Published on Morgan Hill Life’s website May 16, 2016
By Diana Wood
Diana Wood
Not too far from my home is a deceivingly charming place that I used to visit quite often. It’s one of those places that has such an intoxicating draw that, even though I am not a spontaneous person, I would drop everything I was doing to embark on an impromptu visit. I would be surprised if you, too, have not visited this popular destination. It’s located right down the road from Familiarity and Friends and Family Approval in a town called Comfort Zone which is neighbored by the equally quaint town of Indecision.
The property has a way of feeling like home. Walk up the front steps of the house and you’ll see the pillar foundation of “I don’t know how to start” and “I don’t know what to do” decor strategically placed on the porch. As you approach the front door, you’ll see the house nameplate that you have been walking by for years, expertly engraved on a well-crafted plaque proudly displaying the residence name. This is the home of Mr. and Mrs. Procrastination – and they are the most generous guests.
When you walk in the front door the well worn comfortable chairs of indecision, purchased from the neighboring town, hug you as you sit down inviting you to never leave. Mr. and Mrs. Procrastination politely offer you a cup of tea and ask, “Do you take Status, Quo or both with your tea?”
There are no clocks in this home, time is not honored when you walk into the Procrastination house. There’s a long history of feuding between the Time, Decision and Procrastination families – a story too long to share today. The battle between these families will never end. You see, once upon a person will be the desire to change and move out of the Procrastination house. Desire will first move in with the Decision family and then will move in down the street with Mr. and Mrs. Right who live in new Time home development. Mr. and Mrs. Procrastination love their town of Comfort Zone and truly are upset when their chairs of indecision are left empty, thus the parting is never welcome and most definitely never easy.
I share this little story with you with the hope of providing a playful way to take a moment to reflect and potentially see in which residence you are currently residing. Procrastination absolutely can be alive and well in a person’s life without their knowing. An example of this surfaced in a recent exchange shared in a coaching conversation:
Client: I have zero bandwidth. I don’t have any time for my family or myself. I work all of the time, I am so frustrated.
Me: Let’s talk about your bandwidth. What steps can you take to start addressing your bandwidth capacity?
Client: I need to start delegating tasks.
Me: When will you work on identifying what tasks you are going to delegate?
Client: Oh, I don’t know. I’ll figure it out soon.
Me: Do me a favor. Show where soon is on your watch.
Client: [silence]
Silence is the response most often received when this question is asked. Non-commitment to timing, not knowing what to do, or where to start are common architectural pillars in a house of Procrastination.
Take time to take an appraisal of your life. If you find yourself living in a home decorated by indecision, it’s never too late to pack up and move out of the house of Procrastination. Both the homes of Decision and Right Timing have abundant occupancy and would be happy to help you move in.
Morgan Hill resident Diana Wood is the president and CEO of Wood Motivation, a certified independent John Maxwell Team coach, speaker and trainer. She can be reached at [email protected].
