140: Procrastination

Hello and welcome to The Hope Podcast. I’m Aneel Aranha. Today we are going to talk about how we shouldn’t put off for tomorrow the things we can do today!

Do you have a habit of putting off things for another time? For instance, that diet that you know you should go on? Or that important task that has to be completed? Or that girl you want to ask out on a date? Or that time you said you'd spend in prayer? You are a procrastinator!

Almost all of us are given to postponing things on occasion, but some of us have let procrastination take over our lives with the result we are always rushed, unable to complete things on time, and lose out on success and prosperity. How do we stop procrastinating?

As with every problem in life, the first step is recognizing we are doing it. The signs are apparent. We undertake easy tasks while putting more difficult ones on the back burner. We wait until we are "in the mood" to do something. We start something important, then decide to have coffee instead! We look at the dishes in the sink and go to sleep!

The second step is working out why we are procrastinating. It can be because the task is distasteful (like washing dishes), intimidating (like a massive project), fills us with dread (like an appointment with the doctor), makes us afraid (like having that girl saying no), or we are simply lazy (like not praying). 

The third step is dealing with it. Each situation is different, so each requires a different solution. When it comes to things like doing the dishes (or the laundry), make a habit of not letting them accumulate. If they are already piled up, grit your teeth and get to it. Now! This means you stop reading about cleaning them and go clean them! Haha 

When it comes to a huge project, break it up into smaller parts. Lists with little checkboxes help. Tick them off as you complete them. Before you know it, you have completed the project. With tasks that fill us with dread, we need to reason with ourselves. Postponing the doctor's visit is only going to delay making us better.

Fear of failure and rejection can prevent us from doing many things, not just asking somebody out, and the solution here is to remind ourselves we are not chickens. It is better to swing and miss than never to try at all. And so what if we fail? It's not the end of life.

As for postponing things, like prayer time, it's simply a matter of overcoming our inertia. This will take an effort of will. Once we start spending time with God, we will enjoy it so much that it will be difficult to stop. 

So, don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today. And don't put off for later what you can do now! Is that sink clean yet?
 
May the Spirit be with you.