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procrastination

The Beauty Of Deadlines

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The 6 week timeframe to sort out the debt crisis has got me thinking about deadlines. They can be a pain but they are also very useful to focus the mind.  Work deadlines under pressure imposed by someone else can get you enraged, renewal deadlines like car insurance or the end of a fixed mortgage force you to think about it/explore other options rather than ignore or forget about the issue. Forced deadlines like redundancy or early retirement give you short or long timescales to get your act together and plan.

Without deadlines procrastination can be king and “I didn’t get around to it” Queen.

For many people being made redundant, while not nice, can be a push to do something different rather than drift/cruise at work. I have found that people who hate their career can take years, even decades to take action. That is a lot of time being fed up of work and having a sinking feeling on Monday mornings. The reason? No deadline and it feeling like a huge overwhelming decision. 

I find that the tipping point to people finally deciding to come to me about career change is often a birth, death, birthday or sometimes the straw that broke the camel’s back – e.g. a colleague getting a promotion or the umpteenth time they have worked late and their boss taken the credit.

What deadline could you set for yourself in 6 weeks time to achieve something important but not urgent?  E mail me and I will hold you accountable – click on the link. 

http://careerstrategies.co.uk/careercoaching/what-next/

 

 

 

 

 

What’s Your Limiting Belief?

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A client of mine claimed to be ‘the world’s biggest procrastinator’. Quite a mean feat bearing in mind how common it is and the population scattered around the globe. I love limiting beliefs – they are fascinating. Beliefs drive behaviour and what we do and don’t do so have a huge impact in success, action and change.

Other common limiting beliefs are; ‘self-employment will be difficult’, ‘career change is hard’, ‘marketing is pushy’, ‘all public sector workers are institutionalised’, ‘women are bad drivers’ etc..  Most of the time limiting beliefs are irrational, created on a small shred of evidence, one comment or a snippet in the media.  They are really powerful, stopping people from doing what they want or creating bias and inequality.

Limiting beliefs can be about anything; money, relationships, work etc. One client had a belief that ‘money is misery’. They wanted more of it but were stopping themselves because of their limiting belief.  Beliefs can usually be spotted by generalisation such as all… or I must/should. What are yours? Have some fun noticing people’s beliefs wherever you are reading this.  Read this bulletin on ‘Mind reading’ when we create beliefs  about other people:  

 http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1103698726463.html

 

Small Things Make A Big Difference

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I am quite simple, so I like simple things. How about you? I think little things make all the difference and I love seeing the light go on with clients.  Do you ever need to do something but keep on not getting around to it?

A client needed to do his expenses, but had put the task off for 9 months. I asked him what kind of environment was conducive to doing the task enjoyably. He replied going to his local pub for a quiet pint. The next day he e mailed me to say that he had done them. 

Another client claimed that she detested networking; a common phenomena. I was surprised; after all she was a people person. I explained that networking was all about connecting with people, something I knew she loved doing. “Oh, in that case, I love networking” as the penny dropped with a resounding clank as she headed off to book some networking events with a smile on her face.

What small change would make a big difference with you?   

Changing your career makes a big difference to your happiness and fulfilment. Click on the link below to find out more: 

http://www.careerstrategies.co.uk/telegraph/

Inner Tug Of War?

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Do you ever find that an inner part of you just won’t budge? It’s like it’s dug its heels in and refuses to do what it is ‘supposed to do’ or you want it to, however much you cajole or reason with it. Procrastination is often the consequence of resistance, but the root cause is not always clear at first and then it rises to the surface and it all makes sense. 

Yesterday I had a client who was showing resistance to taking action for most of the coaching session; their verbal energy was high and strong and then the reason for the resistance popped out five minutes before the end of the session.  The task she was supposed to do just didn’t sit comfortably with who she was – it was a provocative action when they are conservative by nature. They knew they needed to do something, it just wasn’t that. Once we had got to the bottom of what was going on – and a bit of my job is like being a detective and putting the pieces together, they worked out what was comfortable and moved quickly and enthusiastically into action, A good question to ask yourself if you find yourself in this situation is: “What’s the resistance about?”

