Kicking procrastination in the butt – Part 2

In case you missed Part I,  I’ve been talking about how I finally overcame 10 years of chronic procrastination.

It all started with my answer to this question:

If there is something that you want in your life that you don’t have, what is the ONE thing you could do towards that goal?

Often our big dreams and goals can seem overwhelming.  Perhaps that is one of the reasons we fill our lives with tasks instead of with our life’s purpose. 

Thinking of the one step, the one action we can take towards our goal is a much more manageable way to approach it.

In my case, I picked a rather extreme step. I decided to go on a live radio show, Healing your Life,  with Dr. Chris Michaels.  I’ve been following Dr. Chris’s show for years now, and I have learned so much from the raw, unscripted episodes as brave souls face their fears and overcome their challenges.

If you want to hear my whole 5-week journey on this reality radio show, you can listen in here.

Well, turns out it was just the kick in the butt that I needed. I told Dr Chris about my love for writing, wanting to find my voice in the world, and my idle blog that I rarely got around to writing. After all, I said, I am so busy. My schedule is so erratic as a freelance interpreter and translator. Work, family, my elderly mother, etc. etc.  “Pha! – Excuses!”, he said.

And you know what? He was right.  So he challenged me to get up early, and commit to blogging 5 days a week. So that is what I have been doing.

And all those reasons and excuses for not doing the thing that has been calling to me? They are still there.  They are especially loud when the alarm clock goes off in the morning. But you know what?   I made a decision. I made a commitment. Period.

So that is my secret, really. Make a decision. Choose the one action that you can do to support your decision. And make it public.  No, you don’t have to go on reality radio and bare your soul to the world like I did.  But do find an accountability partner, or some other support system to help you stay on track.

Ready?  What’s your next step? What’s the ONE action you can take towards fulfilling your life’s purpose?

On being an early bird

Photo courtesy of James Blair

“The early bird catches the worm.”  Well frankly, I’d much rather linger in bed on a cold morning, snuggle under the covers, putter around, dawdle over my morning tea, check my social media, catch up on my email, take a hot shower, linger over my breakfast smoothie.

But you know what? That really wasn’t getting me much of anywhere. Not in terms of my big dreams to make a difference, to break out of the status quo, to accomplish my grand goals.

And so, I get up early now. Or at least, earlier. I still make my cup of tea, but I sit and meditate – before anything else. Before I turn on that seductive iPhone or take a peak at my computer, for sure. The world and its demands have a way of crowding in on my mind, taking control of my time, asserting their priorities over my own. So first I sit in silence, and deepen my well, and connect to That which feeds my soul. And then I sit down to write my blog post for the day.

Before I started putting first things first, it was so easy to find excuses not to write. I’m too busy. My schedule is too erratic. I don’t have any control over my time. (“Really, Julie?!”) Everything else is more important. I’d rather…. (fill in the blank).

So here is what I have learned these last few weeks. If there is something really important to you, do that one thing first – before the world catches ahold of you, before you find yourself adrift in the world's demands. Do the thing.