There’s Something I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You
There's something I've been meaning to tell you. I've been trying mightily to train myself to let things be. This is harder than getting a Ph.D. in Psychology y'all since I managed that but still struggle with the other. Many life moments have brought this important...
How the Procrastination Cycle Gets Underway (and How to Break It)
There are many paths by which simple Procrastination develops into a full-blown Procrastination Cycle. Perhaps you know a few of them. One avenue by which Procrastination takes hold is the absence of communication. When we are reluctant or unable to speak what is on...
Learn How to Make Accommodations and Adjustments
A few weeks ago a friend asked me if it was difficult for me to come up with ideas for blog posts. My immediate response was "No," but I didn't have a clear sense at the time why that was my chosen response. Sure, sometimes it does feel difficult to come up with...
The Benefits of Everyday Habits
Many, many years ago, I spoke about Procrastination to a small group of 17 dissertation students at a major university. The group was polite, attentive, and eager to learn. Mid-presentation I spontaneously asked the group how many of the 17 were doing their work on a...
Get Creative When You Feel Like Procrastinating
Today, I thought I'd model what I sometimes do when I'm feeling unable to follow through with my regular routine. I have a general expectation for myself that I write and publish at least one blogpost per week. Some weeks that expectation is a no-brainer to fulfill....
Don’t Downsize Yourself
Procrastinators get the message from every which direction that they should: "just get it done" "just hand it in" "just get it over with" "just put your nose to the grindstone" "not worry so much about it" "not be such a fusser" From the outside, it would seem that...
5 Ways to Ensure Success in Your Day
As I was making breakfast this morning, my thoughts wandered to how I used to treat myself. I used to treat myself pretty badly. I would: not sleep not eat regularly eat my fair share of "junk" foods (my preference is sugar) work without taking breaks, but not...
7 Tips to Help You Become a Master Scheduler
All of us have limited resources: limited energy, limited brainpower, limited willpower, and limited time over the course of one day. When we have multiple activities we’d like to get to in one day, leaving the schedule up to chance is a recipe for having our...
Step of the Day: Get Yourself Organized via the Trello App
There are so many times in life where simplicity seems to be the answer to our most complex problems. One tool I use to keep me on top of my to-do list is the Trello app. I strongly and heartily suggest you download the Trello app immediately. You can use the Trello...
Develop Your Zone of Comfort
There's been a lot written about the importance of pushing past your "comfort zone" in order to do creative work, and to be productive in general. Sometimes that idea helps me, other times it just doesn't feel right for me. I'm not really a Rambo-type of...
What If You Could Expand Your Point of View?
I've recently been making it a habit of spending my hour-long commute listening to audiobooks and podcasts. If you haven't yet tried either or both formats of learning, I highly recommend you do. Not only are you able to sample content and information from a great...
Name Your Fears
In my work as a psychologist, I listen to patients and the fears they harbor. Since I tend to work with Procrastinators, the fears I hear about most frequently go like this: fear of making mistakes: we worry about doing something the wrong way fear of being awkward:...
On Strengthening Your Capacity to Trust
Procrastinators are known to have problems with getting work done. I wonder, often, if there is something more to Procrastination other than the actual work. In my experience working with clients who are trying to recover from chronic Procrastination, the root of...
Why
One of the most useful techniques I learned while training to be a psychologist was to avoid starting questions with “why” when addressing my patients. You ask, “Why why?” It is a great, easy way to start off a question or conversation, and it is very direct. It...
Don’t Insist On Clarity
Procrastinators are great at telling themselves what to do and what not to do. Unfortunately, many of those directions are rooted in a need for total clarity. Procrastinators tend not to act if there is an absence of clarity. In case I’m not making sense yet, here...
Step of the Day: Make a Move You Can Squeeze in Today
Over the course of a single day, we are involved in several different types of conversations. As a Procrastinator, you may have difficulty with a particular type of conversation, or, you may have difficulty starting any type of conversation. I thought it might be...