I live a procrastinator’s life. I always have. It’s not going away. A couple years into my entrepreneurial journey, I realized I had to figure out how to embrace it in order to move forward in my business.

I’m not suggesting you ignore your procrastination. And I’m not advocating for always procrastinating. What I am saying is this: if it’s something that seems ingrained in your personality, you don’t need to keep fighting it. You can learn to live with it.

A few years into my business, I started sharing my time management secrets. They are basically the “secrets” to effective time management that I don’t think should be secret. 

During one of my presentations, I shared how I had moved from hating the fact I procrastinate, trying to avoid it at all costs and beating myself up when I wasn’t successful… to “planning my procrastination”. A wonderful participant said, “Wow, what a great mindset shift!” Yes, yes it was. Thank you (you know who you are) for helping me see that procrastination is all about mindset.

Friend, you don’t have to stop procrastinating. In fact, if you stop pushing against it, and use the feeling you get with deadlines and urgency to your advantage, everything will feel better. 

Embracing your procrastination is easier said than done. It’s something that is going to take a bit of your effort over quite a bit of time. I promise it’s worth it. Here’s a place to start…

Two Tips…

  1. Plan to procrastinate – Next time you have a deadline, make your best guess about how long it will take to complete the task. Double that amount of time. Then, create a block of time on your calendar to complete the task the day before it’s due. Warning -Don’t schedule three other things that day! This block of time is only for that task.
  2. Journal about your procrastination – to get at the mindset side of this topic, consider these questions. What is the real problem with waiting to do things at the last minute (you run out of time, you feel stressed)? Are you trying not to procrastinate because you think that is what you should do? When do you have the best and most creative ideas; is it at the last minute? After considering these questions, is it possible that your brain is just wired to procrastinate… and that’s okay?

 

Ready to embrace your procrastination but not sure where to start? If this seems like a crazy idea, let’s chat. One of my coaching offers might be the perfect place for you to start!