I’m Diana Swillinger, and you’re listening to the Renew Your Mind podcast. Episode 91 Overcoming Procrastination
DIANA: I should be recording. We’re saying fun stuff. We might end up with a blooper reel.
JILL: Yeah.
DIANA: Okay.
JILL: You just need to make that chocolate soap pie.
DIANA: I need to find a recipe, and it’s not going to be the same.
JILL: Maybe you can look for copycat Baker Square.
DIANA: Yes, I do. I need to look for that. And if I read all the reviews, people say, this really does taste like the restaurant versus it’s a pretty close copy. And I don’t want that. All the reviews have to say it tastes just like the real pie. Then I’ll try it.
JILL: You can just do that in your extra time, in your free time.
DIANA: And I don’t like cooking.
JILL: Right.
DIANA: And I don’t like a French pie. Isn’t cooking or baking really throwing it together? Whipping.
JILL: So are you saying you’re procrastinating?
DIANA: No.
JILL: Looking for a recipe?
DIANA: I do procrastinate on some things, yeah. Sometimes I’m not procrastinating, though. Sometimes I’m deciding the right time. Well, I’m like we should record. We are recording. Okay, let’s talk about this in the podcast.
JILL: Okay. Got you.
DIANA: Hey, everybody. Welcome to another week of the renew your mind podcast. Happy New Year. And I have Jill Peterson with me, who I’ll introduce in a moment. But happy New Year, Jill. JILL: Hello. happy New Year. Yeah.
JILL: Fresh start.
DIANA: Fresh start. You guys might recognize Jill’s voice and name. She’s been on my podcast before, almost two years ago, and she came on as a client. I even coached you a little bit.
JILL: You did.
DIANA: COVID college. That was a deal. My son’s still recovering from COVID college. Anyway, a lot has happened since then, and you’re no longer my client. In fact, you’re a life coach.
JILL: That I am.
DIANA: Congratulations.
JILL: Thank you.
DIANA: You went through one of the toughest coach certifications, uh, in existence.
JILL: Yes, it was rough, but I’ve learned so much, and all this work is life changing, so I’m so glad that I did it and that, uh, I can be a coach and help other people.
DIANA: Uh, and I’m so glad to have you back on now so we can have a conversation coach to coach. And there are some areas I’m really good at helping people in, and sometimes I’m like, I’m not quite sure that’s my area of expertise. That’s why I’ve had a teen life coach on, and I’ve had an addiction life coach on, because, yes, I’ve had teens, and yes, uh, I’ve had an addiction.
But there’s still other things I feel like I’m really good at coaching on procrastination. I guess I shouldn’t diss myself there. I think I’m good at coaching on procrastination, but you have a lot better thoughts and tactics and all this stuff. So anyway, I knew you were the perfect person to have this conversation with. And as we start the new year, I think when we want this fresh start, we think, okay, let’s do that thing I’ve been putting off for so long, and I want everyone listening who wants to go do that thing to have a good chance for success. And my worry is that if they’ve been putting it off for so long because they’ve been procrastinating, they might think, now I’ll do it. But if they don’t fix the problem of procrastination or figure out what thoughts have been causing them to procrastinate, I think they might just fall right back into it. So here we are. Let’s have a conversation. Maybe we could just start friend to friend, coach to coach, kind of talking about what it is that we procrastinate doing.
JILL: Yeah. What do you procrastinate doing, Diana?
DIANA: I thought I was going to ask you that. Okay, what do I procrastinate?
JILL: Let’s start with you. I want to hear all the good.
DIANA: Cleaning the bathtub. Uh, honestly, cleaning the bathtub. I procrastinate finances in my business, logging, tracking, and updating my financial reports. I procrastinate. What else do I probably a lot. I don’t like cooking, and I don’t like cleaning things. I don’t like things I don’t enjoy, which is interesting, because if I do them, um, I’m really glad they’re done.
JILL: Right.
DIANA: But I just sit with all this ick of not wanting to do it and putting it off.
JILL: Right.
DIANA: Cleaning. I procrastinate cleaning mhm everything. Grocery shopping. We’ve got to get to the bare bones. And I’m like, oh, okay.
JILL: Uh, and this is all the stuff I love. I mean, I don’t like to clean either, but I figured out a way to do it simply
DIANA: so that you don’t have to procrastinate.
