Yesterday, I was privileged to be hosted on a friend’s Instagram Live show, “Thinking Out Loud with Praise Ero”. It was my first time being featured on any such show, and I was super excited —and a little bit nervous— when she reached out with the invitation to be her first guest on the show.
The discussion was tagged “Dear procrastinator”. When she mentioned the topic to me, I wasn’t sure I was qualified to take on it as my battle with procrastination is an ongoing one. It turned out to be quite an interesting session as we shared our experiences with procrastination and how we’re dealing with it. Today’s post is more like a recap of some of the gems from the show. And in case you’re interested in checking it out, you can watch the replay here.
Procrastination is a broad subject, and it can be approached from different perspectives. A lot of books have been written on it. There are so many articles online addressing the topic. Tons of videos exist on YouTube talking about it. However, today’s entry would focus more on my own experience with procrastination, more specifically in my creative journey.
Look Before You Leap
We are probably quite familiar with the saying above. It is often used to connote the necessity of considering all the facets of an idea before acting on it. Logically, this makes a lot of sense… But is it possible that there are side effects to this advice?
In my creative pursuits, I tend to stumble on most of my ideas serendipitously. They are sometimes borne from the most mundane things —a random conversation, a book, something I saw online, in the shower. Every idea comes with a spark of excitement, and I get pumped about it. However, right after the initial euphoria fades, a highly analytical phase follows. I proceed to consider my ability to pull it off. Do I have the required skills to realize it? What are the resources at my disposal? What’s the feasibility of the idea both in the short term and long term?
These questions are vital as they help you figure out what is needed for execution. But on the flip side, there’s often a tendency to overthink the matter and end up experiencing “paralysis by analysis”. Sometimes, the more you look, the more you see reasons not to execute the given idea. This subsequently leads to a lot of procrastination.
As much as it is necessary to analyze ideas before acting on them, I have learnt to leap first and look as I go. More often than not, we exaggerate the possible obstacles involved with the idea, and this is because we can’t see that far from point zero. Not until we quit procrastinating execution and take the initial actions towards the goal, we might remain stuck in the loop of thinking about the idea rather than doing it.
Being Ready Is Overrated
In all my dealings —working on projects or assignments, preparing for an event, and even dressing up for school—, I have learnt that if you wait until you feel it’s time to start moving, then there’s a high chance that you’re late already.
There’s often a delusion that we have more time on our hands than we actually do. So we delay taking action until we feel “ready”. From personal experience, the best time to move is way before you feel ready. Usually, we underestimate our capabilities and push things for later because we don’t feel ready for those tasks.
Well, you’ll never truly know if you’re ready or not until you move. And if along the way, you discover that you jumped too early, at least you will come out of that experience knowing what exactly you lack. This would help you prepare better for your subsequent trial.
Structure & Consistency
A large part of the discussion revolved around setting up structures that help overcome procrastination and staying consistent with those structures until your goal is achieved.
One of the barriers to getting started is the perceived magnitude of the task before us. The bigger the task, the higher the chances of procrastinating on it. I am more likely to procrastinate on tasks with greater value than on mundane tasks. This is often due to the concept of “Internal Resistance” (as discussed in a previous blog post).
From the book “Atomic Habits”, James Clear explains that any task can be broken down into smaller bits that are easily doable with minimal resistance. Those lofty goals can be trimmed down the least denominator, and if those little bits are consistently sustained over time, it adds up to the larger goal.
Setting up a structure or schedule that allows you to engage in the atomic habits that lead to your grand goals tricks your brain into taking action on the things that matter to you.
“Thinking Out Loud with Praise Ero” is a monthly show slated for every second Saturday of the month on Praise’s IG page. It promises to be insightful and full of value. Follow her on IG and anticipate future episodes:)