Sometimes You Really Do Need a Deadline

 I have been meaning to launch my own video streaming service for over two years now. I’ve had people ask me for it. I’ve wanted to do it. I knew it would be super cool. I have enough video content to make it worth while. And yet… I didn’t do it.

In my defense, I moved to another city. I had to get settled, find my way around, make new friends, and generally rebuild my life. There were other things that were more important. So the streaming service stayed on my to do list. And stayed. And stayed.

Until my current video host announced that they were changing how they do things. And suddenly… I couldn’t wait anymore. Apparently, I really did need a deadline. 

So now I am in a mild state of panic, trying to get everything moved over. And here's the funny thing: it is WAY easier than I thought it was going to be.

Mind Fear

One of the reasons I had been putting it off was that, in my head, this was a HUGE, HUMUNGOUS JOB. I didn't understand how the system worked. I didn't know what all the tabs and options meant. I didn't understand how the controls affected the layout of the site. It was a giant unknown, and giant unknown things are really good at creating fear inertia.

But now that I'm actually doing it? I'm kind of thrilled. The support people have been helpful when I have questions. I'm figuring out what the controls do. I'm watching the site take shape and I LOVE how it looks and works. And I'm now thinking: I wish I had done this two years ago. LOL.

Can We Stop Procrastinating? 

But I don't actually think the lesson here is “Stop procrastinating.” I think the lesson is: Be honest with yourself. And be compassionate with yourself.

We all procrastinate. Sometimes we procrastinate because the thing genuinely doesn't matter very much. Sometimes we procrastinate because we don't have the bandwidth. There are other things that need our attention more. And sometimes we procrastinate because we're scared. We're overwhelmed. We don't know how to do something, and our brains turn “I don't know how this works” into “This is going to be horrible.”

The cure for that kind of fear inertia is simply knowledge. Once you learn how something works, it stops being a giant scary unknown and becomes a series of manageable tasks. And sometimes those tasks are even fun.

Of course, that's not always the answer. Sometimes your body chemistry is off. Sometimes you're exhausted. Sometimes you genuinely have too much on your plate. But for a lot of us, learning more about the thing we're avoiding can make a remarkable difference.

Finally Getting It Done

Which brings me to something else I've learned about managing life. As Madonna once put it, you can't juggle all the balls you have in the air all the time. But you can remember where they fell so you can pick them up again later.

That's what I think I was doing with this project. I wasn't abandoning it. I was putting it down. And now it's time to pick it back up.

And I'm really excited about what I'm building. The new streaming service will eventually give me a dedicated web portal for my videos, and I'll also be able to create apps for phones and native apps for Roku and other TVs.

It's gonna be cool. And, after two years of procrastination, it's finally happening. I discovered that this enormous terrifying project I avoided for two years is actually kind of fun. Who knew?

You can take a look at the new streaming service here and perhaps join: https://humanistlearningsystems.vhx.tv/

Humanist Learning Systems Streaming Service

There are several free videos- and for one low monthly price you can view all my online courses that require a subscription to view. Help a girl out! Sign up and support my work. You know you want to. 

Lacking Motivation?

Do you have things to do but can’t bring yourself to do them? Your problem may not be motivation.

We all struggle with things we have to do and don’t want to. We procrastinate.  And then we chide ourselves for not being motivated. But what if the problem isn’t motivation? What if the problem is understanding.

I am a big fan of critical thinking and one of the most important questions you can ask yourself when diagnosing a “motivation” problem is why. Why don’t I want to do this?  Why do I need to do this? Do I need to do this?

By asking yourself why – you will either figure out - if I don’t do this something bad will happen. Or if I don’t do it, nothing bad will happen.  I find that reminding myself about the cost of failure is an excellent motivator.

Sometimes, by asking yourself why you realize, nothing bad will happen if you don’t do whatever it is. And if nothing bad will happen, perhaps you can get away with not doing it at all!  There is NOTHING like taking an unnecessary task off your plate to make you feel better.

But what happens when you figure out – yeah – you still need to do it but you still aren’t motivated and fear of failure isn’t enough to get you moving. Well, you can then ask yourself another important question.  How can I do this differently? How can I get this done in a way that isn’t a drudge? Can I outsource this task? Can I get it done a different way?

I don’t know the answers to those questions, but I do know that asking them is the first step to solving the problem.

Critical thinking, it’s a practical everyday life skill. Learn how to do this better and to find more motivation in your life with the online course – Planning for Personal Success: A Humanist Approach.

Maintaining Focus

Many people struggle to remain focused.  They get side tracked and procrastinate and never get around to doing what they are supposed to be doing. There is an easy fix for that. And it involves asking yourself a question. Or rather several questions.

The main question to ask yourself when you are struggling to maintain focus is, “why.”

Why are you working on whatever the project is? What is it you hope to accomplish by working on it? In this context, the question why can help you find the motivation you need to finish the task or stay on track. Instead of focusing on the task, you now know WHY you are doing it and WHY it matters if you don’t.

I often find that if I am stuck it’s usually because what I was doing wasn’t working and I just wasn’t’ willing to admit that to myself.  By asking myself WHY I am working on a project, I remind myself of what it is I am really trying to accomplish. Often, we get so caught up in the task itself we get blinders on and forget that the problem we are solving is actually just one of many possible ways we could be fixing our real problem. Asking why helps you refocus on your real problem and when you do that, you can find other ways of solving it.

The final way asking yourself WHY helps you maintain focus is because sometimes the answer to why I am doing something is nothing. I have no good reason to do it. And when I realize that, I allow myself to not do it anymore.

I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of things on my plate. Getting sidetracked is super easy. When I ask myself why I am doing any particular task, I can prioritize my tasks! What is really important and what isn’t can only be ascertained if you ask yourself WHY you are doing those things.  It’s a lot easier to maintain focus when you are able to concentrate on the things that really matter and ignore the things that don’t.

So the next time you find yourself struggling to focus, ask yourself why.

Procrastination

In my humble opinion, wasting time is never a waste of time. It means I was doing something I enjoy instead of doing something I obviously didn’t want to do. Now, my maxim about wasting time is one that only works in moderation, in accordance with Franklin’s famous maxim. Obviously, if you procrastinate too much, nothing will get done, and that won’t be good.

But my real point is that if your brain refuses to let you work on a project there is probably a good reason for it. Sometimes it is a good idea to allow your brain to play with other thoughts for a while, rather then force it to work on something it clearly doesn’t want to.

Case in point. I procrastinated on writing this article all morning. I got a lot of important stuff done; I just couldn’t begin to start working on it, mostly because I didn’t know what I wanted to write about. And then, while I was procrastinating on Facebook, it hit me, I should write about the value of procrastination.

Now I have my idea and I am excited to write this column. And in the meantime I had had fun brainstorming about different avenues in which to sell my new book (to be released in early Sept 2010). All things come in their own sweet time as another maxim goes. So, the next time you are procrastinating on a project, don’t fret. As long as you are not near your deadline, you will be fine. Waste time doing something your brain enjoys and eventually your brain will figure out how it wants to tackle the project you have been procrastinating on and then there will be no stopping you.