Procrastination and Productivity Shame Are Trying to Tell You Something
If you suffer from procrastination or productivity shame (going to bed disappointed in the amount of work you got done), its likely because you are doing one or a few of the following:
Letting the swirling to-do’s in your head overwhelm you
Wearing too many hats and not wearing any of them well
Experimenting with countless time management and productivity hacks perpetually
Lastly, you have lists in multiple places throughout your life (post-its, notebooks, notes on phone, voicenotes, etc.)
Measuring your success and worthiness off of a completed to-do list is keeping you stuck. Often times what is on the list is not the important items. You tell yourself ‘you never finish anything’ and focus most of your attention on what you haven’t done, which becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. When you don’t have intentionality around your to-do’s (that are important to you, not what others want from you) and one system to capture ideas and manage your tasks, it becomes difficult to follow through on important work. This results in procrastination and productivity shame.
When you look around at successful entrepreneurs like Sara Blakley and Brene Brown, do you think they allow chaotic thoughts, lack of consistent systems, or inner shame to slow them down? I’m not saying that they don’t struggle with these things. What I’m saying is that they’ve decided that fulfilling their vision and serving their customers is more important than letting this stuff slow them down. They have strategies, systems, processes and mindset tools to overcome these blocks.
So how do you overcome procrastination and productivity shame? The first step is to find out what kind of procrastinator you are. Skim this post to select your Procrastination Style. Then, make note of the stories that you tell yourself when you are in productivity shame. Decide what consistent action you want to take and learn to combat the shame with action. Lastly, you’ll create one system at a time for your calendar, to-do list, and idea-flow.
So, let me ask you this - do you want to continue to go to bed each night disappointed in your productivity and calling yourself a procrastinator? Or do you want to simplify your systems, quiet your shame stories and take consistent action? If you are ready to get started, DM or email me the word BOOK and you’ll receive my calendar link so you can book a free mini-strategy session.
