Procrastinate With Purpose ; Secrets of Simplicity

Procrastination has an undeservedly bad reputation. Most consider procrastination one of their weaknesses and they beat themselves up over it. Perhaps they have it all wrong. What if procrastination is really the good guy instead of the bad one? What if it was another way of living your dreams and reaching your goals?

Unusual? What if there were different ways of looking at what many consider the blight of the productive world- procrastination?

We lump a great deal in one category and maybe this step-child of our do it all society has a bad rap. There are actually several types of procrastination.

You don’t enjoy your task so you put it off  – I am a firm believer if you don’t like doing something, you probably should not be doing it. If you want to have a great life, and focus on what matters most to you, perhaps it is time to rethink the shoulds and work towards a shift to the bits and pieces of life which you can put your whole heart into. If you can’t avoid a task- find a way to bring life into it.    Laundry was never a favorite task of mine, but I made a time of prayer over my family as I sorted and folded their clothes each week.  I still didn’t love the task, but it brought me to prayer on their behalf which was a good thing for this busy mama’s heart. 

You procrastinate because you don’t know how to handle something. You have a difficult customer at work or your taxes and accounting are a disaster – and you want to do anything but face the problem.The dance of avoidance begins and soon what was a problem initially has now exploded into a firestorm simply because you put off what you needed to do, because you were not sure how to tackle it well.  Sometimes you have to jump in with both feet, others you can bring in others to help. If you need a specialist to tackle a specific issue like bookkeeping or training;take a step towards getting the support  you need. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. 

You procrastinate because you don’t really want to do what you said you want to do. This is called having the wrong goal in the first place, or if not the wrong goal, the wrong strategy. Take losing weight. We know we should. We know we want to feel better, but just the thought of “lose weight and get in shape” sends chills down the heartiest of souls. Procrastination can sabotage even the worthiest of goals if you set them because you should, but don’t really have the why behind your what. 

You may have your own reasons for indulging in procrastination. If you are determined to simplify your life and focus on what matters, perhaps looking at your specific goals and activities will bring more clarity to your desire to live a life that matters!

Today’s Challenge- Make a list of all the things you are procrastinating about, challenge yourself to figure out why. 

• Are there things on your list you think you should do but have no passion for?
• What can you do about those things?
• Can you modify some of the tasks you are currently procrastinating on to bring life to it (prayers over laundry  or a similar passion that fits you)
• Do you need more expertise in an area to keep you from living in overwhelm? Are there friends who are really good at the thing you dislike who could barter skills with you or lend you a bit of advice?

If you are enjoying this journey please invite your friends, family and random strangers to join in- the world will be a better place because of it!  Share the love and bring them along  or stop by Facebook  for more tidbits as you begin to enjoy the richness of  better life with less.

Blessings to you my sweet reader friends- so proud of you who are journeying with me…your stories inspire me to keep at mine!