“80% of success is showing up”- Woody Allen
Right now it 5:15am and I’m sitting at my dining room table writing this post on my laptop. With daylight saving just a few days old it’s still dark outside. My long black Nespresso sits near my right hand but I’m already awake.
I’ve waged a war against Procrastination and his army all my life. We battled during high school assignments, Medschool case study writeups and studying for specialist exams. These days he stands in the way of doing my taxes, getting regular exercise and taking my business to the next level.
In the search for battle tactics fight Procrastination I recently I unlocked the power of routine which has allowed me to focus, take action and get results.
Waking at 5am is my new morning routine. I’ve been doing it for 3 weeks now and the effect has been beyond belief. It allows me to work on this blog, my business and fit in a workout before my kids and patients take control of the day. With this new morning routine, I can motor through my to do list with very little resistance.
I recently watched an insightful video on procrastination by Dan Lok who’s Youtube channel is called the “Boss In The Bentley”. Dan’s a no BS, drop F-bombs form all angles kind of guy. He shares his business insights and answers viewer questions while being chauffeured around town in his Bentley. It’s a great concept that illustrates the power of harnessing dead time to record moments of greatness and build an empire.
He uses the simple task of doing a single pushup to illustrate the personalities of the Procrastination Demons.
These are the inner demons that fly around in our heads, jump on our shoulders and retard us from taking the action that is necessary for success. How many of them are you familiar with?
1. The Perfectionist
The Perfectionist tells us to avoid a task unless we are sure we can do it perfectly. Many of us in the medical profession have become accustomed to getting good grades and having a generally successful life. We can fall into what Carol Dweck calls the “fixed mindset” where our previous success makes us fearful of pushing new boundaries.
Is perfectionism really just an excuse for not taking action?
“It’s better to take imperfect action than perfect inaction”
2. The Lazy Bastard
Explained simply, he just can’t be bothered. He tells us things are too hard and reminds us how far behind we are on that new Netflix series.
3. The Measurer (The Comparer)
The Comparer tells us not to act because of what other people are doing. Either we are paralysed because we see the successful colleague swimming far ahead of us and we believe there’s no hope of ever getting there. Or we sit back to watch the struggling new guy floundering, desperately trying to keep his head above water. It’s funny how often the struggler, with time, becomes the next success story.
We need to swim in our own lane focussed on our own goals.
4. The Futurist
He looks to the future and finds the one negative outcome amongst the sea of opportunity. He convinces us that we’re destined to fail so why bother getting started.
5. The Idiot (I don’t know how)
Good mates with the Lazy Bastard. He tells us that because we don’t how to do something right now, it’s never going to happen. The reality is we can get an answer to most questions in 2 seconds on Google. A simple phone call to a colleague or field expert can pave our new pathway to success.
6. The Dumb Listener
He gets in our head and distracts us with alternative shortcuts. As we stew on the pros and cons of all the possible options, our time to take action evaporates before our eyes.
7. The Hopper
Friends with the Dumb Listener he suffers from “shiny object syndrome”. He gets us onboard the newest and latest craze but as we all know- success comes from the compounded effect of consistent action. Hopping from idea to idea simply leaves behind a trail of broken toys.
Success comes from being committed to one idea over time.
8. The Shitmaker
He doles out us far flung excuses that backs us into a corner afraid to move forward. He tells us we should be afraid of what our colleagues, friends and family might think. He tells us we should be afraid of the unknown. To kill him we just need to cut the crap and get sh!t done.
Well, it’s now 6:30 am and I’ve slayed all of those procrastination demons…. for today.
Now it’s time for my morning HIIT workout.
‘Til next time.
Live Life. Laugh Lots. Be Epic.
Andrew
