Members of the Switched ON community have long lists of things they want to achieve in their lives, which is why procrastination is such a deal breaker. How can we hope to get through our overflowing bucket lists if we struggle to start on projects?
For any of us who suffer from procrastination, here’s helpful advice from motivation guru Mel Robbins – count to five and start. It’s as simple as that. Well, maybe not quite!
Mel is a life coach and bestselling author of The 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage. She’s also featured on a stack of million-view YouTube videos, speaking on a variety of emotional health and wellbeing issues.
Her TEDx Talks presentation How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over has been watched over 25 million times and she is a mainstay of the Switched ON Living course.
Mel says that procrastination is a symptom of stress. To overcome its pernicious effect, first we need to recognise the underlying anxiety that’s causing us to engage in avoiding behaviours.
Second, we need to know that procrastination is a habit, and like any other habit, we can consciously replace it with another – a starting ritual – a healthy habit that kick-starts us into action.
The other ingredient that’s implicit in Mel’s recipe is willpower. Once we’ve steeled ourselves to start, we must push that ON button.
Mel tells us to aim initially for five minutes, knowing that once we’ve warmed our engines, we’re good for hours of productive work.
So let’s not delay our Switched ON Living Wellbeing Plan any longer – let’s count to five and make a start. Lights, Camera, Action!
