Episode #63 Overcoming Procrastination- Intentional Living

Hey, friend, do you ever feel like you're caught in this unwieldy, crazy cycle of stress and procrastination? In talking with several friends over the past few months, I have noticed how this topic of procrastination keeps coming up. That we put off the good that we know would be good to do, and that can come about for a variety of reasons.

So, consider for yourself, is this procrastination topic something that ever applies to you?

Do you put off something that you know would be beneficial?

Chances are you're saying yes, and the reasons behind that can be varied. Maybe it has to do with simply the volume of things that are on your plate right now. Maybe there's perfectionistic tendencies or, it's easy to get distracted or to want to jump from one project to the next.

Maybe even the things that you're procrastinating are just your least favorite parts of your job, or your ministry or your life right now. No matter what that looks like for you, we're talking with God about that today and how we can overcome that procrastination cycle because it never bears good fruit for us.

One of the foundational ways to overcome procrastination begins with identifying the root cause. Why are you procrastinating? And then you can develop techniques and approaches and habits that help you overcome that, especially if it's something that tends to be an area of your life that you often procrastinate in.

But I didn't want to go that route with our podcast episode here today. There's so many things that could be playing into that for each one of us. And so, as I was praying about this episode, I started talking with God about the heart needs that often come along with procrastination.

Sometimes we can feel undue responsibility, burdens, or even shame, when it comes to procrastination that happens in our lives. When I reflect on my own areas of procrastination, often that comes about because I want to get in the right headspace to do something. I want to work on an email sequence for those who are subscribed to my email list. And I want to have the perfect balance of caffeine, and inspiration, and creativity, and preparation.

Or I'll look at something that needs to be done in our home and I'm like, oh, well, I don't have the plan fully mapped out yet, and so I'm going to wait until I can get in that perfect space where I know the exact product and the exact timeline and nothing else is going on, and I can execute it without interruption.

And so, I will put things off for a later date because I haven't arrived at this perfect occurrence of all of the circumstances aligning. Now, when that happens for me sometimes, especially if it's something I've been procrastinating for a long time, I will start to beat myself up about it.

I will start to get discouraged. And if I feel like I'm procrastinating in too many areas, that discouragement can lead to some negative self-talk. It can lead to heavy burdens where I almost am causing the procrastination to last longer because I'm focusing so much on the fact that I hate that I keep procrastinating.

As I was talking with God about this episode today, the passage that came to mind comes from Hebrews. It's Hebrews 4:14-16. And it's talking about Jesus as our high priest, and it says,

"Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Sometimes there are struggles in our lives that we disqualify from receiving mercy and grace. And I think for some of us, procrastination is one of them.

We can look at the areas of procrastination, where we could have accomplished something by now, or maybe we feel like we should have done that thing, or moved past that, or figured out a rhythm so that we don't put this off any longer. And we put such a responsibility on ourselves that we feel like it's not worthy to bring to God in our time of need.

But likely, there are root causes behind the procrastination that you're experiencing.

What you see as potentially just putting something off might be tied to areas of fear or anxiety.

It may be tied to areas of overwhelm.

It may be that you feel like you're procrastinating somewhere but the core issue is that you don't feel equipped.

Or you feel unsure about your ability to follow through in the way that you would want to.

No matter what the reason is behind the procrastination, there is nothing that's off limits for us to bring to God and to ask for him to help us with. We can draw near to God with confidence in our need, no matter what the need is, including in areas of procrastination. And so, if you feel like procrastination is something that you're struggling with or you're working through, bring that to your great high priest. Jesus, the one who intercedes on your behalf, and ask him for mercy and grace in this area of need. You don't have to carry this or figure it out on your own. Here's a question you can take to him:

God, will you help me see the root cause of this area of procrastination, and what needs to change?

I know God will reveal things to you. I know he will walk you through it.

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

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