JILL: Right. I don’t look at it as a bad thing.
DIANA: Well, then, what do you procrastinate on? Now, you’ve got that under your belt. And I, uh, mentioned on the last time you’re on the podcast, you have the blog Jill on the Hill, which is all this great stuff for cooking and cleaning your house and all these things I’m just saying I hate. But, um, what do you procrastinate on?
JILL: Well, um, I certainly do procrastinate when I want to start a new healthy eating plan. I procrastinate that because I look and I think I have to get rid of all the stuff in my pantry, in my fridge, and start over. Uh, then I also have to research what’s, quote, healthy and what I want my protocol to be, or what I want to eat. My basement can sometimes become a dumping ground, so I kind of procrastinate decluttering the basement just because I know it’s going to take time and there are decisions to be made.
DIANA: Decisions to be made. That’s what I was thinking. I was thinking decluttering the basement makes me think, oh my gosh, I don’t have the mental energy for that.
JILL: Yeah, there are a lot of sentimental, uh, items down there that there’s like a tug of war going on in your mind. Yes. Exercise is a big one.
DIANA: Mhm, I do that too.
JILL: I yeah, it takes physical energy to do that. And sometimes I’m just, I don’t want to. And another one is having a tough conversation with someone. I procrastinate that definitely yes. Because there’s risk for conflict.
DIANA: Yeah. I mean, my coaching brain has seen some, um, common threads or some main reasons that we do that, but we’ll get to that. So have we hit on what people mostly procrastinate on? I bet difficult conversations is one a lot of people procrastinate on mhm bills and finances. That’s when I said that could be very common decisions.
JILL: Decisions about clutter.
DIANA: Even big decisions. Should I apply for another job? I don’t go interview at other jobs because I think I want another job. But that’s like a big decision. And then I and you don’t go do the thing that moves you forward in it.
JILL: Right.
DIANA: You just get stuck where you are and then think about it more. And think about it some more.
DIANA: Cleaning people procrastinate cleaning, especially the non daily items like dusting or cleaning the top of the kitchen cabinets or getting all the dust bunnies out from under those extra things. Not just the quick vacuum wipe, the Counters,
the cushions in the couch. Yeah.
DIANA: When you find all special things down there.
JILL: Coins, gummy bears.
DIANA: Yeah.
JILL: Even people have, um, they procrastinate doing their laundry because I used to call it Mount Washmore. Uh, because it just would pile up. With four kids, it just piles up.
DIANA: I’ve heard of people like having they’ll use their dining room table because they have another table in the kitchen. The dining room table becomes like laundry central and it just stays there.
JILL: Yeah. It’s the folding table and the storage area until you make your kids put it all away. DIANA: Right. Uh huh. Which we procrastinate doing because we think they’re not going to do it.
JILL: We know the truth. Reality. We’re realists.
DIANA: Okay. So that’s a lot of the stuff that we procrastinate on. What is going on in our. Brains? Uh, what have you discovered as a coach and in your own life? Why are we doing this? Why do we put off the things that we want to do?
JILL: Usually when we procrastinate the things that we are supposed to do, we’ll view them as hard in our brain and quite frankly, our brain and body, we just don’t like to do things differently. Uh, we like to avoid pain. We like to conserve our energy, and we like to seek pleasure. And when you’re thinking about all these things that you need to do, you’re going against that. Totally going against that. You don’t want to get up and make dinner. You don’t want to get up and fold laundry. So you’re fighting against your brain, basically. That’s why yeah. So you’re viewing everything as hard. Uh, it’s the thought. It always goes back to the thoughts, this is too hard, I can’t do this, I don’t want to do this.
DIANA: Yeah, I just saw a post on social media somebody had posted, like, I had been putting off this thing for months, and I finally just decided to do it. And it took me 15 minutes. Yeah. Probably she was thinking something like, or we even just think, I don’t want to do that. Mhm. JILL: Right.
DIANA: That would be because we want to have pleasure.
JILL: Mhm.
DIANA: I don’t want to do that.
JILL: Oh, I have to. I have to. Versus choose to.
