3 Signs That Procrastination Is Stealing Your Life Away
Procrastination happens for a number of reasons, but if you’re not aware that it’s happening, you aren’t aware of the effects it’s having in your life. Awareness precedes change, so here are three ways to know that procrastination is draining your time, energy and resources.
1. Your “to do” list never gets done.
There is a difference between healthy stress and something that is hanging over your head waiting for attention. It takes your mental energy to not look at it, and the thing itself will grow in proportion until it gets handled. It’s like never-ending homework. And avoidance strategies may include staying really busy, being in overwhelm, focusing on everybody else, creating drama and handling distractions vs. being productive – all of which are sabotage in the most insidious ways. (Insidious because they are disguised as being really productive, or kind, or engaged with lots of activities – they are socially acceptable but not truly productive for you.)
2. A sense that you can’t get ahead.
Procrastination keeps you stuck in the past by keeping the “it” you are delaying front and foremost in your mind as something that you should get done. After all, who would you be if you were moving forward easily and measurably instead of living from your past?
3. Your self-esteem drops as a result of not handling “it”.
There is a sense that you never measure up because you aren’t handling “it”. There are a number of reasons why you might not be handling “it” that are completely unrelated to your self-esteem, but your self-esteem doesn’t know that. All your inner being knows is that you aren’t getting it done and, if your programming runs like most people’s, it must be because you aren’t good enough somehow to get it done.