7 D’s of Overcoming Procrastination

“A year from now you may wish you had started today.” — Karen Lamb

I recall last fall mentioning an extensive program I was working on. Well it sat in my procrastination file for a long while. It stirred up some guilt, accountability and integrity issues that I also repressed and procrastinated.

Sometimes I experience small procrastinations that grow as deadlines near. Or big decisions that trigger fears. Or the things that drain away my energy, motivation and worthiness.

So a short while ago I got real serious and examined my process for overcoming procrastination. It is an expansion of a common “4 D’s of overcoming procrastination” process. – Do it, Dump it, Delegate it or Delay it (into the future).

I get much more meaning, learning and growth from this 7 step process below – the 7 D’s of Overcoming Procrastination.

Try it as you bring to mind something you have been procrastinating for weeks or months and apply the 7 D’s.

1. 1. Dream it or Divine it – Expand it. Use your imagination. Give it meaning. Hook it into your life purpose. Meditate on it. Apply your intuition to it. Expanding or divining your task can add more energy and motivation to it as it makes more sense fitting into a bigger picture.

 

1. 1. De-Devil it – Procrastination most often comes from unclear goals, not being aligned with your life purpose, lack of information and/or skills, general disorganization, fears of moving into new territory or a fear of failure or success or a fear of making mistakes, feeling overwhelmed, experiencing a lack of time due to over-commitments, poor timing. It can also be an intuitive caution or early warning signal, or a breakthrough doorway that leads to a new opportunity.

 

1. 1. Delegate it – Give it to one of your staff, or friends or a virtual assistant.

 

1. 1. Date it – Delay it into the future. Put it onto your calendar or planning system.

 

1. 1. Dabble in it – This is my favourite. I do this for my writing projects – I pick 4 writing topics and set a timer and write for ONLY 5 minutes on each topic. Then I pick the 2 that I now know I am interested in completing and I write about them for 10 more minutes each. And then I pick one and finish it. Now I have 3 other tasks with a good start during my next writing session. By immersing myself in different tasks I KNOW which one feels right to start with and being IN THE TASKS the energy shifts and ideas flow.

 

1. 1. Do it – Just do it. Right now. Without any hesitancy.

 

1. Dump it – If none of the above strategies worked, throw it out. Get it off your list.

So regarding my program procrastination, I dreamed it and divined it and gave it more depth, meaning and ingenuity. I am full of excitement now and the program is rolling along. Stay tuned over the next few weeks and see what I have come up with.

“Maybe I’m lucky to be going so slowly, because I may be going in the wrong direction.” — Ashleigh Brilliant

“Someday is not a day of the week.” — Janet Dailey