Thanks to Julie Ann Lien for sharing this quote!
Over the years, I’ve come to think of myself as a procrastinator and even…lazy. I believe that I lack self-discipline. “I was never taught that,” I explain.
It’s true. Things were pretty casual in my house when I was growing up, and other people’s homes that had that air of productivity and order always struck me as sort of stifling.
I always did enough to get by—I mean, it could be worse. Still, my M.O. on long-term school assignments, for example, was to whip something out right before (or just after!) the deadline and still pull off a B for the semester because I could do well on tests. After all, during a test, keeping my butt in the chair and working was well enforced.
This even carried over into my work life. In one of my first jobs as a data processing clerk, I remember handing over to my replacement an enormous stack of filing that I’d simply put off. (Although, really, if that filing had needed to be done, wouldn’t someone have noticed I wasn’t doing it? But that’s a topic for another day.)
At the same time, there were tasks that would suck me in. When I first learned how to write macros in WordPerfect (back in the days when you actually had to write the code), I spent hours and hours developing macros for nearly every task I did on the word processor. I loved the logic puzzle it presented and had no trouble at all applying myself to that. Likewise, I would stay up past my bedtime writing novels on my Smith-Corona, with no taskmaster or whip in sight.
But that work felt like goofing off, and I developed a very solid image of myself as a shirker and procrastinator in spite of this evidence to the contrary. I’ve carried that self-image with me throughout my life, even while creating vast quantities of original curriculum, planning and executing a nine-month camping trip, and raising a child.
We all have our preferred activities and those that create resistance. Why are we so quick to notice when we don’t get things done and overlook the times when we do?
Choosing to identify with the part of ourselves that does take action, follow through and produce can be a key to developing the habits that allow us to get more done.
When we identify with the part of us that resists and procrastinates, it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s a habit in both thought and action (or inaction).
The next time you’re faced with a task that you resist doing, try tapping into the part of you that can be productive and committed to a task. What does it feel like when you’re in that mode? Can you transfer the satisfaction you get from doing something engaging to the task at hand?
Also make a point of noticing what you do accomplish just as much as what you don’t accomplish. If you didn’t get to a bunch of items on your to-do list, what did you do instead? Can you give yourself credit for some of those things?
It’s especially important to notice the steps you took in the right direction, even if they were small. Did you at least look up the phone number for that call you’ve been putting off making? Did you spend a few moments thinking about one of the characters in your book and where you might take them next? All of these types of actions count as productivity because you can’t get to the finished product without them.
Lately I’ve been playing with www.TaDaList.com and www.iDoneThis.com as a way to keep track of all that I accomplish. It’s a great way to wrap up your day and reinforces the idea that “I get stuff done.”
When you look in the mirror, instead of viewing yourself as a procrastinator, try identifying instead with your productive self. Over time, you’ll start thinking of yourself as someone who gets things done. You always were, but once you’ve internalized that belief about yourself, there’ll be no stopping you.
Have you developed identities that bring you down instead of inspiring your best work? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Yep, I do that all the time! I am super driven and reliable about my blog but I will tell you that I am a huge procrastinator. This would definitely be the truth about laundry and dishes but it really isn’t necessary to beat myself up about that. Thank you for giving me some freedom!
Kathy Sprinkle recently posted..Humility has a way of knocking one down a peg or two when needed, eh?
Twitter: BlissHabits
Yeah, it’s really not fair to draw these generalizations about ourselves, and so often based on our worst traits rather than our best. And if you’re going to procrastinate something, it seems laundry and dishes are definitely lower priorities. Dirty things multiply much faster than you could possibly keep up with anyway (kind of like that stupid filing I didn’t do).
Twitter: Sue_Mitchell
A wonderful, helpful post as usual, Sue!
I’ve found it’s definitely more motivating and positive to identify ourselves as being productive and successful, rather than berate ourselves (so fast, so regularly!) the second we procrastinate, wrestle with resistance, or get stuck in overwhelm.
