Why procrastinating doesn't make you a bad person

And 2 ways to immediately procrastinate less this week.

Another Sunday, another week locked in 🔐 

Let’s get into procrastination and how to absolutely smash the next 10 days and end Sprint 1 on a high.

What to expect this week:

• Are you a ‘lazy’ person for procrastinating?

• 2 ways to stop

• Live check-in replay link

JOIN THE FREE 1OO DAY SPRINT COMMUNITY

Are you a ‘lazy’ person for procrastinating?

If you’re anything like me (or 100s of us in the community…) you might let your procrastination make you feel guilty or shameful. You might call yourself lazy or unproductive.

Let’s stop that negative self-talk right it its tracks.

Research out there that indicates that procrastination is actually an emotional regulation problem rather than a time management issue. What does this mean? It means you procrastinate to avoid negative feelings, not because you’re lazy or not productive.

These negative feelings might come up because deep down, you doubt yourself and…

• you might think that if you do the task, it won’t be good enough

• you might think you don’t actually have what it takes to do the task

• you might fail at the task

• you might fail even if you do the task

• the task might involve you doing something stressful or anxiety-inducing

And the biggest reason almost 20% of people consider themselves chronic procrastinators is because they’re perfectionists, and just wanna do things well.

You. Just. Mean. Well.

Repeat after me: I just mean well. I’m not lazy or unproductive, I want to do the best I can.

2 ways to stop

✨ Break the thing you’re avoiding into teeny tiny tasks

Break overwhelming tasks into the smallest possible steps that can be done easily. Instead of “Read for 30 minutes,” break it into steps like “Make tea,” “Sit in reading nook,” “Pick up Kindle.”

Pro tip: make this a tickable checklist to hack your dopamine so you feel good about yourself for getting these micro-tasks done.

✨ The 2 Minute Rule

Commit to working on a task for just two minutes. After five minutes, you’re free to stop if you want.

The hardest part is often just getting started. The 2-minute rule helps you overcome the initial resistance, and often once you start, you’re more likely to continue!

Live check-in replay link

We had our first group check in today, with the focus on:

• celebrating your progress so far

• identifying your ‘procrastination magnets’

• planning a distraction and procrastination free 10 days until Sprint 2 begins

Watch the replay here and remember to carve out 20-30 minutes to actually answer the questions and go through the planning work. It will set you up for success for the rest of the sprint!

Speak soon,

Devamsha