Four reasons why you ‘procrastinate’ and how to develop the skills to overcome it

I am not a procrastinator. Yes, I can stall, hesitate, shy away from and fail to do things altogether. However, I have never called myself a procrastinator.The term procrastinator has a pejorative tone. It’s the inner or outer critic wagging its proverbial finger at you for not ‘getting on with things’. So how come I’ve managed to escape that particular condemnation from my critic when in other aspects of my life it easily nails me?When I am not moving on something I know it to be one of 4 things:

1. I am afraid - and that is not a crime, it’s human. And I am afraid because possibly I feel out of my depth or not good enough. I acknowledge that and allow it to be. I might end up not doing the thing altogether, or I do it slowly, painfully treading with kindness towards myself, or I get help.
2. I am tired, there is no physical or emotional  ‘juice’ for the project and no amount of pushing will work. I need to let go and rest and wait for the well to fill again. Once that happens I naturally find myself wanting to get moving again. (Do check out our blog about Sjanie and my adventures with exhaustion and the creative process and how we were galvanized again)
3. It’s not my work or path. Failing to move on something is on occasion so clearly because it’s not what I should be doing at all. It’s not part of my brief or Calling.
4. It’s not the right timing. There’s World or Spiritual timing, the timing of context or others around you, the project’s timing (and that’s usually connected to the World) and there’s my timing or readiness to do the job. It’s an intuitive skill, more a feeling in my body of a Yes or No as to whether or not I proceed. And when the timing is right it’s almost as though nothing will stop the project from happening and I barely have to do anything!

Actually, I reckon procrastination all boils down to an inability to appreciate timing. So how do we develop that skill? For me, it has arisen from getting to know my menstrual cycle and through this discovering my own nature and Calling. The practice of cycle awareness over time develops this wonderful ineffable sense of knowing, a feeling that you are being held and guided by something larger. Turn procrastination on its head. Here’s how:

• Get cycle savvy now by signing up for our Menstrual Cycle Literacy course This is the 101 for building your inner knowing on when to act and when not to, and to understand what is going on when you feel you are ‘procrastinating’.
• And join our workshop Unleash your Creativity through the power of the menstrual cycle.
• You'll get the detail on how your menstrual cycle is your guide to your own nature and unique creative Calling.  
• Discover how the creative process itself is built into your menstrual cycle - your cycle can literally help you to fulfill your ideas and dreams!
• Learn about the best time to act or hold back (that timing thing).
• Locate that secret place in you cycle where your Calling can come through loud and clear.
• Get the low down on the specific tasks of each phase of the creative process...
• ...And how your cycle experience can reveal your vulnerable areas in that creative process and what needs to be done to care for them.

What are you waiting for?  Reclaim your inner blueprint for success by signing up for this workshop today. And here’s our favourite tip to topple so called procrastination:Completely let go at menstruation. Burn all your to-do lists, forgive yourself for any apparent failure to get things done, forget about it all and rest rest rest. Move at the pace of your body, allow the energies of menstruation to take over (you’ll know exactly what I mean by this when you let go). For now, you have to do nothing and this is everything. Menstruation is the time of rest and renewal, and as you let go you allow the deep creative forces of your soul to flow through to you more clearly. Do be careful that that willful, pushing part of you doesn’t butt in and try to make something happen. If it does it can scramble this magical process in which ideas and inspirations will just come to you. You’ll remember why you set out on the path you did, or realise in fact you are on the wrong path (no wonder you’re procrastinating). You’ll feel your energy slowly recovering (as long as you are not overtired or been running on adrenaline, in which case you’re going to need a lot more than your menstrual slow down to recover but it’s  a start). And you’ll find a clarity and sense of direction carrying you out of the menstrual time. Try it out and report your discoveries back to us in the comments below.We’d also love to invite you to our Unleash Your Creativity workshop in Stroud in February, where we will dive deep into all the elements of the Creative Process and learn how to harness that unruly inner critic. This has to be one of our most favourite workshops. It’s so eminently practical and fun.And see you at our workshop!PS: Your 50% off discount for Menarche ends at midnight today (the 5th)!Use the following code at checkout: BIRTHDAY