Excuse #1: “I don’t have time.” And it’s true. There’s usually much more we’d like to do in a day than there is day for.
But notice that you have time to watch TV, talk on the phone, veg on the couch, fiddle with the lawnmower, color your hair. Time is yours to do with what you want. You decide how you’ll use it. Make sure that it’s a conscious decision, and not just the next thing that pops into your line of vision.
Excuse #2: “It’s a drag”. From taxes to yard work there’s always going to be tasks that aren’t particularly appealing. Instead, remind yourself that you signed up for this job. Whether you need to write a paper for English class, or mop the kitchen floor, if you’ve freely accepted the job or task that you need to perform, it makes it easier if you remember that you “signed up” for it. For example, “I’m taking this class in order to get my degree.” or “This is part of making a happy healthy home life.” If you’re being pressured to do something that you don’t want to do, then that’s a different story.
Excuse #3: “I’ll do it later.” Procrastination shows up in your life not only in the things that you don’t want to do (income taxes) but also in things that you really do want to do (start a business, learn to surf). So keep an eye out for both types. If lateness is running – or ruining — your life, consider that it’s just a habit. Start by padding your time by just 5 minutes. If procrastination is robbing you of time to do what you really want to do, blast away at your “someday” plan by taking some small steps each day toward your goal. Don’t make it a habit to run the yellow lights in your life.
Excuse #4: “It’s too hard.” Several things may be at work here. If you don’t have the skills to do the job, you may need to learn them. For example, if a child procrastinates about his math homework, it may be because he doesn’t know how to do it. If you know how to do, but it’s just not something that interests you and therefore you’re not very good at it (in my case that means cooking), look for other ways to handle it. Trade off jobs with someone else (a spouse, a co-worker), or outsource it completely, so that you can spend time actually working on something you’re good at instead of wasting time worrying about something you’re not.
Excuse #5: “I forgot.” This seems silly, but I’ll bet you’ve used it yourself. One day just slips into another day, and before you know it, you haven’t exercised, haven’t cleaned out the pile of mail, certainly haven’t made headway on getting your degree or starting a business. There are 2 strategies to handle this. (1) Make a deal with yourself – I won’t do this until I’ve done that (no TV until homework is done – yeah, you remember that one!). (2) Schedule it. If your goal is to walk for 30 minutes every day, then decide when and where – at 6:00 pm every day, I’ll walk down 85th Street to Malcolm, then back again. Same with paying bills, or going through the mail, or anything that you tend to ‘forget.’ easily.
Excuse #6: “If it can’t be perfect, why do it at all.” This is a big old excuse, not a reason. Don’t confuse that. Accept that it’s not likely to be perfect the first time -things rarely are – and that’s OK. Instead, stop letting perfectionism limit what you try in your life. You’ll miss way too much. Decide to strive for some progress on your goal, not perfection. Strive for doing your best at that moment. Then practice, and get better at it.
Excuse #7: “It’s just too much, I’ll never finish it.” It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you look too far down the road. It’s important to know what direction you’re headed in, and what the final product will look like. But it’s equally important to keep your eyes right on the road in front of you. Stay focused only on the next few steps. Just one wall to paint, just one year of taxes, just one pound to lose. A building is built brick by brick – so are your successes.
Professional Life Coach Kathy Gates is the author of several e-books and e-courses designed to help people live happier, healthier, easier lives. Sign up for her ezine, “Make It Happen” at http://www.reallifecoach.com.
