My Life is Different Now that I Don’t Procrastinate.

Today marks the one year anniversary of my podcast 🎉, The Habits and Home Show, and also signifies the day I decided to stop being a procrastinator.

On the very first episode of the podcast on September 1, 2021, I shared my personal struggle with procrastination and how I had felt led to start the podcast months earlier but I kept putting it off.

I shared that perfectionism and a fear of failure had been holding me back from launching the podcast but that I was done with my overthinking and worrying about doing it “wrong” so I forced myself to JUST. LAUNCH. THE. PODCAST.

That declaration and overcoming the need for perfection was a turning point for me. I no longer identified as a procrastinator and my actions this past year have solidified that belief about myself.

Anytime there was an opportunity to put a task off, my inner belief about myself wouldn’t let me. It kind of felt off. Like I was going against the very nature of my being.

Anytime I thought about putting a task off until later, I found anxiety starting to creep in and I refused to let myself get into that state again because I just wasn’t a place that I was able to thrive and be my best self.

That “off feeling” became the trigger for me to take action and because of me developing that constant action taking habit this past year, I have reaped many rewards.

Here are 5 simple but powerful five things I’ve gained from giving up the habit of procrastination this past year.

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5 WAYS MY LIFE HAS CHANGED SINCE I STOPPED PROCRASTINATING

#1 – I was able to accomplish so many goals.

Not only was I able to launch the podcast last year, but I also…

• Launched a new business as a virtual assistant specializing in social media management.
• Took a podcasting monetization course.
• Took a blogging and YouTube course.
• Hired a business coach for an entire year.
• Hired a virtual assistant for some parts of my podcast and blog.
• Had many uncomfortable conversations with people to work through conflict.
• Took a couples trip with some friends of ours. We had never done that before.
• Tired new recipes.
• Started making sourdough bread again and I’ve also expanded to learn other ways to use my sourdough started.
• Finished two home renovation projects I had been putting off – my office and the boys’ upstairs bedroom.
• Redecorated my teenage daughter’s bedroom after she’s been asking for years since we moved in.
• Listened to several books on Audible.
• Read physical books. I haven’t read a hard copy of a book in years.
• Slowed down in a business that is no longer my passion.
• Stopped multi-tasking and followed my daily time-blocks better.
• Got up daily at 5am to exercise.
• Went to bed early.
• Left a homeschool community that didn’t fit my families needs and started one from scratch.

And so much more!

It will get easier.

Saying no to procrastinating and identifying as a person who doesn’t procrastinate has made this year full of successful moments and I know the more I build this habit of tacking tasks right away the easier it will get.

The faster I do tasks that I really want to avoid, the less I will struggle with the temptation to put things off.

Keep working your non-procrastinating muscle.

Like with anything you’re trying to get good at, the more you practice the easier it gets and the more it becomes second nature. You have to keep working your non-procrastinating muscle.

You have to keep eating the frog – the tasks that are the most annoying or undesirable. “Eat that frog” and your most undesirable tasks first. You will feel more accomplished and will be more productive with the other tasks on your to do list.

#2 – My anxiety over tasks has decreased.

It’s so weird what you will put yourself through. I knew how my procrastinating was causing me to feel anxious and overwhelmed, yet I was so used to that cycle that I couldn’t get myself out of the rut.

It was almost as if I was sabotaging myself. In fact, that’s exactly what I was doing.

My body had gotten so used to feeling anxious and overwhelmed all the time that it easily went to that state over the smallest of triggers. It was definitely a bad habit that was causing my body physical harm. It was affecting my health, my sleep routine, my mental clarity and my ability to actually take action.

The more I procrastinated the more anxious I felt and the more anxiety that I experienced the more I felt paralyzed to do anything.

So when I made that declaration last year that I was no longer going to procrastinate, it wasn’t like I was immediately cured and no longer procrastinated. It has been a struggle to retrain my brain from putting off tasks. I’ve literally had to make myself do things when I didn’t feel like doing them just because I had made it public that I was no longer living as a procrastinator. I didn’t want to be a hypocrite.

Just like any addiction because there’s not much difference between habits and addictions, I still have to fight against the anxiety that wants to creep in sometimes due to procrastinating.

I actually have a new dream I’ve felt led to pursue to support the podcast and blog that I’ve been putting off for a couple months now because I’ve been wresting with the lies that I’m not ready or that I won’t be good at it.

You will not be good at it when you first start.

Friends, we are not going to be good when we first start something. In fact, I’ve had to walk with my daughter through this very thing this new school year as she is taking a new kind of dance class that she’s never taking before. She’s been so worried about not being good at it and has even stated that she needs to start in the beginner class so she doesn’t look like a newbie.

