How to stop procrastinating and do the thing
Oh, hi friends!
Procrastination is a funny little monster.
I’ve realized it pops up in very different circumstances:
When you have too much to do and starting any of it feels daunting.
When you have too little to do and your next thing doesn’t feel urgent enough.
When you don’t have a plan or “next action” for the thing you have to do.
When you haven't scheduled time to complete the thing.
When you truly don’t care about the thing.
I run into variations of these every day, depending on the project. In a perfect world, here’s how I (ideally) get through each one.
When you have too much to do and starting any of it feels daunting.
Can you pick one thing and see it through to the end? This creates the teensiest bit of momentum, which you can then try to catapult into the next thing.
When you have too little to do and your next thing doesn’t feel urgent enough.
Is there a midway deadline you can create? Set up an accountability check-in with a friend?
When you don’t have a plan or “next action” for the thing you have to do.
Did you create the Google Doc? Did you do your research? Did you break your amorphous blob task into smaller, snack-sized tasks?
When you haven't scheduled time to complete the thing.
Do you have a realistic sense of how long the thing will take? Be honest. Now, when’s the next time on your schedule that you can actually do the thing? Be honest (again). Now, can you add it to your calendar/planner/brain?
When you truly don’t care about the thing.
Can you say no? Can you get out of it? Can you give this task to someone else? If not, can you just finish it as quickly as possible? Do it and it will be done.
A Brass Ring-er named Stephanie V. emailed me a few months ago and said this: “Procrastination really is such a negative energy and probably does keep me from doing other things.” I’ve thought about this a lot since then. It is a negative energy! A little poison.
Figuring out why you’re avoiding the thing—and what you can do next—might be the antidote.
Twin Peaks came back to TV after nearly 30 years. They didn’t get any Emmy noms. And this is what co-creator Mark Frost had to say. (h/t Miriam Datskovsky)
"Young Jean Lee, the first female Asian-American playwright on Broadway, takes aim at identity and watches the audience squirm." Really good NYT Magazine profile. I saw her play Straight White Men with my friend Selina a few years ago at the Public Theater. Very intrigued to see how/if it’s changed for Broadway.
"Why The Rock's social media muscle made him Hollywood's highest-paid actor." Good Forbes profile. Honestly, if you are creating anything—anything—and aren’t thinking about your social media presence, what are you doing? Just think about it. Where is everyone’s attention these days? On their phones. (h/t Brother)
I interviewed Alton Brown for Money magazine and he told me about the money grudge he's been holding for over 50 years. Hilarious.
Check out my talented friend Bairam in “Please Slate,” a new digital series that pokes fun at casting calls!
And meet Valentino the cat. He runs a real-estate office in Brooklyn. I love him.
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Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara