Procrastination

Most ALL of us use procrastination at some time in our lives, do we not?

It seems to me if a tool is so widely used, there must be something to it. As a personal and corporate coach, procrastination is almost always the first thing my clients want to eliminate from their lives. As you will read, I advise them not to eliminate the very tool that is there to help them navigate the rough spots in life and business.

I prefer to think of procrastination in the same category as a detour in the road. The purpose of a detour is to give us a warning, help us avoid something un-navigable, or dangerous and provides a safer route. Detours usually take a little longer, they circumvent the problem, but in the end we arrive at our destination unscathed.

In most cases you will discover that properly employed procrastination, like a detour, will give you an alternate route to the solution of the problem at hand.

Talane Meidaner, in her book, Coach Yourself to Success poses this question: “What if procrastination was a good thing, and we stopped beating ourselves up about it and learned why we do it?” She describes several circumstances in which people find themselves procrastinating and offers solutions to the problem.

The Put Off: We Put off something we do not like doing. Sometimes if we procrastinate long enough it causes another person to do it for us, sometimes it becomes too late to do it and we end up not having to do it at all. What if instead, we looked at what it was we were putting off, determined it was something distasteful to us and immediately found a way to delegate it to another person? There may even be times when it makes sense to decline to do the task. In this instance it would be important to inform any people that may be depending upon us for the result or task, but in the end they are better served if we decide and inform them as soon as we know so they can get the job completed by someone that will probably do a more complete job anyway. And our reward is: the uncomfortable or distasteful task is off our plate and the energy drain caused by its presence is eliminated.

The Fear Factor: Sometimes we find ourselves procrastinating because we are frightened. We may believe we are not capable of completing the task. We may believe we do not have the knowledge or expertise to complete the project. We may believe we do not have anything of value to contribute. We may be frightened of rejection. The project may feel too big to us and we allow ourselves to become overwhelmed with its scope and not able to move ahead with the process. Fear is a real emotion and one to be heeded. But the possibility exists, to examine the fears and discover the energy behind them.

• If lack of knowledge or expertise is the fear, we can find ways to gather the knowledge we need or find experts in the particular field to support our work. We may need to request more time for research, but we can move ahead and complete the project.
• If the fear is that of not adding value, or being rejected: we can review our strengths, research, brainstorm and discover a method of adding value that may also eliminate the potential for rejection.
Once we can name the fear, we can often find a solution to its source and eliminate it.
There are many reasons why we procrastinate. The above examples are just a few. Think about times when you get stuck or are overwhelmed and procrastinating. What are some of your reasons?
In most cases you will discover that properly employed procrastination, like a detour, will give you an alternate route to the solution of the problem at hand. You can shorten the detour or speed up the process if you treat your procrastination as a tool that can help you through life rather than beating yourself up and wasting time in self-chastisement.
You can learn to use the five steps to using procrastination as a tool for life.
• First: Recognize when you are in procrastination mode. Speak out loud and call it by name!
• Second: Congratulate yourself for using so valuable a life tool!
• Third: Take the time to stop, think and look at why you are procrastinating.
• Fourth: take each why and discover solutions to those issues. Once you discover the why, and there may be multiple whys, it is much easier to break the problem into smaller parts and approach each issue.
• Fifth: Create a strategy and timetable to carry it out.
Coach’s challenge to you this week is to begin to look at procrastination in this more positive light. You will discover that it immediately becomes a friend, not a foe and the energy around it relaxes. Go a step further and begin to employ the five steps to using procrastination as a tool for life.

Love & Light
Coach Kevin

http://www.visionlogic.com

Priorities

Do you ever think about getting organized so you have more time for the things in your life that are important?

Often people ask me if coaching can help them organize their life in a manner that will take care of that issue for them. My first question is always, “What are you really asking? If you are asking if I can help you have 25 hours in a 24-hour day, the answer is a resounding, NO! If you are asking for support and coaching to help you set your true priorities and learn to live them, yes, coaching can help.”

It is not always that we are unorganized or inefficient in the use of our time. Many times the true issue is that we have allowed the outside world to dictate our personal priorities. If that is happening to you, you probably have some of the following symptoms: A feeling that you are gerbil running in a wheel. A fear that if you stop running you will be run over and that to step off the wheel is not possible. You never have enough time or energy for your family or the things that are enjoyable and fun. No matter how hard you work it will never all be done.

These symptoms can be a reflection of inefficient use of your time or lack of organization or it can also be your having given away your power to decide for yourself what will be most important in your life.
Whatever the cause, or combination, the starting point is getting control and clear on your priorities. So much of our lives may seem dictated and out of our control. You can take back control. The first step is to take a close look at what is absolutely necessary and non-negotiable. Survival items like food, shelter and clothing generally come first. After we have met those criteria we are truly at choice. This is where priority setting comes in. We each have the opportunity to decide for ourselves what is truly important. What is it for you? Is it success at work? A job you are passionate about? Time allocated for entertainment. A healthy lifestyle. Time enjoyed with the family and friends. For many people it is a fine balance of all of those items.

Organization and time management can insure we get the best use of our time and that little or none is wasted. If a person is well organized they generally have what looks like a lot more time because they accomplish so much in a day. Organization and time management are necessities for those of us who insist on a full life with many facets. Often times just getting organized can give us back precious hours we can then choose to spend on other priorities.

