I had a whole week off from my job at the paper factory, and I should have used that time for making pots. I have a few shows on the way, but for some reason, I did not feel like going into the studio. I did many things to avoid making pots, and then tried to justify the things I was doing to validate myself. I began to wonder if I was beating myself up too much about it. I did take time for self-care. I read some great books, went to visit family, helped at a small vendor show, and made out direction-setting plans for the pottery. I even wrote a few blog articles. But even still, I felt as if I got nothing done.
Work Energy
I decided to read the book Work Energy by Jim Harmer. Jim is a blogger and runs the web content business called Income School. He had some terrific tips for working things out on the topic of procrastinating. Harmer in his book thought that at times we might be overwhelmed by a bunch of ideas. He suggests starting a bucket list, even if you are not sure you will do everything on it. Harmer says you should think about the list as things you might dream about. Then Harmer suggests picking one of those things you wrote down and make one small step towards the goal, no matter how small. Harmer believes just taking the first step towards a goal may prompt us to do a bit more.
Another great idea in the book Work Energy was to try an idea for a month or more to see if you enjoy it or not. This gives a person time to work though the issues rather than giving up too early. Harmer thought we might need to get through the boring period before we start seeing progress. He calls this period “groundhog day.” Like in the movie Groundhog Day, things repeated. When tasks become repetitive, we may need to put our head down and “groundhog” through the issues and boring parts.
The book also pointed out how we might get distracted by new ideas and feel overwhelmed. This means we should put our heads down and concentrate on the things that get us 90% of the progress before we try other ideas or modifications. A lot of patience is needed, and plans should be made for the long term. Many times, we may procrastinate by thinking we need more time to get ready, but no time like the present! Today is a suitable time to start. Work Energy was a delightful book to read and Harmer’s rags-to-riches story on writing blogs and giving photo classes online was inspiring in showing how simply taking the first step can be the solution to ending procrastinating.
Organize Tomorrow Today
Another book I read was Organize Tomorrow Today by Dr. Selk. & Tom Bartow. I thought I was procrastinating because I was disorganized. I tried everything under the sun to work things out and make things easier so I would stop procrastinating. Organize Tomorrow Today has eight ways to retrain your mind. Now friends, I’m not sure about you all, but anything that makes such claims I end up being skeptical of. But the good Dr. Selk had a list and some things on it merged nicely with the last book we discussed above.
- . Organize Tomorrow Today
- . Choose Wisely
- . Maximize Your Time
- . Win the Fight Through
- . Learn to Talk to Yourself
- . Learn to Talk with Others
- . Be Abnormal
The book has processes for each of the eight sections. To go through them all would take time so I will just cover one section of the book that was most helpful to me. The section “Win the Fight Through” was about working past the first few days when the task is easy and continuing when the task gets hard. In my experience, when I first start something, it might be easy to do the first few days but gets harder as time goes on.
For example, one time I thought it would help my procrastination to show up for myself and each day make up ten pots. Ten pots for seven days is seventy pots a week. I was able to push through at least three days of making pots, but then I had a rough day at the paper factory. I was really tired and did not want to make pots that day. So, I missed a day and then became comfortable and missed a few after that. Winning the fight through, according to Dr. Selk. & Tom Bartow, might take a few tools. If I were to ritualize the task and schedule it in no matter what, it may help in pushing through the challenging times.
The next tool is recognizing roadblocks that keep us from doing the task we wish to do each day. Once you know what is blocking you, it is easier to plan a way to counteract the issue. Dr. Selk. & Tom Bartow say to ask yourself the questions, “How would I feel if I were to do the task?” and then “How would I feel to not do the task?” Next, think about your quality of life and how the decision for change might affect you.
Do The Work
I was still having a tough time as I enjoyed reading about procrastination far more then working on it and all those pots still needed to be made. Then came the real hitter. Do The Work by Steven Pressfield. Folks, let me tell you, this was hard to read because Pressfield was not shy about pulling punches and telling me what I needed to work on. The book was on the topic of resistance, or all the things that might keep us from doing the work. Pressfield went all out like a Baptist minister telling me my faults and what I needed to do to overcome procrastination. He even mentioned a bunch of other issues I didn’t even know I had.
I was at the paper factory reading Do the Work and it told me that I needed to go all in if I wanted to be happy and do my true calling. This book almost made me quit my job until I remembered Pressfield would not be paying health insurance for my wife as I was the sole bread winner. But what he was saying was all true. I did not need better systems, better apps, better scheduling, or better time management. I needed to simply do the work.
2-minute Rule
A video I enjoyed was the 2-minute rule. This idea has you complete tasks that are two minutes or less to get you started working. The video below explains it in a real good way.
What I discovered is that each person might be different and have varied reasons why they procrastinate. Some may have a fear of starting due to the fear of failure. Others worry about what others may think of them if they mess up. Many may justify doing other things instead of what they know needs to be done. I decided to simply show up and make five mugs. If I could make five mugs, I might be able to make ten. And ten mugs would be a great start.
I promised myself I would not define myself by my last mistake. Today is a new day, another chance to take a step towards finishing my goals. I learned I do not need to be perfect; I can go slow as its the turtle that wins the race. I need to stop comparing myself to others and not take personally what others think (unless they are good friends and are trying to help me out). We are all working on something, even if it is working to avoid the work we need to do.
How do you deal with procrastination? Let me know in the comments!
Written By,
Al Wayman
Artist/Owner
Creek Road Pottery LLC
Edited by:
Erika Sickler
Content Writer/ Editor
Creek Road Pottery LLC
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