Face Your Dragon

The week had been so busy, so many tasks were coming in from here and there and I felt like hiding in a hole and screaming out loud. But I found no hole that could fit my size...lol. 

Anyway, while I was trying to figure out, how to get a balance, Blessing walked in, and with her sweet voice she said, "Can you spare me some minutes, I want to read something I wrote for a contest and I will like you to listen to me and also time me as I read".

"Certainly", I said 

And as she read on, I marveled at the extent to which the content of the piece spoke to me. It was timely and apt for the situation I was in at that moment. After she was done, I quickly asked for the permission to share it here with you all.

So here it is.......

Face Your Dragon

What is that task that you are afraid of like a child is afraid of a dragon? For me, it has been visiting a dentist. In fact, the dentist was the dragon and his instruments, fangs that will rip off my teeth. I kept the visit off for a day, another day, then a week, weeks and then a year.

After avoiding it for three years, I finally decided to do the dreaded activity days back. I had been familiar with the word procrastination but never thought that it applied to me. Like me, you might think that to procrastinate means to be lazy but procrastination is not laziness. While laziness suggests inactivity or an unwillingness to act, procrastination might involve activity. It is just that the activity being carried out is the enjoyable one.

Procrastination usually involves ignoring an unpleasant but important task and choosing an easier and more enjoyable task. You may do all your office work on time and procrastinate when it comes to washing your clothes or ironing them. You may be early to the church or mosque but delay in addressing a lingering conflict with your spouse or significant other.

We may think that such delays are not by choice. After all, life happens, we get busy, days run by quickly. However, if you look closely enough, you’ll discover that you may be putting off that activity because you are waiting for the best time or urgent tasks keep coming up and you had to focus on those and not on your priorities.

Avoiding the pain and discomfort that comes with a certain task might also be a reason for procrastinating. Gradually, the habit creeps in slowly and leaves you feeling guilty or feeling like a failure. If you have had an item on your to‐do list for more than a week or if you fill your time with unimportant tasks that other people ask you to do instead of getting on with the important tasks already on your list, you might need to look out, procrastination is taking over.

You however don’t have to be a victim of this dangerous habit. 

Here are some steps that I am learning,

First of all, be honest. Don’t live in denial. Identify the task and admit that you have been putting it off. Perhaps, you need to look at yourself in the mirror and say it.

Secondly, forgive yourself. You may have to live with the consequences of your choice to procrastinate but then self‐forgiveness can help you feel more positive and reduce the possibility of future procrastination.

Another thing you can do is write down the activity you will want to carry out. After writing down the task, write down the steps to be taken to arrive at the task. When you have done this, identify your peak periods. When do you get the most done? Is it early in the morning or at night? Decide to carry out one step or two during those peak periods. Remember to have realizable timelines.

After accomplishing the littlest of the tasks, reward yourself. For instance, after reading a book, you might decide to surf the internet, play a game, eat a chocolate bar or check WhatsApp for status updates.

Congratulate yourself if you do all you should do and not all you can do. Without priorities, everything becomes urgent and important. Paul Graham says that, “We’ll increasingly be defined by what we say no to.” Unconsciously filling up your day with menial work and ending up really busy may just be an excuse for not doing what you should be doing. The results will trickle in and it may not be pleasant. Like Christoper Parker, an English Actor said, “Procrastination is like a credit card. It’s a lot of fun till you get the bill.”

As you slowly and surely take up that dreaded task, know that you have more help than you might think is available. You can ask a friend to check up on you to see how far you have gone with a task. Time management apps like Procraster on Iphone and Trello and Toggl on android phones might be of help.

Give these steps a try for whatever task you are interested in, whether you need to clean your closet or watch your weight. For me, the trip to the dentist was painful but it wasn’t the mountain of challenge that I had made it. 

What molehill are you making a mountain? Will you face your dragon?

Blessing Ukpabi