Late 2013 was the turning point. Having had enough of - ‘I so want to do that’ or ‘Won’t it be awesome, if I could finish that…‘. And then just not being able to ‘get it done because…(fill in the blanks)’. Always, leading me, to feel guilty. I confronted myself. I needed help. The easiest thing to do was to use the Internet, to search for something, that would help.
I read countless of articles, but nothing appealed, to me. Everything was so … polished. There were hardly a handful of articles that weren’t trying to sell me an idea or a product. Most of them lacked the procrastinator’s voice, his personal account and experience. I did find some reliable help.
The best one I found that helped, is - How to Beat Procrastination by Tim Urban. When I started reading it, I could relate with his daily war. Tim Urban, is in no way a professional. He’s a life long procrastinator, who has helped me. Helped me to, be able to not think about what or how I feel about getting things done. I still have the printed copy of his article, with me. Just in case, for those weak moments when I find myself listening to the ‘Mood Monkey’.
His experience with procrastination, laid out on that post, gave me the tools needed to tackle my ‘to-do’ lists. I am still at it, everyday. I get things done. By creating these hideous ‘panic monsters’ and thinking that I am a Vulcan. Why a Vulcan? Because, Vulcans don’t give a crap about their moods and feelings. When they need to get something done, they use logic.
Feelings are just hurdles. Train yourself to not to pay attention to how you feel, when you work. The gist of it is, that the toughest part of actually getting things done, is starting. Then comes, making sure you keep at it, whatever ‘it’ you have there on your to-do. Measurement of your progress and self-accountability are critical. Viz., become a Vulcan. Tim Urban does a better job at explaining it.
I doubt, I could publish once a day, everyday, without his post helping me, when I needed it. I recommend you take some time off. Read - How to Beat Procrastination by Tim Urban, if you are suffering the same as I was. It’s a lengthy article.
Another article by Dr. Terry Estrin, is a good read too. It’s about how Mood and Procrastination go hand in hand. You can read it here: Procrastination and Mood by Dr. Terry Estrin.
