I’ve been procrastinating, but I haven’t been beating myself up. Well, maybe a little, but not for being lazy.
Conventional “wisdom” says to just push ahead. “Force” yourself to do one thing. And then another. But what if that’s doing more harm than good?
When book production fell apart at the last minute, there were two options: (1) Push ahead as fast as possible. (2) Pause and do some forensic investigation. It did, after all, feel like a crime scene.
Procrastination is often your intuition telling you something is off. You’re avoiding something, but it’s rarely the task itself. If you don’t pause to investigate what that is, it’s likely to happen again – a textbook definition for staying stuck.
Procrastination is a call for emotional excavation. What feeling are you trying to avoid? It could be fear of criticism, judgment, failure, even success. It could be mixed with shame. Maybe you’re pushing yourself to do something faster than you are able. Maybe the people you depended on let you down. Maybe you were told you “should” do something a certain way and it doesn’t feel right for you. Maybe a relationship needs to be reshaped or ended and you’re avoiding the tough conversations. Maybe an important goal is falling apart and procrastination is urging you to pause and understand why instead of relentlessly pushing ahead.
And sometimes procrastination is simply telling you it’s time to rest.
Procrastination is rarely about being lazy. Forcing yourself to take action anyway bypasses a healing opportunity – physical, emotional, intellectual, or spiritual.
What is your intuition trying to tell you?