5 Good Reasons to Procrastinate

Man! I just realized that I haven't posted anything since December! And the December post was a reprint of an older post. What's up with that?  It's hard to admit, but sometimes I just cannot motivate myself to write. Here are a few reasons why I procrastinate. What's your excuse?

1. It's all been done before (and better). I am an avid reader and sometimes when I think about writing something I think, "What's the point? I don't have an original thought in my head. Anything I might say has already been said more beautifully by someone else, so why bother?" Sound familiar? Then I remind myself that even though there are only 88 keys on a piano, the variety of musical compositions is endless. We may be all drawing on the same source material, but we each express ourselves in different ways. Your voice matters.

2. There are so many things I would rather be doing. Like yoga, meditation, reading, walking the dog, visiting with family and friends, traveling, meeting with clients, the laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning, organizing... the list could go on and on. The key is prioritization. "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven." (Ecclesiastes 3:1) What is the most important thing to be doing in this moment?

3. Waiting for inspiration.  While it is good to be inspired, it is not always true that "good things come to those who wait." Sometimes you just have to dig in, inspired or not.

4. No one cares whether I do this or not.  A healthy dose of humility or low self-esteem? You be the judge. Either way, what really matters is whether I care or not. If everything you do is based on receiving approval from others, you will spend your time bouncing between elation ("you like me! you really like me!") and disappointment ("I'm such a loser!"). Do what you do out of love. Period.

5. I need to get all the little things done first before I tackle anything big.  Keep thinking this way and you will live a very small life. Instead, break down your "big things" into small steps. Then take the first step! How do I know this works? I just finished this blog post! ;-)