One of the clearest benefits of coaching is translating amorphous ideas (think big, grey clouds hanging over your head) into specific thoughts, ideas or fears. By giving specific shape to concepts, it’s much easier to figure out how to overcome them (or dismantle them) or, you realise the payoff for doing nothing about it is actually worse than doing the thing itself!
‘I feel like my head is spinning at the end of the week and I haven’t got to the important things I wanted to’ is pretty hard to solve on it’s own. Compare this to ‘I’m getting interrupted in the time I’ve tried to set aside to do the deep work’ and it’s a bit clearer where the problem, and therefore solution, lie. (In coaching we’d take this further, and figure out why you’re being interrupted – and what’s really stopping you from saying no)
Cutting to the specifics of the challenge, and to underlying motivation, inevitably lays bare the heart of the challenge. It might not be pretty (or comfortable), but at least in naming it, it’s stopped being a giant grey cloud that seemingly has no solution.
This specific unpacking is why I loved this article from Anne-Laure Le Cunff at Ness Labs.
In summary – the reason you’re procrastinating can be attributed to one of the following:
Difficult (too challenging)
Unclear (the task is unclear)
Scary (your fear of failure is big)
Tedious (it’s boring)
By articulating exactly why it is we are procrastinating, we can get specific on what we can do about it – not all solutions look the same. The response to something being too difficult is very different to it being unclear, and this knowledge can help build momentum.
Breaking it down like this, for me, also has another important benefit: we realise it’s not always our lack of willpower which is holding us back.
Much has been written about willpower being a finite resource, and by using this framework, we can build some much needed momentum, while not always relying on this mindset.
So, I hope you find this article useful – and next time you find yourself avoiding something you know you should be doing, take a moment to contemplate why it is, exactly, that you’re resisting it.
If you want to delve deeper and figure out solutions to the other big grey clouds holding you back, book a free strategy session with me here.
