I admit it. I’ve been a huge procrastinator as of late. I’ve gone through pretty much every decent movie in my collection and cleaned the house more times than necessary over the past couple of weeks. How are you supposed to focus on your dreams when there’s blueberry picking and birthday parties?
The first key in overcoming overwhelm and procrastination is to recognize you’re there. ::Raising my hand:: Recognized!
There’s hope!
Here are the 3 P’s that will keep you on track, reduce your overwhelm, and help you create your dreams faster!
- Purpose: What is yours? What is your BIG why? My blogging students know how much I love Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk: How Great Leaders Inspire Action where he discusses how companies and leaders who are clear about why they are doing what they’re doing make much more of an impact. When you know your WHY, you can ask yourself when things come up: “Is this in alignment with my big purpose? Will this bring me closer to my goal?” Be honest with yourself about this and go with your gut.
- Priorities: If you’re anything like me, you have lots of dreams and adventures you want to have in life. That’s fantastic! I’ve learned throughout the years that prioritizing is essential. The most important resource you have is your time, so don’t waste it on activities, people, or tasks that don’t bring you joy, meaning, or closer to your dreams (with an obvious exception for basic necessities). Calendaring is something I hardcore resisted as a restraint on my free spirit early on but planning out your time often creates more freedom and allows you to be present to each activity, including leisure time.
- Progress: Track your progress as you move forward. It can be easy to beat yourself up for not achieving XYZ yet, but take a look back every week or month and see how far you’ve come. Make time to celebrate your accomplishments and victories along the way (even if they are simple joys like blueberry picking).
Remember that everything has its own timing
Bonus tip*: Outsource & delegate. Ask for help. Hire people (by the way, I’m currently on the lookout for a part-time virtual assistant, know anyone?). Finally, one of my all-time favorite books is Ask and It’s Given, and there’s a fantastic exercise on delegating to the universe.
Remember that your days make up your life, so enjoy them! Allow for timing. Have fun and take it a bit easier on yourself during Mercury Retrograde. 😉
What about you? What are some of your tips for overcoming procrastination?
I really identified with this post. I’ve found myself procrastinating recently when I run into challenges or barriers that get in the way of my goal. Love the 3 P’s – going to try them!
Glad to hear that you liked the 3 P’s, Alex! Keep in mind the progress one in particular. Look at how much you’ve accomplished in such a short period of time! 🙂 You’re making it happen!
“The most important resource you have is your time, so don’t waste it on activities, people, or tasks that don’t bring you joy, meaning, or closer to your dreams” – SO true. It’s easy to forget about the things that make you happiest when focused too closely on the ‘right now’ of daily life!
Thanks for visiting, pretty lady! Glad that line resonated with you! It can definitely be easy to get caught up in the daily minutia of life, but that’s what life is. The more deliberate and conscious we can be about how and who we spend our time with, the easier and better we make our lives! 🙂
I’m raising my hand with you Jacqueline. Great post! Thanks for sharing 3 important tenants that serve as reminders for those of us who struggle to break free from the clutches of procrastination so we can achieve certain goals/dreams.
Thanks JoAnna! We can overcome! 🙂 I appreciate you taking the time to read and to comment. The post was getting a bit long, so I didn’t include it, but another way I break free from the clutches of procrastination is by having a deadline, whether it’s an accountability buddy or asking for people to give me a specific due date. Definitely helps me keep on track!
Awesome post Jacqueline! I am a strong believer in priorities because more often than not it can be quite easy to get caught up in something that may not help you progress. This can be dangerous for your productivity, progress and at the same time can distract you from your purpose. Hence why I believe, he who has his priorities right will succeed.
So glad you liked it, Jaryd! It can indeed! One of my clients had a wonderful point about priorities–ultimately, priorities are choices. We make hundreds of choices every day, and breaking it down to see if they are aligned with what’s most important to us makes all the difference. Thanks for stopping by and commenting–look forward to hearing from you again! 🙂
Citizens Resource Alliance; or CitiReAlli, a community projects development, employment agency and resource library was my dream for a national pilot project.
That sounds great, Melissa Ann! Maybe there’s something like that that you can still pursue!
Had the citirealli dream been told from the inside; the why, the intended perks for participants, it’d not be an embarrassing goal.