How often do you find yourself procrastinating? And what do you do when you notice it? I would hazard a guess that you then chastise yourself and probably still don’t do ‘the thing’. It’s totally energy sapping, one way or the other. We can procrastinate about things both small and big. Often with those smaller tasks, the cause may be that it's one of those things that needs to be done, but is just boring (mandatory training comes to mind), but what about when we procrastinate on larger issues?
What I frequently see amongst the people that I coach (& is borne out by my own experience) are 2 other reasons. Fortunately they share a common solution, but I’ll first just give a brief description of the causes:
The Gap
This happens when you know, at least roughly, what you want to achieve, but it feels so far removed from where you are now that overwhelm and inertia kick in. Or it may be that you don’t know where to start, and so you don’t start at all. For example, you may want to develop your career to give you more flexibility and autonomy, but that seems so far removed from hands-on clinical medicine that you can’t see how to metamorphose this idea into a reality - the gap between where you are now and where you would like to be feels too huge to safely navigate.
The Fear
This one is huge, though not always quite so evident. We all have blind spots, often quite subtle, and we can dress up fear as all manner of other reasons for not doing something. There are many different types of fear, but perhaps some of the most common that surface after a bit of exploration include:
Fear of failure
This is a biggie for everyone, and medics are no exception. Just getting into medical school requires you to be at the top of your game, and then you have to get through it and out the other side, and you don't need me to tell you that the world of medicine is a competitive one. You sit numerous exams along the way, involving a huge commitment of time, energy and money. Rather than being seen as a normal part of life, and indeed an essential part for progress and learning, failure can become something to avoid at all costs, often without you even realising it. This can feel particularly difficult to navigate when you’re working in a safety-critical arena.
Fear of judgement
This is so common and can show up in many ways. For example, giving a presentation, expressing your opinion in a meeting, or when explaining your patient management to a senior. In evolutionary terms, this links to the need to be accepted for survival; nowadays it can result in avoidance, perfectionism and stagnation.
Fear of success
This is usually more about the potential consequences of success, rather than success itself. With success often comes change which requires stepping out of your comfort zone, and there may be resistance to moving into potential discomfort. That change may also involve greater responsibility, e.g. when you pass your membership exam and take the next step up the career ladder of medicine. There may also be concern about the impact of success on your relationships with others.
The Solution
Essentially, the way to move beyond these two causes of procrastination is TO DO SOMETHING.
In the design world they call it ‘bias to action’. So far everything I have mentioned is a mishmash of thoughts and feelings, and the upshot of this is that you do nothing, i.e. you procrastinate.
The antidote to this is the opposite: ACT.
Now that may sound very obvious, and you may be wondering why you bothered to read this far, but what makes a difference is HOW you act, and that is actually very simple: do it in a way that feels achievable - break it down into SMALL STEPS and focus on these, one at a time.
Small steps taken CONSISTENTLY help you close The Gap and overcome The Fear.
Just the act of doing something starts to feed your motivation. A growing sense of achievement as you continue in small steps drives your forward momentum.
As a doctor, you will know that, ultimately, the way to learn is by doing. It’s the same with life design: you learn as you do, and this then gives you valuable feedback as to your next steps.
And don’t forget to note and celebrate your progress as you go, even the tiniest of steps – this again will keep you going, especially on those days when your motivation is having a bit of a wobble.
So, that thing that’s had you procrastinating for a while, what is the first small step that you can take to get you out of the starting blocks?