Procrastination can be a detrimental problem for a lot of people. Do you have something that you've always wanted to do, but you keep putting it on the back burner? Maybe you've wanted to write a book or get into poetry. It could be getting those water colors out again and starting painting. Maybe you've wanted to start a new career or a new business. It could be as simple as clearing out that junk drawer. Even if you're still working from home at this time, you probably have some extra time. You're not commuting anymore, right? You're not going to get your haircut or get your nails done. You've got some extra time. You could use it to troll on Facebook or binge watch on Netflix. But if you used to do something that you've got on your back burner, trust me, you’d feel great about yourself.
Ask yourself what have I been putting off or neglecting. To stop the procrastination, you need to schedule time for it, preferably during the day. Block out time where that project you’ve procrastinated is your sole focus. You don't have to devote huge chunks of time, unless that works for you. Even as little as 15 minutes today will get you starting to go forward. Here are some ideas and suggestions that may help you.
Clean it out. Most of us have at least one space in our homes that makes us cringe, right? It's a drawer or a closet or even a whole room. It could be that box of family photos or your really old tax returns. If it's something you've really avoided cleaning out, schedule a small block of time, say just 15 minutes. We can stand to do just about anything for 15 minutes, right? You might find that you want to even keep on going at the end of the 15 minutes. But if not, just schedule another 15 minutes for the next day. Keep visualizing how great that space will look when you're done.
We know how important it is to exercise, but many people talk about exercising rather than actually doing it. It's simply another area that procrastination takes over. Its as simple as scheduling in a block of time every day. Again, maybe just starting with 15 minutes. You can do something as simple as march around the house or jog in place. Even better, you can find thousands of free online exercise routines that you can follow. My yoga instructor is doing yoga sessions via Zoom. In fact, I've set up something with certified instructors from my community, who are doing free virtual online classes every single day and it's free to everyone. Learn more about that, just go to my Facebook community page, East County Fun, and I'll be excited to see you there. And hey, it's open to everyone, so invite anyone you want.
Find something you like and make a commitment to do it every single day. Write your ideas down. Just get the ideas out of your head and on paper. Then step back and see that all those ideas might all come together in that song, or book, or a blog that you've always wanted to write.
And guess what? It's a great time right now to start a new career or business. I know that might seem impossible right now with the economy the way it is and it might seem crazy, but now is the perfect time to do all the groundwork and preparation for your new career business. Get whatever credentials you need for that new venture. Find a coach or a mentor who specializes in what you want to learn and get good at it and then go for it. Lots of schools are offering online courses.
Start researching supply options or marketing strategies. Start building your client or customer base. Again, schedule in specific lots of times for this daily and you may even have a new business or career idea that is perfect for these times, especially if it's online. If so, focus on getting your business ideas launched. Your back burner might be different than the ones that I had mentioned. Whatever it is, now is the perfect time to bring it into focus by scheduling time for it. Procrastination doesn't have to get in your way forever.