Once we are organized, and have taken back the lost hours, we are still faced with the reality of 24 hours in a day, no more. Then what? This is where priorities become important. We get to decide what is most important and use our time accordingly. This can often be a struggle, because we want to, feel like we should or feel like we have to “do it all”, that we can’t say “No”. The strange realization for many of us is that regardless of what we do or don’t, the world will probably go on and the “in” box will always be full. One less business proposal out may mean a potential loss of financial gain, but the lifelong connection created with your son or daughter because you were there when they hit that first home run is immeasurable.

I know I struggle with this. It’s caused many times for me by not realizing that true meaning in life comes from the simple moments with loved ones not from the proverbial “success” I am searching for at work, or the feeling of accomplishment sought after when trying to make a difference in the world. Usually what I am searching for is already within myself when I stop and appreciate what I am already blessed with.

Coaching Challenge: Review your priorities. Decide what the top 5 are in your life. Then take your 168 hours of your week and determine how many hours you will spend towards each priority. Don’t forget sleep! and personal grooming and eating. Usually you are left with about 100 hours after accounting for those. Then see how your week goes allocating the remaining 100 hours to these top 5 priorities. If the balance is too far to one side or the other, look at possibilities to tip the balance back. Make changes and try again until it feels right.

Just learn when to say no to things that do not fit your priorities.

Good Luck!

Namaste
Kevin

http://www.visionlogic.net

A Glass “Half Full”

It’s all about choosing our attitude! Each and every day, or part of a day, we have the ability to consciously choose our attitude and the mindset with which we approach the remainder of that day. How do you approach your day, your life?

Are you one who acknowledges your accomplishments and celebrates along the way? Or do you only see a long “To Do” list that grows daily?

Do you focus on “The Gap” that is in between you and where you want to ultimately be? Or do you turn around and see the great progress made so far on your path to your desires?
Do you leverage and grow your strengths, or lament your weaknesses? Do you recognize challenges, evaluate their impact and determine a strategy or solution or do you spend your emotional and energy bank account compulsively in worry and anxiousness over issues you cannot control.

Take a moment and think about yourself in these circumstances. If you resonated with the first half of each question, you see the glass as half full. Congratulations! You are on your way to success and proactive positivism, not only your own, but probably that of your team and or family as well. If like many of us, you find yourself connecting to the second half of some of the questions, you see the glass as half empty, at least part of the time and are possibly struggling with expectations and attitude adjustment.

The Challenge :You have created or been given a plan to accomplish a complex goal or project. There are numerous steps in the plan with time lines and deadlines to meet. There is information you have to discover or processes you have to learn in order to move forward. In order to carry out the plan: a combination of organization, management and both personal & team building skills are required. The final result depends not only on your creativity, vision & brilliance but also upon written as well as oral communication skills. There are several people or teams of people upon whom you have to rely in order to complete the project or meet the goal. You will bump into stumbling blocks along the path to fruition. You will have to re-think some parts of the strategy; brainstorm and make changes to insure the project is accomplished with the most efficient methods and in a timely manner. This scenario applies to the most complicated business start-up project or growing a family and running a household on a budget.

Now: Choose Your Attitude!
Accomplishments vs. Overwhelming “To Dos” Half Full: Within your plan, you set smaller goals and celebrate each one with your self or your team as you accomplish them. This choice renews your energy and enthusiasm to continue the project and highlights your momentum, dwells on completions and builds your team. Half Empty: Get caught up in the bigger goal, the deadlines and the unknown information. Dwell on what is not done and the growing list of tasks at hand. This attitude saps your energy, paralyzes a team and causes procrastination to flourish.
Leverage Strengths vs. Lament Weaknesses Half Full: Discuss or review the tasks at hand. Determine what tools, skills and talents are required to accomplish them. Distribute the tasks according to the strengths of your team. If you are your own entity, attack the tasks that your strengths speak to and look for ways to delegate or barter to accomplish the rest. If those methods do not work, brainstorm an alternative method to accomplish the task that honors your strengths. This choice creates synergy, builds self-esteem and maintains the project’s momentum towards its goal. Half Empty: Discover all of the tasks that cannot be accomplished by the team at hand and allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the impossibility of it all. Dwell on your personal weaknesses or those of your team. Continually second-guess decisions and work quality. If being stuck is your goal, these attitude choices will insure the hardening of the cement!

Recognize A Challenge vs. Compulsive Emotion/Energy Expense Half Full: A stumbling block/problem arises that is out of your control; you take a deep breath and see it as a challenge. You review the issues and determine the severity of the block, and its impact on the project. Along with your team, you discover the best strategy to minimize any negative impact and overcome the challenge. You create a method or procedure to insure the challenge does not arise again. This choice costs a few steps back and a reevaluation of the time line but you move on and past it with a sigh and possibly a stronger team! Half Empty: The same block arises; you allow yourself to view it emotionally as an insurmountable catastrophe. You expend an immense amount of energy worrying about the possible impacts, the potential losses and how people will respond to it. You assume the worst and are sure the project is doomed to failure and you will lose face or your job. You lose sleep over the problem and become anxious and unable to think clearly. Your lack of clarity causes you to compound the problem, creating a worse dilemma. With this attitude, you lose it!
The Coaching Challenge :What attitude do you choose? Do you react or do you respond to the world around you? My challenge to you is to become aware of your attitude choices. Notice when your attitude is slipping or ask a trusted friend or partner or coach to gently help you see the times your choice is leaning towards the half empty. Ask yourself questions about your negative reaction. What is the payback? Once you have developed awareness and determined the payoff, look at possibilities and the paybacks for responding with a positive attitude. Remember, whatever you decide, your attitude is always your choice!

Respond don’t React.
Better Choices, Better Results!

Namaste
Kevin Brough

http://www.visionlogic.net