DIANA: Mhm. Yeah. I mean, there’s lots of brain hacks in here as we get towards thinking about solutions, but I really think we talk about the triad of the brain. Or I don’t know if it’s technically called the triad in psychology, but that the primitive brain or the more simple part of our brain left on autopilot, um, wants to avoid pain, conserve energy and pursue pleasure. And you’re saying that’s always in play when we’re procrastinating in some form or another.
JILL: It is.
DIANA: So if it’s not pleasurable, I, uh, might put it off. If it might be uncomfortable, I might put it off. And if it’s going to take too much energy, mental or physical, I might put it off.
JILL: Right. Think about your bathtub example.
DIANA: That takes energy, and I don’t like it. It’s not pleasurable and it takes energy.
I have to reach and stretch and. Get on my knees, and I have to scrub and my arms get tired. JILL: You might work up a sweat, too.
DIANA: Then I’ll need a Shower. Goes in a circle there.
JILL: Yeah.
DIANA: Uh, well, yes, I guess that could be another reason, too, if we don’t and so this is outside of those three things of the brain that we just said. But another thought we sometimes have is what’s the point? Especially, I think, as moms, when we feel like our life is thinking, I got to clean the toddle, I’m going to work up a sweat, then I’ll need to take a shower, then it’ll be dirty, then I’ll need to clean it again. And it just made me think of the cycle, like laundry and dishes and.
JILL: Right. What’s the point? Right?
DIANA:Yeah. And so we’re kind of crossing the line here a little bit in habits and procrastination, but I think, uh, they’re highly related.
JILL: They are. And something else, too, that does not help us get things done is the fact that because I was guilty of it too, when I procrastinate, I would beat myself up thinking that I was lazy, thinking that I was really bad at time management.
So I would beat myself up about it, which just adds another layer of ick in your brain, right? DIANA: And then actually, whenever you think about that project that you’re procrastinating now, you’re attaching shame to it or guilt.
JILL: Guilt, shame, yes.
DIANA: Feelings.
JILL: Mhm, yes. Yeah, so that gets piled on top, too. But I think you just need to know you’re not lazy. Because I ask myself those questions, am I lazy? Am I bad at time management? And I’m not. I’m really good at time management. I just am human.
DIANA: Mhm right. Sometimes people who are not lazy still don’t feel like doing things right, and that’s okay too. That’s an interesting I’m glad you brought that up because I love giving. And I just did in December, I did this series, uh, on the podcast of giving yourself things. And the first one was give yourself Permission. And in this case, I’d say just give yourself permission to be human. Mhm, that’s good. US humans don’t finish every project that we have in our brain all the time. Sometimes we just don’t actually have the energy or the time. I mean, when my kids were younger, I have four kids and the boys are all my three oldest are all adults now, but well, actually, Jill and I, we said this last time, we both have three boys and then a girl. But when those boys were running around the house, playing with Legos, drinking milk, playing Matchbox cars, building all their tracks, leaving their socks everywhere, I even wrote a blog post on socks from my boys leaving socks everywhere. Everywhere but their hamper. Um, you can’t do it all. And that’s the perfect time to let go and give ourselves permission to be human. We don’t have the time to do every project. Sometimes we’re just chasing our kids around or we have a full time job, or we’re in school. I had a full time job and I was in school and I had four kids at home. I had to let a lot of projects go. And it wasn’t always procrastination. Sometimes it was just having to decide. That doesn’t fit in right now.
JILL: Mhm. You were so wise back Then.
DIANA: in some ways, I guess.
JILL: Yeah. So many people beat themselves up for that.
DIANA: Should we beat ourselves up? Should we beat ourselves up for the.
DIANA: Stuff we don’t do? Absolutely not. Just move it to a different day and it’ll get done. Yeah, well, I mean, maybe and maybe not, but what’s the point of beating us up? Because then we’re just adding that layer, uh, of guilt and shame.
JILL: Mhm. Yeah, I don’t want to live in that place. Yeah, I can visit every once in a while, but I’m not camping out there.
DIANA: Yes, I mean, because we’re human. It will still come up. Yeah, but we don’t need to carry it around with us in a suitcase Everywhere we go
JILL: or let it weigh us down. Yes.
DIANA: Okay. So, um, let’s see. I had a question for you. Let me see if we answered it. My question was going to be how are people thinking about their stuff to do right now? That’s a thought error and contributes to procrastination. We did already talk about that a little bit. Did you have any more thoughts on that? What are we thinking wrong?
