Dear Members,
This week, I am writing about procrastination. It's the beginning of spring and time to get going ... but sometimes it just isn't that easy. Have you ever experienced that overwhelming feeling of not knowing where or how to tackle a particular task or project and, as a consequence, being more or less unable to act?
For most of us, procrastination is an occasional issue, but sometimes it can be more than that. I recently had an experience with a member I'll call Mike. When Mike first wrote to me, he was struggling with getting his projects completed at work. After talking with him, I could tell he was a perfectionist. He was extremely smart, but procrastinated with everything from laundry to work projects, and this was really causing him grief.
I just want to clarify, that Mike wasn't lazy. He was simply paralyzed when it came to making a decision. He was afraid of making a mistake. As a consequence, he often waited until the last minute to complete important projects work, and as a result his work was often sloppy and incomplete.
The first thing I did was to challenge Mike to stop over-thinking his projects. Worrying about what has to be done and imagining terrible outcomes or not addressing things at all only makes the job harder in the end. I explained to him that while we all occasionally make mistakes, correcting a mistake was better than presenting incomplete work. I advised him not to let the planning stage become more important than the doing.
I also felt Mike should break his work down into smaller increments. If the idea of an entire project seemed overwhelming, he could make it more manageable. By doing this, he would be better able to tackle things that once seemed overwhelming.
It was clear that Mike needed to face his fear of not being perfect. This fear was keeping him from making decisions and completing work on time. I pointed out that this need to be perfect was the culprit of his mistakes and resulted in his submitting work that was far inferior to what he was capable of. Mike was skeptical of this information, but said he would try anything to help him hold onto his job.
About six months after, Mike sent me a nice note telling me that I had been right about everything. He said he was still dealing with his procrastinating habit, but that it happened less often and that his work situation had greatly improved. He even said his boss had noticed the change and that he had even received a small promotion.
I hope you will be inspired by Mike's story and realize that we all suffer from procrastination, but it is equally important to realize we can address it. By taking action, and following through regardless of our fears of making mistakes, we can tackle our projects and the things we want to bring to fruition.
Dear2Dream.......Its Possible!
Fears of making mistake have been hindrance success in life!