him as I was so driven and my parents expected so much and put too much responsibility on me as a kid-I am the oldest of 4, my last sib born when I was 10. I felt like a mother and at that age I could already pretty much do everything with regards to running the house! It was just a given, I didn’t realize it until later. I think success would be striking a balance between the extremes, and right from the beginning. I know I’m not alone though, I don’t think kids these days really have to do much “work” I know I’m generalizing but it does seem that way. It’s weird because sometimes I feel like as I’m learning to parent him, my only child, I’m learning to parent myself. re-parent I guess lol.