Hesitation Builds Resistance

I was at my yoga class the other day and the teacher urged us all to get into the next posture as quickly as possible. "Hesitation creates resistance," she counselled. I couldn't stop thinking about the phrase.

As someone who feels like she is constantly struggling with procrastination demons, it made me wonder if the crux of all my procrastinating was actually hesitation itself.

Recently I've been thrust into a procrastination-free zone at work. I sit right next to my new boss. And yes, there are ways of procrastination that are not immediately obvious to the person sitting next to me, such as staring out the window or staring at objects on my desk. However, there is a limit to the time one can spend doing these things.

So I am forced to just get on with my work. And as much as I hate starting tasks, once I have started, I am fine – absorbed and in-the-flow, so to speak. And even when I get stuck on something difficult, I am forced to confront it straight away instead of procrastinating. It even helps to have my boss right there – he can't avoid answering my questions!

Which makes me think that (at least for me), it really is the hesitation that's creating the resistance.

But I'm still not sure how to create the-boss-sitting-next-to-you effect for other dreaded tasks in life, such as getting your taxes done or clearing out stacks of papers at home.

Perhaps that is why the idea of working on something for only a few minutes (many experts recommend 15 minutes or 30) can get people over that dreaded moment of starting. It's one of the tools recommended in The Now Habit, one of the best things I've ever read on procrastination.

I also wonder, if like in yoga, that it helps to think about any task as a physical one. Sometimes instead of thinking that I will start working on an article I just tell myself that I'm "just opening up Word." It's the same reason why I go through all my work emails (and actually respond or write down tasks in my to-do list) first thing – it seems like a harmless task, but it gets me in the work 'mood' and soon I forget that I wasn't really interested in working.

It's worth thinking about ways to overcome hesitation, because if all it does is build resistance, then it would be a really good idea to find a way to get beyond it. How do you keep from hesitating?

Related Posts:

• Book Review: The Now Habit
• Book Review: The Procrastination Equation

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Routines (Again)

I've written before about how routines can be calming for those who suffer from anxiety. But as I've discovered in recent weeks, routines can also be essential for just getting your weekly 'stuff' done. As I mentioned earlier this week, in my first post back in a while, I've got a new role at work. It's a good thing, I think, long-term, but in the short-term, it's completely wrecking havoc with my weekly routine.

In addition to the fact that I just have more work to accomplish, I am also more tired and stressed and unable to concentrate on much else during the weekdays. So when it comes to things like doing our weekly online grocery shop, exercising and blogging, the old way just isn't working anymore.

Emails are going unanswered and the Hub is wondering why suddenly there is no food in the house (thank goodness for our local Chinese and pizza place – although I am sure our sodium levels are through the roof). My role change also resulted in a desk move and I accepted (foolishly) new monitors that couldn't be adjusted to the right height. My neck and shoulders were not happy and it took a few weeks (and some begging and pleading) to locate some better monitors. My body is still recovering from the strain.

This post is not meant to be a whining session, but a look at how we sometimes feel like we aren't going anywhere fast or getting things accomplished. But in fact, it takes a break in routine to realize just how much we were already getting done.

I've been playing around with getting into a new weekly schedule. My first line of attack is to try to shift my exercising to the weekdays – yoga on Sundays was great for me and worked really well, but I think I now need Sundays for writing – an activity which I don't have the energy for after a long day at work. Swimming, I was already starting to do after work, and in fact, that may serve me even better now as it's a good excuse to get up from my desk and leave the building – even if I feel like I have more to get done. It should also (hopefully) keep me focused on accomplishing enough daily to get to the pool at a decent time.

Obviously my job is very important, but I can't neglect my health and I've come too far with all my physio work to fall back into neck and back pain from working hours that are too long and at the same time not progressing with other exercise. And, well, if you're reading this blog, you must also know how important Mind, Body & Scroll has become to me in the past year as a way to work on my non-work writing. It's one of the last things I want to let slide.

And, as for the groceries, I'm sure the Hub will be happy when I have worked out a way for us to eat properly again. Dominos' shareholders, however, may not be as delighted.

Related Posts:

• Calendar And Control
• First Things First
• Hygiene Factors

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