Her teacher placed her in the advanced class based on her age and skill level from her other classes. It’s been a lesson for my even more than for her because I’m watching my own insecurities play out in her life. It’s amazing what we learn from our kids.

Something new is coming to Habits and Home!

So like every other task or new challenge that I’ve had to face this year, I’ve had to muster the courage up to just do it, and with this new direction I’m feeling called to, I will just walk out in faith on this path as well. Hold tight, I’ll be sharing about this new venture in a couple of minutes.

#3 – My relationships have improved.

The next way my life is so much better without procrastination is that my relationships are so much better.

When I stopped procrastinating, I also stopped being so forgetful. I started utilizing my paper and virtual calendars more which meant I was able to be more intentional with planning get together with friends and keeping up with birthdays better.

Two Things You Can Do To Be a Better Friend

In episode #11, Two Actions to do Today to Be a Better Friends, I share how to use the calendar and reminder apps in your phone to help you stay in better contact with friends and family members and be more intentional about the relationship.

But if you think about putting your friends’ birthdays in your phone’s calendar or adding a reminder to have lunch with them every other month and you fail to do so because you keep procrastinating, then you’re going to let a lot of time slip by without making the effort to give to the friendship. We simply can’t keep up with everyone in our head.

Texting and calling friends

Another way that my relationships have gotten better by me not procrastinating is that I’ve stopped putting off texting or calling friends and family when they came to my mind. I’ve always said this is God’s little nudge to reach out to that person because they need it for some reason right then.

However, I took a break from social media for almost two months and it got me out of the habit of having my phone on me at all times. Due to that retraining, I find myself now not responding to text messages right away and if you have a cell phone you know that once you read a text messages the new message alert goes away.

I’ve had to train myself to take time at least at the end of every day to go back through my messages and check for any conversations I didn’t reply to. And to be honest, I’ve realized I rather just talk on the phone with someone. I’m able to get my answers quicker and it feel like I’ve been able to connect with a real person instead of a device.

#4 – I have much more confidence when tackling new ideas and goals.

Remember that fear of failure I was talking about earlier that I struggled with when starting my blog?

Well the good thing about not be able to procrastinate is that through making myself “JUST DO IT,” I’ve developed a lot of confidence. I’ve learned that whatever I’m doing or whatever I’m working on doesn’t have to be perfect. There’s a LOT of imperfect people out there just doing things and because they’re taking messy risks they’re able to start learning.

Pursue opportunities to practice. Not perfectionism.

If you don’t do it, you will never have the opportunity to make it better. You will remain stuck right where you are, and sister, let me just tell you, we all have room for improvement. I’m giving you permission to take messy action. DO THE THING that God is calling you to do or try. Be brave. Your future stronger self will look back on this moment and say, “Wow. That wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.”

Pursue opportunities that allow you to practice. Don’t just play it safe with what you already know because you never become better than what you are now. You will only develop confidence through practice but you have to take the first step.

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#5 – I have become a voice of encouragement to others.

And on that note, the number one thing I have gained from living a life without procrastination is that I can now encourage others to lay down the anxiety that procrastination brings. Lay down their pursuit of perfection before they start. And lay down the fear of failure.

Charles Dickens stated that “Procrastination is the thief of time” and he’s absolutely right because either you never ever do the thing and you let it defeat you or you eventually do it only after wasting a lot of time sitting, waiting and worrying and then you’ll wish you would have started soon. “I wasted all that time,” you’ll say to yourself.

Friend, God created only one YOU. He’s given you passions and dreams and callings and he wouldn’t have placed them inside of you if he didn’t want you to try. Stop putting it off. Take the next step. Your future self will thank you.

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The Next Step for Habits and Home

Here’s the news – I’m starting a YouTube channel!

So much of what I teach and share is visual. The tutorials of declutter your home room by room and how to organize and systemize your home for better flow and routine. There’s so much more I can give you by offering a video component to the podcast. Are you as excited as I am?

I hope you will join me on September 29, 2022, my birthday, when the first video is published. It’s my prayer that it can be a blessing to you as you pursue an intentional motherhood through habits in your home.

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5 Benefits of not Procrastinating

1. You will accomplish many of your goals
2. You’ll decrease your anxiety
3. You’ll be able to improve your relationships
4. You’ll build up your confidence that comes experience
5. You’ll be a cheerleader to others

I’d love to hear from you!

Do you struggle with procrastination? Are you ready to become more productive by giving up the habit of procrastination? I want to challenge you for 30 days to do tasks right away! It will seriously change your life.

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