JILL: Yeah, I love how you talk about it as a thought error. That just is perfect. I love that analogy.
DIANA: Um, well, I didn’t invent that I heard it from another life coach, but I thought, that’s brilliant.
JILL: Thanks. Hearing it, that’s amazing.
DIANA: Yeah. It’s like, um, the brain is going to offer all sorts of thoughts. Not all of them are helpful or true. And so if we kind of think of the ones that come up as like, whoop computer brain brought up an erroneous thought? I don’t need that one. That’s just a little glitch in the system. I think in the area of procrastination, we have a lot of little thought errors that come up. Are there any that we haven’t touched on?
JILL: Yes. I see, uh, gosh a lot when I talk to clients. Um, it’s going to be hard. I think we covered that one.
DIANA: Mhm. JILL: It’s going to be hard. I’m not sure what to do. That’s a good one. Or I’m so overwhelmed.
DIANA: Oh, yeah, you tell yourself that. Guess what? Guess what you’re going to feel when you think.
JILL: Yeah. And that’s the interesting thing. All these thoughts are causing feelings, too.
DIANA: Yeah.Because if we put just that thought, um, I’m so overwhelmed in the mind shift tool. If you think, I’m so overwhelmed, what you’re going to feel is overwhelmed. And every time what you do when you’re overwhelmed is spin or run around doing random things or never quite get done the thing you want to, or collapse in exhaustion. It’s all the things that don’t actually help you do that thing you want to do.
JILL: Or check Facebook, or go on Amazon and buy things. Just to make yourself feel good and not be in that ickiness.
DIANA: I do that. It’s so funny now, but what I hear in my brain is, I’m feeling uncomfortable right now. Let’s go. Scroll on. Amazon.
JILL: I love Amazon.
DIANA: I do too. Or we go to the pantry. Something crunchy.
JILL: Yes. Something salty, something sweet.
DIANA: Yeah. We’re just trying to get out of that feeling of overwhelm from the thought that we’re thinking.
What else do you have for thought errors?
JILL: It’ll take so much energy or effort. Mhm, I don’t have time for that. Um, a big one. Big one. I hear is I don’t know where to start. Where do I begin?
DIANA: I don’t know. Yeah, I don’t know. I think we use that one almost as, um, the brain throws that out there as a way to prevent us from expending more energy. It’s like, I know what to have her think. If she thinks I don’t know, she won’t do it. And we can just sit here. That’ll be great. JILL: It’s comfortable here.
DIANA: It offers. I don’t know. And we’re like, yes, that’s true. I just don’t know. I don’t know where to start. I don’t know how to tackle it. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I can manage it. I don’t know. Let me do we don’t do anything about it. Yes.
JILL: Right.
DIANA: Let’s think about all the ways I don’t know what to do.
JILL: That’s procrastination right there. Yes. So when we’re thinking these thoughts, it usually, like I said, leads to these feelings. Feelings of doubt, anxiety, confusion, overwhelm. These are indulgent emotions. And like I said before, it’s okay to visit there, but don’t camp there and spend a long time in those emotions. Doubt, uh, anxiety, confusion, overwhelm.
DIANA: Yeah. Because from those emotions, the actions we take will always be not doing that thing we want to be doing. We, uh, call them thought errors. We could just also call them sabotage.
JILL: Mhm. And scrolling Facebook or Instagram, or watching Netflix, grabbing a snack, shopping. That all looks so much better.
DIANA: Or even some other project. Like, I don’t want to clean the tub. You know what? I’ll just sweep the kitchen, then. I’ll feel like I cleaned something, but that’s much easier, right? Right. I do that kind of thing all the time.
JILL: Yeah.
DIANA: See, I still got stuff done. That tub is so dirty.
JILL: Oh, well, yeah. It’ll get done someday.
DIANA: Yeah. All right, well, I want to talk about how to think differently, but was there anything else you wanted to say about how we screw it up for ourselves?
JILL: I’m ready to get to a solution.
