The perils of Ellen, queen of the procrastinators

checklist of things to do by Ellen of Sanctuary Christian Counseling in Shippensburg PA

MXLLSWe haven’t posted a blog in several weeks here at Sanctuary Christian Counseling.

It’s my fault.

Despite having about five blogs written and ready to go – well, not even one got posted. Why?

Because I procrastinate.

UGH.

Most days, I’d rather do almost anything than mess around doing “work” stuff once I’m home. After I’ve put in a long day of therapy, I do NOT want to do a thing but veg out with my husband and puppies in front of the TV when I get home. I get lazy. My focus is shot.

I procrastinate.

So, rather than posting one of those five written blogs, I’ve finally convinced myself to do something about the empty Sanctuary Christian Counseling blog page and, in the process, learn a little about procrastination and what I can do about it. That’s what this blog is about.

Here are some tips for me to get my act together. They might be of help to you, too.

Make a goal, and add a deadline. Generally, even procrastinators like me will respond to a deadline, even if at the last minute. If I make a goal to post one blog every Wednesday night, and Wednesday is the goal, that should work better than leaving that open-ended.
Try to keep to a routine that you have that’s working. For me, I was in the swing of things, posting a blog two or three times a month, on Wednesdays. (My partners each post once a month). What happened is that I went on vacation. Even though I left a blog to post, I didn’t post it, and that broke the routine. It’s hard to get back into a routine once it’s broken. Try not to break ones that work.
Be accountable to someone. In this case, one of my partners is great at holding my feet to the fire. I’m not always gratefulfor this, but it does help me make getting things done more of a priority. Accountability works.
Reward yourself for progress and not procrastinating. Maybe it’s just a half-hour on Pinterest or reading a book, or a special food treat – when you’ve been struggling with something but pushed through, celebrate!
About those goals from number 1 … break them into small bits. They will be easier to manage, to convince yourself to tackle, and … there will be more rewards!
Change your environment. Sometimes hanging out in a coffee shop works. Or you could go outside and do whatever needs to be done. Or whatever is your particular procrastination problem … try to be creative and see if you can jolt yourself out of stalling.
Find someone that appears to have their act together where you are struggling, and hang out with them. They might inspire you, and jumpstart your goal achievement.