“Flies in the vasoline we are

Sometimes it blows my mind

Keep getting stuck here all the time”

                                          -Vasoline, Stone Temple Pilots

On the face of it, it seems crazy that we get ourselves stuck over and over even when the consequences have been painful. But for people who procrastinate, their bad habits are like being stuc"Fly in the vasoline"?k in vaseline. Imagine trying to move through goo that won’t let go and you can’t get a grip on anything when you fall. It can feel like that when you are constantly late (or rushed at the last minute), trying to manage an overfull email in-box, or you  can’t find that piece of information that you put in a “safe place.” It’s tough to run a small business when you are scattered and stressed!

We all know what we’re doing when someone else points it out to us. Maybe they’re trying to be helpful and guide you to manage your time better. Or maybe it’s someone who depends on you for a work-related task and they are aggravated by your behavior. Even when we hear experts or gurus reminding us to use this tool or that strategy to get organized, it’s all right there. Sure , you can use an excuse that sounds like a plausible but you know inside what is really true. This is generally not a good feeling.

So, what can you do about it? First of all, do you want to change your procrastination habits? I know that sounds like a weird question but I’ve noticed that people generally don’t change behavior unless it is absolutely necessary to them. You might make an effort to be more on time for work  because they’ve warned you. The real change comes when you want to stop your bad habits.

Stop for a moment and think…how many times have you:

  • Bought the supplies for an organizational system, maybe used them for a while, and then it petered out?
  • Set your alarm clock with the full intention of getting up without using the snooze button?
  • Gotten yourself so upset with traffic because you didn’t acount for it being slow every morning?
  • Moved a piece of mail from one pile to another because the second pile was the one you’d “really” get to?

There are other situations along the same vein and you probably can think of a few of your own. Is this the way it was always be? Not necessarily. It’s all about permission. I mean, I could give you tips on stress management or even suggest personal organizers but neither will work until you give yourself permission to acknowledge your current system isn’t working. And permission to ask for help or use a resource that will give you better skills to handle feelings of overwhelm, distraction, and impulsiveness. And…permission to mess up as you practice new strategies that will reduce or even eliminate procrastination.

Be a fly in the vaseline or something else…it’s up to you!

What is most difficult about giving yourself permission to live and work differently?

 What would change in your small business if you stopped procrastinating?

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