DIANA: Yeah, let’s talk solution. Okay. Because if procrastination is happening because of all these thought errors or thoughts that we’re choosing that keep us stuck, instead of choosing thoughts that move us forward, then where do we go with this? What can we think so that we and I guess I would say, too, as I ask this, I want everyone listening to know we’re not talking about all the projects all at once here, because you might have ten projects or ten things you want to do that you’re procrastinating on. But let’s just think of this as one thing. Um, when we have one thing we want to get done, what do we need to be thinking differently? Or how do we need to approach it differently so that we stop procrastinating on this one thing?
JILL: Right. I think we need to be aware of what we’re thinking so many times, we just don’t even, uh, give that a thought.
DIANA: Right.
JILL: No Pun intended. But if you can catch yourself and see what you’re thinking, that will be huge. If you hear yourself saying, this is too hard. I don’t want to do this. You know that. You’re just making yourself stuck and you’re heading to procrastination. So be aware of what you’re thinking or even think of what feeling do I want to feel? To be motivated or confident or capable. Because we know our thoughts create our feelings. What thought is going to cause motivation? Being capable, being confident. You can do this. And then come up with thoughts that produce those feelings. Like, I know exactly what to do. Uh, what’s one thing I can do to start? Well, like, that one a really hard thing for people if they just start. Sometimes the ball just keeps rolling, but to start is a good one. Um, I can do hard things. That seems kind of silly, but sometimes it’s very motivating.
DIANA: Yeah. Like, if I think cleaning the tub is hard, which I do, I really do have that story. So what? Maybe it is hard. I can do hard things.
JILL: Yes, I can do hard things. And I can clean the tub right in there, too.
DIANA: If anybody listening to this, all my friends listening, they come over, they’re going to be like, let me see your tub.
JILL: Don’t do that, people.
DIANA: That’s funny.
JILL: Uh, yeah. Here’s another thought, too, that would produce those motivated feelings. Um, when I finish, we can go out for dinner.
DIANA: Reward yourself.
JILL: Yeah.
DIANA: Reward yourself. That’s how you some people motivate themselves that way. Yeah. Goal incentive. I actually have done that with the things that I use to. Like, instead of cleaning the tub, I’ll just scroll on Amazon for tub cleaners.
DIANA: I got to find that perfect cleaner.
JILL: No, but whatever it is. Or I’m just going to go I’ll just listen to podcasts and fold laundry. That’s how I stopped procrastinating, folding laundry, by the way. I listen to podcasts, which I like doing. Um, but I’ve also watched series on Netflix for folding laundry. I’m like, the only time I get to watch a show is when I’m folding laundry and something I really like. Yeah, but I’ll do that too, where I’m m like, I really want to go watch the new Ted Lasso episode.
JILL: That’s a crazy show.
DIANA: I started watching it. Now I’m thinking, I don’t know if I can continue because I am kind of like a good girl.
JILL: Season two just came out.
DIANA: Oh. So I hit some episodes where I’m like, I don’t know if I can keep watching, but I really love the character of Ted Lasso. So I’ve watched some, but I’m like, I really want to watch that show. You know what? When I’m done with the dishes, I’ll let myself go watch it.
But I’m not going to watch it until I’m done with the dishes. And I’ll hang that little carrot of a reward for me. And it does work. But I have to be committed to me because I’m committed to me and what I care about. And I honor what I say to myself.
That works. Right? Well, you found a way to motivate yourself. Mhm yeah, that’s how it is. When I get done folding this, I get to watch whatever I want on the TV or Netflix. JILL: Ah, beautiful.
DIANA: All right. What else do you have? What are some other ways that you’ve helped people or yourself get around the thought errors?
JILL: We talked about mindset, uh, awareness and the thoughts that we’re thinking to have us feel a feeling or produce a feeling. But here are just some practical ways. And these are some things that I’ve heard from my clients, and I’ve kind of grouped them into four different areas. And to kind of overcome procrastination, I’ve heard people say I’m unmotivated. Mhm so like we just said, choose a reward for getting it done. Some people call it a bribe or a goal incentive, but it’s a reward. We do that with our kids. We can do it with us too, if we’re not motivated.
DIANA: Yeah.
JILL: Some people don’t start because they want it to be perfect. Like you said, I need to shop for the right tub cleaner. I won’t even start it because I Know that I’m not going to do.
It perfect if I just start it. I want to do it perfect. So I just don’t even try that’s.
