Submitted by: Paula Eder(19) Timefinder Log in to become a member of Paula Eder's Fan Club!
"You must do the thing you think you cannot do." Eleanor Roosevelt
Finding time is an ultimate challenge that requires your flexibility and initiative. Despite successful planning, you might still balk at converting your plans into actions. Remember that even the best plans are worthless if you do not act upon them. And that your best is generally good enough, even if lessons must be learned. Taking action is a commitment to participate in a situation at your current level of understanding. It requires humility and a sense of responsibility.
So like it or not, fully ready or not, sometimes you do need to "just do it", to reap the rewards of all your good planning. It is, ultimately, an act of compassion to yourself to be motivated by responsibility rather than perfectionism.
Could you be depriving yourself of valuable opportunities?
If you procrastinate with fear-based 'circular planning', jumping in (with eyes wide open) will restore your productivity.
Here are 3 signs that you procrastinate with circular planning:
* You plan the same activity several times over, out of fear of making a mistake. You never actually identify what needs to happen before you proceed further.
*Rather than embracing the challenge of taking your first step, you may cling to the planning stage. There is a quality of denial in this, because the refusal to move forward almost always carries negative consequences.
* You find it difficult to stop planning, and this interferes with other activities. The more you take refuge in compulsive planning, the less able you are to be fully present in this moment, and fully alive.
Break out of this destructive deadlock in 3 steps:
Mobilization Tip #1: Tune into your rhythms. Catch your tendency to procrastinate through circular planning as quickly as possible. The sooner you break this pattern, the more swiftly you can replace it with something truly productive. Without a hint of judgment, simply identify what you are doing and 'escort' your thoughts to more useful topics.
Mobilization Tip #2: Explore ways you might lower your expectations to facilitate taking your first step. First steps can be overburdened with symbolism, making them seem riskier than they need to be. Calmly review how you will pick yourself up if you stumble, and affirm that learning as you go is a productive use of your time, too.
Mobilization Tip #3: Take the next step, breaking it down if necessary into sub-steps. Notice how initial anxiety often gives way to satisfaction once you move beyond planning and immerse yourself in your new activity.
Power-Planning™ gains much of its strength from versatility. Make the time choice that is most practical, instead of clinging to a one-size-fits-all solution. The more directly you resolve concerns about translating plans into action, the more effective your planning will become. And the more you will enjoy productivity with less procrastination and more effective use of time.
What choices can you make to ensure you enhance your productivity at this time?
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Paula Eder, Ph.D., The Time Finder, has coached clients for 35+ years to become more effective by aligning values with time choices. For free weekly time tips & an award-winning monthly Ezine, visit http://www.findingtime.net/ezine.html
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