procrastination: the source of so many excuses

Procrastination is the theme of this month's newsletter. Yes, it's the 27th, and yes, I'm just now getting to this. We all do it, but what is it all about and why do we succumb so easily?

There are lots of reasons. Some of us are just plain overwhelmed. Some of us need deadlines and accountability to be able to make progress with our goals. Some of us have amazing ideas and creative juices flowing, but it's just too much going on in our heads all at once and we don't know where to start.

Procrastination is the key reason why many writers aren't making progress on their articles, their novels, their screenplays, their book proposals. And a lot of times the more you procrastinate the more burdened you feel. It's like the friend you were supposed to call last month. With each passing week it gets more and more pressured and more and more awkward until you feel that pressure cooker feeling and just try to squeeze it to some nether region of your brain. But it always has a little hold on you, doesn't it? And when it comes to your passions, the things you're not doing for this reason or that, it's a lot worse, because that shoulding---no matter how far back you try to push it---crops up over and over again.

So December was a month for procrastinating. And we have such good excuses. We're Christmas shopping. There are more family demands than usual. Work feels crazy. I had my own personal excuse: I moved. Or I got sick. And I did, but even I know that that shouldn't mean the whole month has to go down the toilet where my goals and forward-movement is concerned.

So January. Sweet January. We have such high hopes for you. A month predicated on ringing in the new. Out with the bad old habits. In with the resolutions and promises to dedicate more time to the things we love to do for ourselves.

If you're a bad procrastinator, a king or queen of excuses and reasons why you're not getting to all the side projects you have and things you love, do consider getting a coach. Try a free session. It's amazing what accountability can do for you. And by this time next year you'll be reading this post and thinking to yourself, That's not me.

Until next time. Happy New Year.

---Brooke