We all procrastinate for different reasons. And usually they’re really GOOD reasons. (Gotta take care of the kids, gotta get to the doctors, need to clean the house, or I need ME time, dammit!)
Have you ever taken an online course? Students finish three weeks of the course and then disappear. Course progress remains half done. Attrition in the big massive online courses (MOOC) is about 95%. (95%!) The passion that drove us to sign up in the first place begins to wan in the mundane work that it actually takes to cross the finish line. We start thinking, “it’s not really that important, is it?”
Here are three tips to getting past procrastination so that you can do the stuff you say you want to do. For real.
1. Kill your children
Not literally.
But we all have those things in our lives that we love to do (your yoga class, your morning walk, your tea date with your friend). Here’s the thing: your life is already full of stuff that you do (and like to do). And you’re going to have to sacrifice something nice in order to get your new goal accomplished. It will not just “fit in.” And thinking that we’re going to get it all done at 10 PM after the kids are in bed is not realistic. We lose discipline during the day, and by 10 PM at night, you’re likely going to want to nothing more than to drink a glass of wine and watch Rupaul’s Drag Race.
So you’re going to have to kill your children.
Last year, I published “Head Over Heels: A Yogi’s Guide To Dating,” and I also finished my Masters in Instructional Systems and Learning Technologies. What I gave up? My two hour morning ashtanga practice. I simply didn’t have the time to do it all and work a full time job.
Accept that you need to kill your children. You can always resurrect them on the other side.
2. Stop striving for perfection
Here’s another reason that I procrastinate: I want it to be perfect.
I think I have to have to have it all figured out before I start creating. I just don’t want to screw it up, or have to redo work. When I created my online course, I agonized over the course structure. I was afraid to start because I didn’t want to do it wrong.
Accept right now that you’re only going to get it 80% right. It will not be perfect. And there are things that you will learn that you can only learn through the creative process, by jumping in and getting your hands dirty. I already know a million things that I want to tweak in my online course. But now at least I’m 75% there. And 75% is a heck of a lot better than 0%.
Shoot for a solid 80%. As one of my mentors said, “Done is better than perfect.”
3. Work when you’re uninspired
We often wait to feel inspired to do the work. This is backwards. Sitting down to DO the work will lead to inspiration. If you wait to “feel like it,” you will consistently fail to do anything. It’s by actually sitting in front of the blank page, logging into your online course, or starting your market research that you being to feel inspired to be there. Do the work and get inspired. Not the other way around. There will probably be a good five minutes of grouchiness when you sit down to dig in. It will pass. And if it doesn’t, then you’re still five minutes closer to your goal than you were before. And that should give you a tiny warm fuzzy.
Finally, give yourself some appreciation. It’s freakin’ hard to change your life. We think it will be magical unicorns and flowing bliss, but in reality it’s elbow grease, stop-starts, and grouchiness. So when you put in the time on your project, take a moment and give yourself a huge pat on the back in appreciation. Even five minutes makes you a warrior.
Check out this procrastination e-book from my fabulous friend and coach Christine Young for more inspiration.
Here’s the thing.
Making your dreams come true – even if you get to 95% – will probably never match your image of what you thought it was going to be. You may always have that restless feeling of dissatisfaction and longing. There may always be “the next thing.” But the process of digging in is enormously rewarding in and of itself. Every creative act is an affirmation of your self-creation. And that’s a great reason to start now.
