Procrastination and Personal Development
This year I set myself a stretch goal to start writing business related articles and to complete a novel. The problem with setting goals like this is I’m the only who can keep myself accountable. It’s now September and I’ve written fourteen articles since January. I have also written one novel and started a second one. This is good but I’d hardly say that I am kicking any goals.
Why is it so hard to do things that we actually enjoy doing?
I think that since they are low reward and other than being something we want to do there is very little motivation and incentive to complete these tasks.
Not just work goals, my fitness goals suffer from a similar issue. I like running and cycling but sometimes I just find it so hard to get started. If I can start though, I usually enjoy myself and feel pretty good about myself at the end. Even knowing I’ll enjoy it isn’t enough sometimes to light that fire under me.
I have spent today cleaning out my stationary drawers, drafting my next social media campaign and pretty much doing anything other than what I should be doing. I’ve finally had enough and promised myself that if I just type for ten minutes I can go and get a coffee. That seems to have worked and I have finally sat down and started thinking about what I wanted to write about.
The first step is sometimes the hardest
As a coach I tell people that if they don’t see an activity or change a behaviour as being important then it won't happen. I think it’s very hard to change habits or create new ones even when you are passionate about it. It’s practically impossible if you're not invested in some way. I love the feeling of satisfaction I get when I finish the next chapter of my novel or when I have an article ready to share with a wider audience. So why do I find it so hard to do this?
Well for a start, I don’t actually get paid for this. The only person who benefits from self-development is myself. I may want to add content creator/writer to my list of career activities but the only way that will happen is if I actually write articles.
So how do I actually overcome my own procrastination and push myself to do an hour of writing everyday?
Make it part of your daily routine
I schedule it into my calendar. Then I actually try to use that time to write. Our days are generally filled with activities we must do. If I want something to actually happen then receiving a reminder really helps me to remember why I put it in there in first place.
Ask someone to hold you accountable
I have an accountability buddy. I meet with a friend and she asks me how the writing is going. She helps me to put deadlines into my own calendar and she calls me out if I don’t achieve them.
Just do it!
Set a timer
Sometimes I tell myself I’ll just sit down for ten minutes and do some writing. I actually find for me that this is the best way I can get things done that I’ve either been putting off or actively avoiding. I can pretty much do anything for ten minutes whether it’s to start an article or go for a swim. If I start with a promise of just doing ten minutes I’ll often find it easy to do an hour or more of the activity.
If it’s working keep going
My note came up on my calendar a few hours ago to write an article. I phaffed about trying to come up with something to write about and then I finally sat down and wrote something. I didn’t actually need to time myself for ten minutes. It didn’t become necessary as once I started I got into it and just kept going.
The thing is I know if I can get started then I’ll keep going till I'm finished. The point is nothing will get done if you don’t start. Sometimes you just need to start and then stick with it till you're done, whether that’s till you get stuck, the timer goes off or you have managed to finish what you started.
Coffee time!
