Today’s Meditation

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“Procrastination is like a credit card: It’s a lot of fun until you get the bill.”  — Christopher Parker

 Procrastination leads to trouble, and is a silent killer for many, including teachers. So, today’s affirmation is “I will take care of…“ – e.g. lesson plans, emails, parent calls, etc.

When yesterday we worked on inviting the self-critic to the table, today, we are going to address the procrastinator in particular.

Self-doubt often creeps in and we put off things we feel we can’t handle just now. We delay, delay, and keep telling ourselves that we do our best work under pressure. I kept telling myself this all along my college years and beyond. Feeling that I wasn’t ready, wasn’t good enough, and doubted my abilities.

Using distractions to procrastinate

Distractions often plaque us at home as well, we need to get dinner on the table, do the dishes, finish laundry and other household chores. We are bombarded with tasks to be done, even with help.

These distractions enable us to avoid what really needs to be done. It is rarely you can even be in the classroom and not think of the dozen other things you “need” to get done, to rearrange the desks, to start a new seating plan, to clean off your desk.

Procrastination is often an acute danger in a teacher’s day, putting off things that could be done in just a few minutes, yet thinking about them for hours, sometimes days! Yes, for example, lesson plans. We often think that getting them done the night before, that waiting to finish, somehow makes them better — they’re fresh in our minds, after all.

Imagine if…

But imagine if you could have your entire weekend to yourself, not having to worry about finishing up your plans the night before the new school week starts. What if you had planned it so that your lesson plans were in the principal’s inbox on Friday before you left for the weekend.

Imagine how you would feel. How liberating, how free to do YOUR thing and not the lesson plans. Now, you might be answering with: “But I don’t mind using my weekend to finish my lesson plans…” Ok, you might not. But you do need downtime – for you, your family, your friends. What would you do if your plans did not include having to think of the lesson plans all through the weekend? How would your mind feel? Your body?

“Getting things done is one of the best feelings yet.” —Unknown

Living a true teacher’s life does NOT mean you have to be “on call” 24/7.

Often, as teachers, we feel that we must do just that. After all, it is a lifestyle. And that’s great. But you will feel better, your students will be better served, if you relax. You need to relax, and truly let go.*

No need to feel guilty if you take time for just You. And I mean no teaching issues to deal with at all.

So why do people procrastinate? What does procrastination mean? The Cambridge Dictionary refers to it as “The act of delaying something that must be done, often because it is unpleasant or boring.”

Teachers often might feel as if they “still have plenty of time” as Sunday rolls around. You’ve taken care of your spiritual needs, your family dinner is all cleaned up, time to start the work week with Sunday night lesson planning.

The pressure to get lesson plans done

However, the pressure to now create your plans can be enormous. What if you can’t come up with something good? What if you can’t find that link to the YouTube video you wanted to show? What if your printer doesn’t work? What if you realize that you really needed to make some copies of the work you are going to give to your students on Monday morning? And you remember hearing Suzy exclaim, “Not again!” as she was clearing a jam in the work room copier.

All of this just adds pressure to you to perform, to deliver, to be an effective teacher.

Maybe you get on Facebook to see if you can find something, anything. Something good might come up in your feed that you can show or share with the students. But what if it doesn’t? Wouldn’t it be much nicer to actually comment on your friends’ photos and posts instead of frantically looking for content?

We often busy ourselves with tasks around the house, rely on social media to entertain, and sometimes check our email incessantly, and think we are working.

Make a plan, because “Someday is not a day of the week.” – Janet Dailey

Delay tactics increase fear

At the core of procrastination is the belief that delaying will somehow protect us. And that the longer the situation is on our minds, the better it will become. As our fears increase and our potential for good starts to dwindle, it can take a toll on your psyche, your career, your health, and your relationships.

Procrastination can be summed up to selling yourself short. Giving up a few hours of “not doing” to a frenzy of impulses.

Overcoming procrastination is a key to a fulfilled teacher’s life. Give yourself the gift of time, the gift of attention, the gift of today.

Whenever procrastination starts to enter the room, our thoughts become rapid, even obsessive. Thoughts spin out of control and we start thinking of a dozen other things we could be doing instead of the obvious- for example the lesson plans or reading/answering emails, calling a parent. Let go of the anxiety and just do the task, no matter how unpleasant.

If you find yourself in this state of anxiety, of procrastination, stop what you’re doing and concentrate on your toes. Close your eyes. Think of the golden white light enveloping you, starting with the toes, up your legs, your body, your fingertips, your arms, your head. Breathe in and breathe out. This will bring you back to the present, you’ll feel calmer and you will be able to tackle the situation with a calmer perspective.

Everyone is unique and everyone’s reaction unpredictable

Don’t worry – you’ve take the time to breathe, meditate, and be in the present, you can have peace of mind that you will get this task done.

Procrastination puts obstacles in your way- you’re like Nicholas Cage trying to avoid the laser beams as you’re traversing through the museum floor, attempting to get to the priced golden cup, the holy grail of “getting lesson plans done.”

Heed these words from a fellow artist, Pablo Picasso: “Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone,” – or aptly and more down to earth: “Git-R- Done” – Larry the Cable Guy. 😉

There’s hope — through effort

Psychology Today says that “procrastinators may say they perform better under pressure, but more often than not, that’s their way of justifying putting things off. The bright side? It’s possible to overcome procrastination—with effort. Perfectionists are often procrastinators; it is psychologically more acceptable to never tackle a task than to face the possibility of falling short on performance.”

Two more quotes of inspiration from David Allen* and Olin Miller:

“Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they started.” ― David Allen

“If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it.” ― Olin Miller

More appropriately, I think today’s motto could be the quote from earlier: “Getting things over and done with is probably one of the best feelings yet.” ― Unknown

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Overcoming procrastination is a key to living the true teacher’s life and the first step in getting things done.

To gain power over the procrastinator, listen to the powerful words to rid yourself of distractive behavior, to silence the voice that keeps telling you to “do it later” and achieve that best feeling yet.😊

**David Allen has a book out called: “Getting Things Done: the art of stress-free productivity.” I simply borrowed mine from the local library- a book on CD. And listened to it as I was driving.

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or KEEP READING: Day 6 Laser-Focused Teaching

©2017 Taru Nieminen   The Happy Teacher Solution