The other day I was chatting with a client and we came to an interesting place about what procrastination meant for him. The Instagram post (pictured here) is what came of our enlightening conversation. If you don’t finish something, can you move forward? Or, are you stuck in the heaviness of something left unfinished? What if, instead, the finish line was actually the start of a new adventure you never even thought was possible?
Things end. Life, love, relationships, jobs, school, friendships, projects, marathons, favorite t.v. shows…. We can choose to be with it and enjoy the process, take steps to complete things more quickly and efficiently, or we can chose to delay the end of something that holds you back from what’s next for you. Truth, I’ve been all three. What if you didn't judge it? Let's explore the merits of "the end". Which type of procrastinator are you?
Let’s take reading a novel as our example here. Think of a book you’ve enjoyed reading. What was it about the book you loved? Did the pace, characters and story just sort of open up for you as you stepped into the pages of the novel? You stayed up all night to see what happens. As the final chapter approached, did you slow down because you didn’t want it to end? What did you do when you finished the book? Sit with experience? Dream about it? Read the book again? Read the next book in the series or another novel by the same author? Was there was excitement attached to the experience? I know for me there is when I read a yummy book.
Okay, now recall a time when you read a book that you were required to read for knowledge. And, it was B-O-R-I-N-G. Did you put it off because it wasn’t interesting to you? Were you able to blast through it at the last minute or did you set aside time to finish it in chunks, groaning the entire time? I bet you remember the name of that book. Did you even complete the book? How stressed out were you? Or, was stress the disguise for the excitement of the challenge of a deadline, you thrill- seeker, you!?
Which example feels light and fun? Is the other way heavy and looming? If you live in the latter example, instead of beating yourself up about procrastinating, how about looking at it as a superpower? And, (even better) you get to choose how and when you use it! Super Procrastinator powers include but are not limited to....
1.) Slowing yourself down and enjoying the moment, savoring each and every word like a delicious dessert that melts in your mouth with ecstasy.
2.) Breaking things off into smaller, more manageable pieces, organizing your tasks like a child sorting Legos in preparation for an amazing creation to be built.
3.) Delaying things until the last minute then, racing through the task like an Indy car driver seeking the checkered flag.
The take away here is: please don't judge yourself for judging how you do things. No matter how you approach a task that needs to be finished, no matter how you feel about finishing something; there is always a greater possibility waiting for you. All you have to do is choose.
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