It really does help to write down what we HAVE accomplished. For the past few weeks, I’ve started to list a daily ‘credit report’ of my creative/business activity (thanks to your great suggestion) and I’m actually surprised how much I do get done. Perhaps there was quite a bit I must have been doing in the past that I wasn’t acknowledging…
Changing my mindset to a more affirming one is an ongoing process but it is definitely easier to look in the mirror and see myself as a successful, productive person when I have some tangible proof at the ready
Yes, tangible proof! It’s kind of like Jill Badonsky’s recent Facebook post, “If you were arrested for kindness, would they have enough evidence to convict you?” Let’s make a point of gathering evidence that we are effective, productive people and destroy any evidence to the contrary, LOL.
Twitter: Sue_Mitchell
It’s so nice to hear that someone I respect and think of as productive was just as much of a slacker as I was in school… getting by on last-second spurts and genetic good luck. I keep sliding back into that self-identity whenever I run into a roadblock, which is much more often now that I’m actually moving forward. Roadblocks scare me and I spend inordinate amounts of time sitting there with my engine idling, petrified that I will be found out. But when I finally work up the nerve to inch forward again, the guards at the gate always wave me through. I need to remind myself that frequent obstacles are just a sign of forward motion.
LaVonne Ellis recently posted..My Secret
Oh, LaVonne, you don’t know the half of it! We’re talking all kinds of avoidance, deception, etc. to get out of doing school work. One day I realized it was actually more work to avoid the work than to just do it! And it’s only recently that I’ve realized that I am not that person anymore, and really haven’t been since I was about 24. Sigh…a quarter century of mistaken identity!
By the way, imposter syndrome is typical of intelligent people. Smartypantses can slide by with little effort in many situations and so develop this identity that they are always faking and taking shortcuts, even when they’re not! So in addition to those obstacles being a sign of forward motion, they’re a sign that you probably can create high quality work pretty easily.
Twitter: Sue_Mitchell
Yes Yes Yes! It’s SO important to track what you are accomplishing to keep from getting lost in the negative. There’s this pervasive feeling of “not doing enough” in our society that keeps people from recognizing the little things that lead to big change. It’s the little victories that make big change possible.
Great post, Sue!
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Twitter: amy4leaf
Good point, Amy. This really is part of a larger issue of everyone feeling like they need to do so much. The combination of lowering our expectations and then giving ourselves credit for the small steps we take in the right direction can be very powerful.
Twitter: Sue_Mitchell
I’m smiling as I read this Sue because the other day I was speaking to a good friend on the phone. We hadn’t chatted since the middle of July for one reason or another and he asked what I’d been up to. ‘Och, nothing much’ I said ‘it’s been a bit quiet over the summer’.
I then proceeded to list the work I’d been doing, the site changes, the book, the videos, the interviews and the planning.
Suddenly I got it, a lot had gone on and there was a raft of things I’d done – I almost fell off my chair laughing. He added ‘I’m glad my ‘not much’ is different to yours!’
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That’s hilarious, Jackie. Sounds like your “quiet” summer allowed you to get a ton of stuff done!
Twitter: Sue_Mitchell
Great reminder to pat ourselves on the back for the things we DO get done in a day. Our society is so obsessed with productivity, and it becomes all too easy to forget that interacting with loved ones, or spending time in nature, actually is important as well. I suffer from “Too Big To Do List” syndrome, and i still haven’t figured out my way around that. No matter how much I do in a day, there’s still a few items left to be done. Time to simplify I think!
Sarah O recently posted..Five Things You Can Do Now To Prepare For Cold And Flu Season
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Sarah, I’ve started making my to-do list on a 3 x 3 post-it note. That’s all I’ll really get to anyway, and that way, at the end of the day, I can feel productive instead of seeing all that I didn’t get to.
Thanks for stopping by!
