Here’s reason #1 why Procrastination Is Genius In Disguise:
Procrastination is genius because it hurts.
Procrastination causes you pain.
It would be one thing if you could put stuff off and then just la-di-da around all carefree and happy. But you don’t – you put it off and it hurts and it’s a weight on your mind and on your heart.
Why is that genius?
Because the pain procrastination causes serves to REMIND you that your projects are important to you.
Procrastination is your friend, tapping you on the shoulder and saying, “Hey, remember how much you care about this?”
And really, it’s not just tapping – it’s nagging. Loudly.
Newsflash: nagging doesn’t work. It doesn’t work with your spouse, it doesn’t work with your kids and even YOU can’t nag you into doing the projects that really matter to you. So if you catch yourself nagging a lot, you might want to try another strategy.
So here’s my little quiz:
I want you to think about one particular project you are procrastinating – you might have lots, but let’s just pick one – whichever one comes to the top of your head first.
OK? Got a project picked out?
Great.
Now – working quickly and without pondering – answer YES or NO to these 5 questions:
1. Is this project important to you?
2. Will completing this project make a difference in your life?
3. Will completing this project make a difference in the world?
4. Does your soul ache to do it?
5. Ten years from now, will it matter whether you have done this or not?
Good.
Take a minute to make a note about what you notice about your answers.
And if you discovered that the project you were thinking about really doesn’t matter to you, then maybe think of another project that does. (And for crying out loud – cross that first one off your list or delegate it or something! Why torture yourself about something you don’t even care about!)
