Thursday, April 07, 2005
Do you procrastinate?
Those of you who have subscribed to my monthly ezine remember that last month's subject was that pain is not normal.
One way we inflict pain on ourselves is through procrastination. There are a few reasons why we procrastinate. One is fear. Fear of change, of conflict, of......
Another reason why we procrastinate is because we don't particularly enjoy the task.
I tend to procrastinate around cleaning the fridge - probably my most disliked house duty and around tax time. And you guessed it, now is tax time and here I am, talking about it!!! Whatever the reason we have or the excuses we find, procrastinating gives us pain because it increases our stress level. Anything we tolerate in our life as "unfinished" be it cleaning the garage, or the fridge or any other matter, we up our level of stress every time.
Coaching challenge: Take a sheet of paper and a pen. Write down everything you are postponing, procrastinating on or otherwise avoid. Make an exhaustive list. Besides each item, write down whether it's fear or dislike, or a possible third reason, not wanting it bad enough. Then assess the level of pain (stress) it's causing you. Keep the list in full view and decide which items you want to tackle first. (First scratch the ones you don't really want)
Then, imagine how it will feel like after you have completed each project. Choose one and take action to complete it. As you work on your list, evaluate the benefit of each action on your wellbeing. There is a great chance that the benefit will outweigh the work involved.
I am off to completing my income tax.
Have a great weekend.
Marguerite Tennier, M.A.
http://www.canadascoach.com
http://www.probonocoachingcanada.com
One way we inflict pain on ourselves is through procrastination. There are a few reasons why we procrastinate. One is fear. Fear of change, of conflict, of......
Another reason why we procrastinate is because we don't particularly enjoy the task.
I tend to procrastinate around cleaning the fridge - probably my most disliked house duty and around tax time. And you guessed it, now is tax time and here I am, talking about it!!! Whatever the reason we have or the excuses we find, procrastinating gives us pain because it increases our stress level. Anything we tolerate in our life as "unfinished" be it cleaning the garage, or the fridge or any other matter, we up our level of stress every time.
Coaching challenge: Take a sheet of paper and a pen. Write down everything you are postponing, procrastinating on or otherwise avoid. Make an exhaustive list. Besides each item, write down whether it's fear or dislike, or a possible third reason, not wanting it bad enough. Then assess the level of pain (stress) it's causing you. Keep the list in full view and decide which items you want to tackle first. (First scratch the ones you don't really want)
Then, imagine how it will feel like after you have completed each project. Choose one and take action to complete it. As you work on your list, evaluate the benefit of each action on your wellbeing. There is a great chance that the benefit will outweigh the work involved.
I am off to completing my income tax.
Have a great weekend.
Marguerite Tennier, M.A.
http://www.canadascoach.com
http://www.probonocoachingcanada.com