Once I come up with a creative way for you to explain inaction at work caused by resistance to your boss, I’ll let you know! Are you resisting the change you know you need to make? This is common and I have seen resistance to change over time cause illness, depression and even fatigue syndrome, so it’s best tackled.

Have you looked at our Linkedin profile? We created it having researched best practice. Click on the link below to view.

Rachel Brushfield Linked in profile: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/energiseliberateyourtalent

Spider Stops House Move

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A spider has been stopping my sister from moving house. Actually that’s not true. Spiders.  The shed at the bottom of her garden is looking a bit of a mess, so I asked her why she hadn’t cleared it out. She replied that her car’s not big enough to fit the things in and she needed to get someone with a big car to help her. Well I’ll help you, I replied. No! she retorted The real block turned out to be the prospect of her facing the spiders. I had many a fun time chasing her as a child with a spider encased in my hand, to the backdrop of her screams. 

Why am I telling you this story? It’s because the things that stop us from doing what we want or need to are not always obvious, they can be hidden. That’s one of the reasons why procrastination happens. Blocks can be conscious or unconscious and the bigger the task or change e.g. career change, the more the blocks can get in the way and so we keep on stopping ourselves and then get frustrated when we don’t make progress.

I had a block about becoming successful because I thought I’d become busy and get stressed, which I didn’t want to be. We can keep at bay things we want without realising WE are the root cause! What do you want to change and how are you stopping yourself? 

Often people are afraid of career change. Click on this link to download the FREE Energise report “Pain free career change” http://www.careerstrategies.co.uk/

FEAR IS NORMAL!!

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If I could wave a magic wand, I would change one thing. It would be for people to say what they really feel, true, raw and honest. I am a Northerner stuck in a Southerner’s body and perhaps my work on developing ‘verbal padding’ has gone too far?! 

FEAR IS NORMAL!

If only people expressing fears meant they wouldn’t be judged but supported. Companies and people wouldn’t use the open expression of fears to manipulate, but self-awareness would increase and a healthy exchange and support ensue. Overwhelm and procrastination would be less as a result. The world would be a very different and better place. Politics wastes so much time and money, when if this same energy was directed at fruitful productivity and pulling together to get the world out of the mess we’ve got it in, we’d get there quicker. Fear increases people playing politics at work. 

I think the truth is that the world at the moment is quite scary. Uncertain jobs, pensions, an aging population and Alzheimer’s and a shed load of national and maybe individual debt to pay off over probably decades. It’s not exactly cheerful is it?

Women in my family live until 98 so that’s a lot of care home fees to work hard for, as I doubt the government will have money to fund for any but the most poor, by the time I am as wrinkled as a prune.  I remember after the credit crunch, walking through London thinking, why is everyone looking so happy, carrying on as normal? Don’t they realise it means years of poverty, misery and strikes? 

At least challenge creates emotional resilience and a refocus on what’s really important! I am going to sit in the sun today and revel in every moment, surrounded by flowers and butterflies. What are you going to do that you would normally put off for another day?  Do make a post sharing this – thanks!

Cabin Fever And How To Cure It

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Do you find that there are certain tasks that you can procrastinate for England about rather than do? Would you rather pluck your nasal hair than do them? I am pretty decisive by nature, but there are a couple that get me dusting my light bulbs to avoid.

For me these are making prospect phone calls and creating proposals. I used to be a brand strategist in the communications industry who was kept in a darkened room and wheeled out for meetings to spout insights that would help the clients make more money. I am happy as Larry doing research and writing, but that other stuff, well I have to create the right conditions to get them done.

If you see a woman aged about 45 sitting hunched over a hot laptop on a long train route, think Stornaway to Penzance, or in a coffee shop long after the drink dregs have gone cold making prospect calls, that’ll be me. If I stayed at my home office, not only would I get severe cabin fever and start climbing the walls, these tasks would take ten times as long. What are your most creative avoidance strategies and least favourite tasks? Off to London to get on that yellow tube line.

At a career crossroads?  Download the FREE Energise “Pain free career change” report. Click on this link: http://www.careerstrategies.co.uk/