DIANA: Thats one I never think of because I am not a perfectionist. But I’ve heard that from several people that I coach that, uh, really holds them back. I don’t have everything I need to do it right, which is weird. If it’s something you’ve never done before, then you’re in this Catch 22. Like, you’re never going to be an expert at getting it done right when you’ve never done it before. And so they just never, ever start.
JILL: They let their dream go. They want to create something. They just let it go perfect the first time. Mhm um, they call that actually perfection paralysis. They have a name for it. So when you’re in perfection paralysis, one thing to do is choose one way to move forward. Today, just one thing. One little thing. Another one I hear is, uh, this task is too large. It’s too large. I’m overwhelmed. Well, something you can do is break the task into smaller tasks. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with the task, break it down. Yes. Smaller bites.
DIANA: I have a podcast episode on that. I love the movie. Um, my family loves the movie. What about Bob? And with, uh, Bill Murray. And it’s hilarious. But the psychologist in that book wrote a book or in that movie wrote a book called Baby Steps. So I did a podcast called Baby Steps. And the example I used is starting this podcast. That was a big project. And I’m like, I have no idea how to get all of this done. Like, I have to choose a podcast provider. I need a microphone. I need to know how to edit. I need to know all this stuff. And so I didn’t do anything for months. And then I finally decided I could do one thing. If I were to just do one thing, what would it be? You know what, I could just pick a place that hosts podcasts. I’m not going to think about a microphone or recording or editing or writing or coming up with things to talk about or anything. I’m, um, just going to decide if I were to have a podcast, which company would host it for me.
JILL: That’s it.
DIANA: Uh, once I did that, I’m like, what’s one other thing I could do? You know, what I feel like doing? And I went with what I felt like doing next. I’m like, I’ll buy a microphone anyway. You can listen to baby steps if you want to hear more about that. But it suddenly wasn’t overwhelming. And within two months, I had put a podcast live.
JILL: Like, what?
DIANA: Just because I didn’t think of it as a huge project, I only thought of it as one step. Like, if I just do one, yeah, I’ll eventually get there.
JILL: I love that. Yeah, because there are so many little steps, uh, what am I going to call my podcast? I have to make a graphic for it. And you could get stuck too, in the research of, uh, what’s the best microphone or what’s the best platform, but you make the decision and move on.
DIANA: Yeah, I crowdsourced a lot of that. I just went on Facebook groups with people who knew things or other life coach friends or whatever. And I’m just like, tell me what podcast provider you use. And so I got like five different names that were very popular. And then I went and researched them. And I’m like, I’m just going to buy one of these. There’s probably hundreds else out there, but whatever. I did the same thing with a microphone. And we could do that with all sorts of projects. I could do that with a tub cleaner. I could just go on Facebook and be like, everybody tell me your favorite tub cleaner. And when everyone comes up multiple times, I could just be like, you know what, I’m just going to get that one and be done with it.
JILL: Right?
DIANA: It’s about moving on and not getting stuck. The last one I see is, or hear is I’m not sure where to begin. So a solution to that would be list the first three action steps you can take. I came up with an example of like, writing a Christmas letter because that’s currently where when we’re recording this.
JILL: We’re doing Christmas right now.
DIANA: Yeah, right. It’s before Christmas. And I could get overwhelmed with what to write, what pictures to include, that kind of thing. But really three things I could do. I could buy the paper, I could buy the stamps, the envelope that would be getting. Me a step, uh, closer to my goal.
DIANA: And then if you had the paper and the stamps and the envelopes out on your desk or out on the dining room table or something, sometimes that clues our brain into you can start thinking about the next thing. It almost, like, gives your brain permission. Uh, I know I keep talking about the bathroom, but I’ll do that. I use vinegar to clean my sink. I have a soap stone sink in there, and it cleans it up so well. So when I’ve been procrastinating doing that, I just grab the vinegar jar at some point, or the jug, whatever, and I put it on the bathroom counter. And then invariably, the next time I go in the bathroom, I see that, and my brain is like, Just do it, because I’ve clued it in.
JILL: You’re one step closer.
DIANA: I’m one step closer. I don’t have to get the vinegar out of the cabin anymore. Now the vinegar is on the counter. One step.
JILL: Closer.
