Sometimes delay is forced on me by outside forces. But other times it is my own tendency toward laziness or a desire to avoid the inevitable.
In story, putting off what needs to happen or avoiding the obvious raises the amount of angst in the book. It builds momentum. You really don’t want you characters to get to the solution too soon or there would be no story.
In real life, the sooner we get past those necessary tasks, the better. A long list of undone to-dos will only increase our stress and that isn’t good on our health or relationships. Unresolved conflict (the worse of the tasks that I like to avoid) leads to ulcers and headaches and bad moods (among other things).
Important tasks left incomplete keep us stuck.
In life, the story isn’t in the delays and putting off of things like in a novel. The meat of the story comes after we’ve started moving. Procrastination holds us back from our purpose.
Spiritually speaking, when I delay following God’s directive in my life I allow room for lies and temptations to take up residence in my heart.
Delaying leads to barriers in my relationship to God and a lack of power and witness in the walking out of my faith.
Nicolas Chamfort said, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”
I can’t imagine wanting to eat cooked frog legs (although I hear they taste like chicken) much less eat a live frog. But the idea of doing the most difficult thing first is well offered. When I do that one thing I can’t imagine wanting to do, or that thing that is so big it overwhelms me, I will have opened up the rest of the day to the myriad possibilities of life.
There are many tools available for prioritizing your day to insure you don’t leave important things undone. I have found that what works in one season of my life, may not be applicable in another. The variations in personality also indicates there is no one size fits all to organization.
Here are 3 tips for “eating the frog.”
Do Not Compareyourself to what someone else is doing. Nor compare their success to yours. This only leads to discouragement, envy and judging (either yourself of the other person). Keep your eyes on what you are capable of and what you need to do.
Don’t get stuck on the list. Unfortunately, I have a tendency to write the same list several times – different order of course –and then find myself without time to actually do what is on the list. never really do anything. Write the list, then get to work.
Be realistic with what you put on your list. Keep it short. Don’t try to accomplish 20 tasks when you only have time for a few. Otherwise, it can lead to discouragement and getting stuck.
What helps you to move past procrastination?
