Overcoming Procrastination: One Step At A Time
Lately, this way of being- delaying, postponing, hesitating, stalling, or dilly-dallying have been taking over my well intentions. Do you find yourself doing any of these? For me when these ways of being start showing up I can see I have created habits that stop me from starting or completing a project. I want to do everything BUT the task I so wanted to do. So, I started looking at what would make me stop or not want to start the task. I made a list, which I did have to laugh at myself because that list was stopping me from doing the task:)
I started looking from what I was committed to do in the task. What was really behind the hesitating?For me the dilly-dallying was thinking I wasn’t good enough, or maybe a bit of fear of failure or judgement from others. Then I started looking back into my past to see where else I did this and if there was more than one occasion? Wow! I saw it several times in the past WEEK, when either I was bored or confronted with not knowing how to do the task. My usual way is to keep doing something, but it’s NOT the task that needs to be done. So now, frustration or guilt is starting to add to the delaying, postponing and dilly-dallying. It makes me tired and sleepy.
What has been missing is taking care of me. Yes, I was procrastinating about my exercise. I do have a say over my time and when I want to exercise. It can be a 15 - 20 minute walk around the block. Just taking this small “step” (pun intended) would change my breathing and body energy. When energy increases, stress is reduced and the mind and body calms down. Research has found that exercise may stimulate the production of the brain chemicals norepinephrine and dopamine, which energize and elevate mood. Well, that is the first place for me to look at to see what I say to myself about my health. Usually, I put myself last on the list for things that NEED to be completed. I tell myself, tomorrow; I can miss a day; it doesn’t really matter.
Today, it does matter how I care for myself. My health and wellness matters to my family. It matters to the people I work with everyday. There is a cost when I don’t take care of myself. The cost is my well-being. Not just the physical, but my mental and Spiritual balance is off. The cost could be additional medical appointments, so my time and the actual dollar value to the treatments will hit my budget. The cost I don’t look at is my mental or Spiritual part. I will say, “I’m fine!”. Really looking and being honest, I will step over and cover up the sadness or anger. That then goes into the body. The emotions start the breakdown on the cells and tissues.
How do you get out of this? By one action, then another. It was simple for me. My husband asked me when I was going to start back exercising. Right there I have an accountability partner and a team. I drew a line in the sand and scheduled a window of time to exercise.
Let this journey begin, one step to overcome procrastination.
Have a GREAT day!!
Gail
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