Twitter: Sue_Mitchell
Recognizing what we’ve accomplished is key. People often tell me I get a lot done and yet I beat myself up about not doing enough all the time. Big disconnect there. I’m really learning to appreciate what I do accomplish. And that leads to doing more. In all areas of life, we tend to focus on the bad instead of the good, an insidious, unproductive habit.
Charlotte Rains Dixon recently posted..Writing=Creativity=Play (A Post That Might Make You Nervous)
Twitter: wordstrumpet
Charlotte, you’re so right about our natural tendency to focus on the negative. It makes sense when you think of us living in the wild. We needed to notice things that were wrong or amiss because they could be threats. Now, though, all that tendency does is paralyze us needlessly. Focusing on your assets and accomplishments is part of your personal evolution!
It’s interesting that other people often mention how productive you are. What would you bet that they’re comparing themselves to you and beating themselves up?
Twitter: Sue_Mitchell
Sue, What a great post! Yes, it’s SO important to focus on what I get done. I often expect way too much I think. I also find that, similar to your file folders that never got filed, sometimes what I think is “procrastinating” is my intuition telling me that it doesn’t need to be done. And then something will happen to make it easier to get done or make it obsolete! Love when that happens. Thanks for sharing your wisdom, Sue!
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Good point, Lisa! I love when I procrastinate a task until it becomes obsolete! Why do we berate ourselves for exercising good judgment and time management like that? Seriously.
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Twitter: Sue_Mitchell
Hi Sue…I really enjoy your content and style…I’m thinking about pasting a colorful “I Get Stuff Done’ sign onto my forehead…just have to remember to write it backwards.
Twitter: dawnkotzer
That’s absolutely brilliant, Dawn! You could start a new trend in forehead tattoos!
Sue Mitchell recently posted..Subscribe to Creative Juice!
Twitter: Sue_Mitchell
Really enjoyed your. Could so relate to it. Great questions and ideas. Way cool and congratulations. xxx
Thanks, Liz!
Twitter: Sue_Mitchell
Great post, Sue! Such a good reminder as I look at the un-done portion of my to-do list! Thinkin’ I’ll start leaving the crossed-out items on the page for awhile!!
)
Definitely keep those cross-offs on there! I’ve been known to add things to my to-do list *after* I’ve done them, just so I can have the satisfaction of crossing them off.
Sue Mitchell recently posted..Subscribe to Creative Juice!
Twitter: Sue_Mitchell
I am Sue’s sister and can vouch for the way we (weren’t) raised and our skating by techniques. Heck, I’m procrastinating right now by reading her blog!
Part of the reason it’s easy to beat myself up about it all is that I think I’m the only one, and everyone else on earth is focused and productive. But if that were true, video games would not be a multi-billion-dollar industry!
Sometimes when I feel like a lazy loser I look at all the samples and brags on my website and think, well, I’m productive sometimes!! I’ve framed some articles I wrote to hang on the walls of my office as further reminders. Of course, I’ve been procrastinating about hanging them.
Twitter: mirandacspencer
You are definitely NOT the only one, Miranda! I love the idea of hanging your articles on the wall to remind yourself of your accomplishments. Maybe that’s why doctors and lawyers have all their diplomas displayed. It’s to ease the guilt when they’re playing Solitaire on the computer instead of doing their dictation or poring over those chloroform-in-print contracts!
Is there a small step you could take toward getting the articles hung? Maybe just getting out the hammer and nails and putting them in your office?
Twitter: Sue_Mitchell
‘Och, nothing much’ I said ‘it’s been a bit quiet over the summer’. I love the idea of hanging your articles on the wall to remind yourself of your accomplishments. I am super driven and reliable about my blog but I will tell you that I am a huge procrastinator. Love when that happens.
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Amber, thanks for coming by. Before you label yourself a procrastinator, take a look at another post I wrote called “A Field Guide to Our Unproductive Selves” (link below). I’ll bet that, at least part of the time, your stalling is incubation.
Sue Mitchell recently posted..A Field Guide to Our Unproductive Selves
Twitter: Sue_Mitchell