Week 22: I Always Procrastinate.
Cultivate New Habits (Weeks 14-26)
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It’s like Glinda said, “You’ve had the power all along, my dear. You just had to learn it for yourself.”
Desperate for change? Yearning for adventure? You have everything you need to live the life of your dreams within you. You just need a little nudge, that’s all!
I have a superpower. I call it: Getting Shit Done.
I also have another less desirable superpower: Master Procrastinator. I don't believe anyone could be as filled with the powerful urge to "put things off" as I am. And the worst part? I don't put things off to "get shit done." I put things off to watch, "Race Across the World" and "Love is Blind."
You might assume these powers cancel each other out. But you’d be wrong. Because I have a third superpower. I am the Process Queen.
I love process, systems, flowcharts, checklists, and anything else that transforms chaos into calm. My nerdy little data heart does a happy dance whenever I create a system that saves time, energy, or existential dread.
I vividly remember the first time I discovered process. I worked as a telemarketer for a print company in NYC while supporting my acting dream. Sitting amid that hectic open room with high ceilings that showed the duct work, peeling paint on the walls, desks overloaded with paper (both customer files and paper samples), and bosses shouting at each other across the room about some delayed job or another, I realized I could no longer accept being only a spectator to the chaos.
"Stop!" I yelled at the astounded, flushed red faces of the boss bros. "You are doing the same thing over and over again, but starting it new every time! Why don't you figure out the best way to do it, document it, do that every time, and measure your performance so you can add in improvements?"
So what does this have to do with procrastination?
Everything.
Because here’s the truth I’ve learned: Process beats procrastination. Every single time.
Let’s say you can’t motivate yourself to pay the bills. Instead of white-knuckling it or avoiding it, build a process:
Make a pot of tea in your fancy teapot.
Clear off the dining table and give it a polish.
Print your digital bills and gather paper ones.
Light a candle.
Set a timer.
Go step by step until it’s done.
Turn it into a ritual.
Same with writing a Substack post. My actual process looks like this:
Ideation
Timer for 10 minutes, riff like mad.
Expand notes.
Outline
Create structure and hook.
First Draft
Write like I mean it.
Final Draft
Let it marinate. Come back and edit.
Distribution
Transfer to Substack.
Create a graphic.
Do you notice the trick? Every process starts with something fun or sensory. A ritual. A tiny reward.
Because the key to beating procrastination isn’t discipline, it’s designing a process that invites you in.
Process is your magic wand. Use it. And then give yourself a Christmas bonus.
Let me know in the comments if you’d like a mini-class on building an effective process. I have one I can record for you.
Your worksheet, narrative shift, reflection prompts, and reinvention steps are below…