Caution. Potty talk ahead. Not swear words, but a literal problem with the toilet in my bathroom. Yes, that’s right. Today’s mess is the clogged toilet in my bathroom. Not disgusting, but inconveniently overfilled with toilet paper. I won’t go into the details of how it got that way because I’m sure you’ve all experienced this at least once in your life. Maybe like me in the face of procrastination, you pushed it off until later.
This is a regular everyday mess that I’m sure you have successfully dealt with and are wondering why I am even bothering to take the time to write about it. Well, wonderful woman, the part of this mess that triggered me was the lack of the plunger in our household. I know we own a plunger and I know how to use a plunger, but for the life of me I couldn’t locate it.
Immediately my brain told me that my husband would know where it was and fix the problem when he came home from his shift. My solution in the meantime was to use the potty in a different bathroom of our house. A small inconvenience, but a solution that would work until my husband got home. When hubby came home, he also did not know where to find the plunger…crap. Our evening was jam packed with activities and the next day when he went back to work overtime, the toilet was still clogged. In the face of procrastination, I failed.
My solution was becoming more inconvenient and silly if I’m being honest. I know where to buy a plunger and I know how to use it, so why didn’t I just do that from the start of the problem? I was doing nothing in the face of procrastination.
Who knew that using the hallway bathroom instead of my own bathroom would send me into such a place of introspection? But it did. I realized this isn’t the first time I haven’t taken action to solve a problem in my life.
It made me question why. Why did I wither in the face of procrastination.
How many times do I hold myself back from taking action because I think someone else is “better qualified” to handle it? My procrastination is fueled by the secret whispers in my brain of inadequacy. I don’t suffer from low self-esteem, but something in the whispers of my subconscious has gotten louder lately and negatively impacted my behaviors.
The crazy part of it all, is that I know I will be successful in whatever problem I encounter. My logical brain knows this because I’ve done it before time and again. Teaching high school students for 10 years, forced me to solve problems quickly and efficiently because I had to. If my students didn’t full understand the lesson in the previous class, I would rework a supplemental assignment to help them grow their understanding to find success.
Forced to Act
Having a husband who works shift work with two little kids, has also forced me to take action and find success even when I wasn’t properly equipped (read more about life with a shift work husband here). When my girls are absolutely melting down at bedtime and my husband can’t answer the phone because he is on a call, I breathe deep and find a way to soothe their sadness at missing daddy. There is no time to procrastinate. It does not matter if I am equipped to handle the situation or not.
When I’m forced to take action, I push and do whatever needs to be done in order to make it work. I not only make it work, but I make it good. I’m sure you can think of many times in your life when you have been forced to overcome a problem and came out on top. Why then can’t I enact that kind of success on my own without being pressured? Why do I continuously create simple, slightly inconvenient solutions instead of fixing the heart of the problem?
Learn from Mistakes
I know when I was younger and in school I consistently procrastinated major assignments. It’s ironic because as a high school teacher I highly cautioned students against procrastination. I gave them strategies and tools to take action in the face of procrastination.
I learned in college that procrastination held me back from being the best I could on my assignments. Working slowly and consistently helped me reach my highest potential on assignments. My first attempt was always my weakest, but when I procrastinated, I only ever had time for a first attempt. Working little by little helped me make strides on large assignments and left me feeling fulfilled instead of overwhelmed.
Overcoming Inertia
If you haven’t overcome your habit of procrastination I highly recommend checking out this article that speaks to the heart of the matter in a refreshing way.
So I’m confused as to how I developed this habit academically and later professionally, but didn’t put in the work to make it translate into the rest of my life. “Rest of my life” is probably too broad of a statement. I pay my bills right away. I keep up with regularly scheduling doctors appointments. Stay connected with my family and friends. Answer my emails in a timely fashion. Tidy the house everyday. First thing in the morning I tackle the toughest assignment at work, so I can make strides on it throughout the day.
Maybe my habit of initiative and absence of procrastination is present throughout my life, but I still stumble when I feel like there is someone else more qualified to handle the problem.
Fear of Inadequacy
Perhaps it’s the humbleness in me, allowing someone more qualified to shine. Maybe it is the introvert in me that has an overwhelming need to stay out of the limelight. Maybe just maybe, it is the fear I have of people finding out that I’m a big fat phony. I can’t exactly put my finger on it, but whatever drives it is holding me back.
Right now, at this moment, it was holding me back from having a working toilet in my own bathroom. Fed up with my silly inconvenient very temporary solution, I opened up the target app on my phone. Yes, the target app. I didn’t even want to talk into the store to buy or pick out a plunger. If it was up to me walking into the store and finding the right aisle and trying to decide on the spot which one to buy, I would ultimately push off my clogged toilet for another day. Determined to win in the face of procrastination, I took a small easy step.
So, I let the Target App tell me which plungers were available. I let a Target employee find the aisle with the plunger;, check out the item; and prepare it for Target Pick Up. I swung into target after taking the girls to dance class and picked up the plunger.
When I got home that evening after dinnertime, bath time, and bedtime for the girls, I put the plunger to use. Exactly like I knew how to do. That night I used the toilet in my bathroom for the first time in a few days. It felt great, obviously because it was super convenient. More fulfilling however was that I had solved my problem by taking a series of small steps.
So, wonderful woman, what are you holding back on because your subconscious is saying there is someone more qualified? Take action in the face of procrastination.
Maybe you too need to log in to your Target App. Let the lovely people at Target pick out the plunger for you. Let the Amazon driver to deliver your own impact drill so you can hang those new shelves. Whatever problem is creating a mild inconvenience in your life, take action on it today. Let that small win help you build momentum. Baby step your way in the face of procrastination.
Bottom line.
I didn’t need my husband to buy a plunger and fix our toilet. I just needed to trust myself to take action on the next right step. Here is what I know to be true of women. We have the power to overcome anything, when we choose to take action.
- What will you choose to take action on today?
- A healthier lifestyle?
- A big dream?
- Getting your degree?
- Starting your own business?
- Building a new relationship?
Whatever it is. I know once you get momentum you will let nothing clog your way. Quiet your subconscious and take action in the face of procrastination.
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