Procrastination - I’ve been meaning to write about it for some time.

I might start now, or I might just shelve the idea. Again.​

As Mark Twain quipped, never put off ‘til tomorrow what you can do the day after just as well. 

I used to think procrastination was a sign of laziness, indolence, inactivity.  But I’ve come to realise that it’s just the opposite. 

You have a great idea for a project, something you feel really excited about and committed to: writing a book, training for an event, decluttering your home, setting up a charity or a website (ahem…). You enthusiastically do some initial research, spend time and even money getting it started.  Perhaps you even tell other people about it, so that they keep asking you how it’s going.  That soon feels like a big mistake. Then just as you make a start, procrastination joins forces with our old friend perfectionism, making the whole task even more overwhelming. Does this sound familiar? 

Weeks, then months pass and you’ve made little or no progress beyond the initial stages. Is this because you have been idle, frittering away the hours watching box sets or scrolling through cute cat pictures on Instagram? (Speaking of which, do check out my gorgeous, fluffy, three-legged cat @threepawsfelix).

Probably not – if you’re anything like me you have certainly not been idle.  In the last six months I have designed and planted my new garden, hosted visitors from Australia and had two mini-breaks.  I’ve completed Probate and will administration both for my husband and my brother who died within six weeks of each other.  I have recovered from Covid and two chest infections and had eye surgery. I have written and illustrated a story book for my grandson and knitted a blanket for my soon-to-arrive granddaughter.  This is in addition to my regular shifts of volunteering in a charity shop and looking after said grandson one day a week. I see my counsellor and my osteopath regularly and I’m on Zoom or Skype six times every week.  And yes, I have finished Season 5 of The Crown… but I have not updated The Joy of Sixty or started my Substack.

Like me, are you busy doing a hundred things that weren’t on your priority list, but which suddenly seem more urgent (and, crucially, achievable) than starting your Big Project?  If so, what's the answer? 

For me it is definitely to start small  but just start - somewhere, anywhere! If Nike hadn't trademarked "Just Do It", I would adopt it myself and have the T-shirts printed.  

Some pundits recommend starting with the most difficult thing first, to get it out of the way, but this is exactly what stops me getting going.  I prefer the Atomic Habits approach (do read James Clear's book - or at least put it on your To Do list...) where you start with the tiniest action point towards your goal, gradually building up to a new habit.  It can sound ridiculous (floss one tooth, do one press-up, write one sentence) but there is a great deal of sense and momentum in starting small.  It got me here, to this page, today. 

How do you overcome procrastination? Please share any tips in the comments  and please don't put it off.