DIANA: Energy. Yeah.
JILL: It’s inspiration for your brain, too.
DIANA: Yeah.
JILL: So I hear you talking about things we can actually do, which I love so much. We’re talking about things to think. But the weird thing is, by doing some of those things, it is still kind of like a brain hack, because we’re bringing our brain along and we’re nursing it out of those thoughts. Like, it’s too hard, or it’s different, or, uh, I have to do it, but I don’t want to. I always say, too, you don’t have to want to do.
DIANA: You could just do it anyway. I tell my kids that, they’re like, I don’t want to do my homework. I’m like, that’s okay, you don’t have to want to, but let’s just go do it now. You cannot want to the whole time.
JILL: It’s fine.
DIANA: Right?
JILL: Which is one of the things I use for my own procrastination when my brain is like, I don’t want to do it. I’m like that’s. Fine.
DIANA: Whatever.
JILL: You don’t want to. Who cares?
DIANA: Let’s go.
JILL: Yeah.
DIANA: Do it anyway.
JILL: Yeah. Sometimes we have to override our brain yes. To keep us just status quo and comfortable.
DIANA: Yeah. Get out of our own brain. Kind of manage our brain, which I think is a skill we learn over time and what this whole podcast is about. We don’t just have to let our it’s not just our brain thinking things. We actually have control over how it thinks, which is crazy. We do anyway. Um, okay. Anything else? Did you say everything you were thinking about procrastination today?
JILL: I did, and I found out even the things that you like to.
DIANA: Procrastinate, we’re all human. We all procrastinate, and it’s totally fine. So I guess I would like my parting words would be on if there’s something you really this could be a whole other episode, but if there’s something you really want to do, knowing why you want to do it can be an inspiration, too. But if there’s something you really know you want done, you don’t have to procrastinate it. You don’t have to be stuck in your thoughts about it’s too hard. I don’t know how. I don’t want to. There’s so many little tweaks you can make to your thoughts and little baby steps you can take to get you moving and get it done. So thank you so much, Jill. I really appreciate you sharing all those tips. You’re, like, my most practical friend, I Think.
JILL: Uh uh, thanks for having me on, too.
DIANA: Yeah, you’re welcome. Well, how can people listening if they want to hear more from Jill on procrastination organization coaching recipes? So many fun things. Or is there anything else I missed? What else is Jill about?
JILL: Yeah, um time management.
DIANA: Oh, yes.
JILL: Time management.
Love in your laundry. I have a program called Love in Your laundry. Meal planning magic. Yes. Paperwork Pro. I help you figure out what to do with all your paperwork. And the last one home cleaning hero.
DIANA: So you actually have systems in place for some of the most common things we procrastinate on?
JILL: I do. I’m working on making a program right now centered around all those, but I’m doing coaching through all of those right now. Those are simplified systems.
DIANA: How can all of my listeners who need to stop procrastinating and get organized find you?
JILL: Well, you mentioned Jillonthehill.com. That’s my fun blog where I share recipes and my family. I’ve done it for years, and you can just look back. I like to look back at how the times used to be.
DIANA: Well, yeah, and there’s so many yummy recipes on there, too.
JILL: Thanks. I really have fun with that one. Um, I have a new blog, uh, that just came out called Jillpetersoncoaching.com, and it’s a more serious, like, geared toward all these systems. DIANA: Jillpetersoncoaching.com.
JILL: And you can find me on Facebook or Instagram at jillpetersoncoaching.
DIANA: Awesome. Okay, well and I’ll put a link to your website in the show description so people can just click right on it and find you.
JILL: Thank you.
DIANA: Well, thank you so much for being on, um, the Renew Your Mind podcast. It’s always fun to talk to you.
JILL: I love it, too. You’re changing the world, girl.
DIANA: Hey, one podcast, one brain at a time. There we go.
JILL: one Brain at a time. I liked it. I liked it.
DIANA: All right, well, that is all I have for you all this week, so I’ll talk to you next week. Until then, take care of you.
As an advanced certified life coach, I help Christian women trying to live their best lives, but they still feel unsatisfied and stuck. I teach thought management skills that work so you can enjoy life again and step into who God has created you to be. Don’t forget to head on over to Rympodcast.com to get my free resources or a free coaching.
