Stuff That Matters In Life

This year I have learned that procrastinating is not worth the pay off from procrastinating.

So why do I procrastinate? What are the payoffs?

– having fun doing other things instead of the thing that I put off doing.

– doing easy things instead of tackling the difficulty of the thing that I am putting off

– waiting as long as possible to leave myself open to be the best alternative that may come later.

– hoping the thing that I’ve put off will get done by someone else.

– hoping that thing that I put off will not need to be done if I waited long enough

– just doing the thing quickly when the deadline approaches

– waiting for more inspiration to do the thing so it can be more enjoyable

– spending time reading and doing other good stuff and neglecting the thing that needs to get done

In the past, I would be fine doing things last minute. I depended on my husband to fill in the gaps as I run around doing things at the last possible moment.

But I found this year that the stress that comes from procrastinating is not worth it.

In my new job with 150 kids and 50+ volunteers under my care, I have to make sure I get things done. The buck stops with me.

Here is an example.

I have not firmed up the plans for Easter. I should have decided by last week at the least so I can be thoroughly prepared. But I kept looking for better options. Now I am feeling stressed. I couldn’t sleep well last night.

So I am deciding today, that I don’t want to procrastinate. It’s not worth it.

I don’t like that feeling of worrying because so many people are depending on me. I don’t like the stress I feel. I don’t want the pressure of running around last minute. I don’t want to under-prepare – I want to have time to be over-prepared.

A big part of leadership is to communicate plans with others so that they can be on board. They need to know where I am going so that they have confidence to follow. I want to be a good leader.