🙈The Quest #21: The Procrastination Issue

Procrastination, Breaking through Creative Blocks, and the War of Art

Mar 08, 2021

Hello Friends!

Greetings from Barcelona☀️. Many thanks for your feedback on the last edition of The Quest. A special shout out to the following people: Nadia in Montreal, Mamen in Barcelona, Noelle in Sydney, and Connie in Toronto 🙌.

Another special shout out to all of the women who create, facilitate, and educate. Thank you for the work you do❣️

If you are joining The Quest for the first time, welcome to our weekly exploration of creativity, facilitation, and learning. You can catch up on past editions here.

😬I don’t know about you, but two months into the new year and I already feel like I’m behind on several of my creative projects for 2021.

OK, I admit it. I have been known to procrastinate. And yes, I am pretty skilled at finding excuses to avoid getting down to work.

My favorite procrastination excuses:

I’ll make a plan first. One without a lot of detail or specificity so it’s hard to implement.
I’ll watch a TED talk for inspiration. Just one. OK, two.
I’m really thirsty. I’ll just get myself a glass of water before I start (so simple and yet so effective).

The problem is that procrastination can lead to projects not started. To books not written. To plans not made. It can cause deep frustration. And it can lead to unhappiness and regret.

To beat procrastination, we need to understand why we procrastinate in the first place. That’s our Quest for this week.

In this issue🔎:

Why we procrastinate
How to beat procrastination
10 kick-in-the-butt lessons from the War of Art

Let’s jump right in.

💭Why Do You Procrastinate?

Let’s start with a quick poll. Why do you procrastinate? We may think it’s laziness. But in reality, there is a lot more going on. See chart below👇

What are your reasons?

🐵Why Procrastinators Procrastinate

An essay by Tim Urban, creator of Wait Not Why. Tim Urban is known for his hilarious blogs and stick-figure drawings. He is also a self-proclaimed “lifelong procrastinator”. He wrote this article way back in 2013, but his message is still relevant today:

Procrastinators have three forces at play: 1) the Rational Decision-Maker ready to do the hard work for the long-term gain, 2) the Instant Gratification Monkey who only wants to play and have fun, and 3) the Panic Monster who steps in when the danger of not doing the work becomes seriously close.
Procrastinators are often spectators of their own lives. The frustration is not that they weren’t able to achieve their dreams, it’s that they weren’t even able to start chasing them.
We are all procrastinators. Hold on a second Tim. You haven’t met my father-in-law Ricardo. He is the most efficient person I know. He lives in perfect coherence with his motto “why do tomorrow what you can do today?”. You are probably talking about the rest of us.

Read the full article here. Also, check out his TED Talk. And his hilarious essay on preparing for his TED Talk.

💪How to Beat Procrastination

Fortunately Urban wrote a part two to his essay that helps us understand How to Beat Procrastination. He totally called me out on my planning-to-procrastinate strategy. He says:

When procrastinators plan, they like to do it in a vague way that doesn’t consider details or reality too closely, and their planning leaves them perfectly set up to not actually accomplish anything. A procrastinator’s planning session leaves him with a doer’s nightmare. A big list of icky, daunting tasks and undertakings.

Dang! Guilty as charged✋.

So what to do? Urban gives us a few tips:

Plan effectively. Turn daunting items into a series of small, clear, manageable tasks. Aim for slow and steady progress. It’s laying many “bricks” over time that result in a house.
Do the work. Find the “Critical Entrance” where you officially start doing work on the task. Walk through the “Dark Woods” where you actually do the work. See the “Tipping Point” where the end of the task is within sight. Reach the “Happy Playground” where you feel the satisfaction of getting something hard done. You may even experience “Flow” where work doesn’t even feel like work.
Persist. Remember that laying every brick yields an inner struggle. Persistence is at the core of moving forward.

⚔️The War of Art

I am a complete late-comer to Steven Pressfield’s book The War of Art (first published in 2012!). Many people have recommended it to me over the years. It wasn’t until my friend Noelle mentioned it again last week that I finally bought it (thanks Noelle!). And I am so glad I did. Pressfield is a veteran of living a creative life. He goes well beyond the superficial “tips for overcoming creative blocks” to explore the mysterious forces at play when you heed your life’s calling. And he pulls no punches. No one is getting off lightly. But I’m willing to bet that the book will kindle a creative flame in you. It did for me. Here’s a book summary with my 10 “kick-in-the-butt” takeaways.

💡Quote of the Week

Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.
Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

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Until next week!