This was my #6 speech last month… And it was a true experience… I procrastinated until the last minute – and decided that I’d just write about the topic itself.
I meant to post this after I presented it, but oh well, again, I procrastinated 🙁 I’m currently stuck in this dilemma again… I’ve struggled to write the speech for my contest T.O.M.O.R.R.O.W!!!!! This time it’s not because I’ve procrastinated (yeah! :)), but it’s because for some reason, I haven’t felt crazily passionate about any particular topic for the last week or so. Oh no, let me take that back, yes I’m enthused with a few ideas, but gosh, I can’t seem to be able to decide on one and elaborate on it. My mind has just wandered from one thought to the next. It’s like chasing after loose change falling on the floor. And being the perfectionist that I can tend to be, if I “feel” like I can’t get a firm grip on the topic, I am “afraid” that I won’t be able to produce the best work that I can, so I don’t proceed, which I guess will result in a self-fulfilling prophecy. Because I don’t proceed, of course I won’t be able to produce anything, which will prove my own presumption that my work will just simply suck (and now that I don’t have any work, it truly sucks!)… Arg… So I’m posting my own speech here to remind myself that I’m better off just to start writing something, even if it doesn’t feel like the best at the moment…. (which is point #3 in this speech)…
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“The search for the perfect venture can turn into procrastination. Your idea may or may not have merit. The key is to get started.” That quote gives me goose bumps every time I hear it, thinking about all the things that I’ve always meant to do. Yes, at the risk of airing my dirty laundry in public, I’m telling you that I’m a self-proclaimed procrastinator. Since last Wednesday, I knew I had to speak tonight, but yet there was this little soothing voice in my head that kept singing “I’ll get to it tomorrow…” Tomorrow came and went, and here I was again, at midnight before the due date, frantically searching for a topic to write about. It wasn’t fun. It was frustrating, stressful, and worst of all, it gave me this sense of disappointment that I failed myself once again! Being royally pissed at not being able to come up with a good topic thanks to my procrastination, I decided to google some advice on how to conquer this bad habit, and cha-ching, maybe turn it into a speech. After reading some myriads of articles with tons of practical advice, I am going to share with you tonight three tips that I personally found very helpful from an author named Steve Pavlina.
First tip – we need to replace “Have To” with “Want To.” Let’s think about it for a second, we are always free to choose what we want to do, even though in a lot of instances, the consequences of the reverse action are quite severe, and these are the times when we tend to think that we “have to” do something. But we actually “choose” to do it in order to avoid the undesired outcomes mentioned previously. Stephen Covey also talks about this concept in his “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” book. Applying this understanding in every task that we do will help us look at them with a sense of empowerment and joy. It will help eliminate the feelings of resentment and rebellion of “having to” do something. So the next time you feel like “having to” write that TPS report, change your internal dialogue to “I want, or choose, to do this because I do not want the consequence of [fill in the blank].” And then watch your mental attitude shift.
Secondly, we can replace “Finish It” with “Begin It.” Sometimes it is overwhelming to think about completing an entire project, especially one that’s unpleasant and complicated. The automatic defense mechanism of avoiding pain kicks in, and we’re guaranteed to put it off. Even if we tell ourselves we “want to” do this, the eluding reward seems pale comparing to the painful complications the task is presenting. In this case, let’s just focus on starting one small piece of the task first. Let’s ask “What small step can I start on right now?” Do this enough times and we will eventually finish the task. It is also helpful to write down the progress we’ve made in order to encourage ourselves. The pithy Chinese proverb “A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step” eloquently illustrates this point.
Thirdly, replace “Perfectionism” with “Permission To Be Human.” This point truly hits home to me. I used to be an anal perfectionist (and I still somewhat am :-)). If I didn’t think I could do an excellent job, I would rather not do it at all. That mindset evidently contributed greatly to my procrastination habit. If there was a task I knew I wasn’t too fluent with, I would wait until the last minute because unconsciously I knew I gave myself an excuse to produce a not-so-perfect result: I just didn’t have enough time! Doing this repeatedly, and it will become a habit to put things off, even to the ones we know we’re decent at and will have a chance of perfecting them if we start early enough. It is a counterproductive mentality and will only perpetuate itself. If you find yourself in this category as I am, tell yourself that it’s okay to just do it and end up with something rather than nothing. Besides, who knows, starting now will increase the chances of it being much better than you expect.
Mentally we all know the repercussion of procrastination – missed opportunities, mediocre results, stress, frustration, resentment, self-disappointment, guilt, and the list goes on. Just like any other habit, knowing it is one thing, and actually doing something about it is another. It is often a difficult process. However, with the right help, determination, and discipline, I know we all can conquer our internal demons. I hope the simple ideas I shared with you tonight – putting power into our decisions, starting with a small step, and allowing ourselves to be human – will help you and me break the inertia and plow forward with such joyful momentum. Remember, “Procrastination is like masturbation. At first it feels good, but in the end you’re only screwing yourself. ”
