4 reasons you can't get things done (& how to fight it)
I am right there with you. There are days - even weeks I look back and wonder what in the heck I accomplished.
And then there are days when I just buckle down and crank out a bunch of work.
What's holding me back on the days I can't seem to do more than find the remote and turn on netflix? What can I do to help fight procrastination?
Here are the things that I think cause me (us - I'm not going down alone) to procrastinate.
1. Fear of the unknown -
as a small business owner who literally has to google everything every day, fear is the number one for me that leads to procrastination. I am afraid to start a new project an amazing customer dreamed up because i've never done it before. I am afraid to go to the print shop because what if they ask a question I don't know!?
The greatest thing about this one is that once you do the scary thing - then you can do it a million more times and it's not as scary.
The bad thing is that there will always be something new to learn.
Solution: Have confidence in yourself. There will always be someone out there that doesn't know what you don't know also.
I also think being honest about what you don't know in certain situations helps - especially in instances like going to the print shop - they are the professionals, they SHOULD know more than you do about what they do and provide.
2. Perfectionism -
We tend to set unrealistic standards for ourselves and get REAL bummed when we don't come close to meeting them. We are also our own worse critics, right? Well, as Jenna Kutcher always says, "Done is better than perfect."
Solution: Like I mentioned above, done is better than perfect. I've realized in my time as an artist - a lot of the flaws that I see in my work are absolutely invisible to EVERYONE else. No one else can see the majority of the things that I don't like about work.
I had been meaning to make a website for a good year before I did - because I didn't know what I wanted it to look like and I didn't know how. Finally I just had to submit my credit card info into the site so that I would actually have a fire lit under my bum to get going. I worked hard to get my first site up & it's been less than half a year and I've changed it like 5 times. Just get the thing done - it doesn't have to be perfect.
3. You'll "do it later" -
It's SUPER easy to put things higher on your list of to dos that seem to impact your immediate future and push "other" to dos farther down the list to do them later. I do this a lot - "oh, i'll letter the wood tonight." Then tonight rolls around and dishes need down and a toddler needs put to bed.
Solution: Do you know Rachel Hollis? Well, I don't know her personally, but her instagram is @msrachelhollis & she just had a book come out Girl, Wash Your Face. I remember she talks about counting down from 5 - 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 and doing the thing.
The only solution here is to just GET. IT. DONE. I'm writing this blog post at 1 am because "write some dang blog posts" has been on my calendar and being transferred to the next day day after day for the last couple of months.
4. It's a task that takes effort or hard work -
When I know that I will have to bust out my ruler and do a bunch of math to make sure my wood sign is perfectly centered and spaced, I am more likely to put it off and do easier projects instead.
Solution: I feel SO accomplished when I complete jobs that are harder than others. I think for this problem you need to realize how good you'll feel when you get it done. How proud you will be of yourself.
There are MANY other reasons I procrastinate. I have given myself the excuse since high school that I produce my best work when I wait until the last minute. Whether that's true or not, it is not efficient and it adds stress and strain to my relationships.
Have you ever procrastinated and then had to rush to get a project done and anyone who came into your path got their head chewed off? ... oh, ya no, me neither.
Fellow procrastinators, let's work on these together!
Love y'all!
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