Thoughts on Procrastination, Pt. 2

I’m sitting in bed and sipping coffee from my bedside coffeemaker (literally one of the best decisions I’ve ever made).  Ever-so-slightly hung chowder, I’m watching Charles Barkley argue with Shaq on YouTube.  While entertaining, I’m beginning to feel the all-too-familiar pang of “man I should really be doing, you know, an actual thing.”  I figure it’s apt sharing another tactic I use for combating procrastination.

The But-Rebuttal Method

I mean, it's just fun saying "But Rebuttal." 

Anyway.  When we think about doing something productive, it’s easy giving ourselves excuses in the form of buts.  I dunno, something like, say:

“I could go for a run, but…” 

-I’m just too tired

-I’m feeling lazy

-I’m not in the mood, etc

Standard stuff.  However, if we challenge this thinking with a But Rebuttal (Jesus Christ, I'm still eight years old), the tone shifts entirely.

“I could go for a run, but I’m not in the mood”

     -I’ll feel more into it once I get started, and afterwards I’ll feel amazing

“But running takes a long time”

     -I can always run a shorter distance today

“But I’m too tired”

     -Just do a little bit and rest

“But I’d rather rest now and watch Netflix”

     -I can, but I’ll feel like a giant sack of crap, and deciding not to run will hang over my head all day

“But I’m just a lazy person”

     -That can’t be true- I’ve run on numerous occasions in the past

Just keep going until you’re out of excuses.  If you're anything like me, this can sometimes take a while, but I'm eventually always able to drag my ass out the door.   

Doing stuff can be overwhelming, sure, but I find doing something- almost anything- is better than doing nothing.  That said, hey, I’ve written this post, and I’m out of coffee.  Time to hang out by the fence with Big Country.

Happy January 19th, everybody!