A Note on Procrastination
I've been prepping myself for this week for at least a month. I've known I'll be away this week for, easily, 6 months. When booking a trip that far in advance, it seems, no worries it's totally do-able. When it gets to the nitty-gritty, there's not enough time to get your shit together to go away for a week. A mean, how?! Regardless of your level of preparedness, #beginner or #boss, this is a tough thing to do. Walk away from your #feistyboss life for a week.? I mean, that's a quarter of a month! I'm writing this from a plane about 34,000 feet over Nebraska. Sounds so funny. I'm on my way to Vegas, the city that never sleeps, though I'll challenge that tonight. My husband had a conference and I've agreed to join him. Sounds like a "good wife" gesture, but to be honest, I like booze, sunshine and blackjack more than the average person, so I'll be in my glory. Let me be clear, this post is not about gambling or drinking, this is about procrastination.
For the last 2 weeks, leading up to this trip, I've been struggling with the challenge of "getting caught-up" before leaving town. Don't get me wrong, my laptop is a reach away - I'm "connected". I mean, I'm writing this post right?! The concept of closing off the files I've been pushing aside for the last month, seems to be the ultimate challenge for a #feistyboss before time away from the "desk". I reflected on this task this week -this ever-so-common task I put on myself, to draw a line in the to-do list - between "must do now or else" and "this can wait". It's a tough line to draw - where, when, how, we ask ourselves. I mean, if you take things as seriously as I do, how do you make that call? For me, it's out of utter necessity. If you wait until the to-do list is empty, you've dragged yourself into an eternity of being in-wait. It's never done - I mean, to be a success, there is never a large period of time where you find yourself with nothing to do - it's always onward and upward!
So where do we make time for ourselves? Where do you carve out that 2, 5, 7 days for you? Here's the answer - You make a choice. You book that time and you go. This is what I've come to understand. The world does nottake a break at some point and say "ok Sarah, now's a good time to break". That's unrealistic. Reality is, however, a combination of good planning, and an understanding of your "push" times vs your "non-emergency" times, and the willingness to put your personal life first. YOLO as the hipster (and arguably younger) gen say - you only live once. Poetic, Yet sound words. Don't get lost in your to-do list. Don't forget your passions because your mind is flooded with this and that, related to your business. It's important not to forget that you are the driving force behind it, and that, well, you deserve a break. You need these moments away from the desk, to reflect, recharge and rejuvenate - recall what's motivated you. It's a part of the master plan. Think big. Take some time.
It took me a month of planning to take off this Tues-Sunday. That's4 business days to most of the world, however it's 6 days to many of us. 6 days of billings, 6 days of productivity, 6 days of, omg don’t let me say 6 days again. You catch my drift. It's a long time. I'm a numbers gal - 6 days is 20% of this month. I mean, that's a lot of time. However, when it comes to living for you, 20% seems like a realistic goal right? It's about perspective. The way I'm looking at it now, on the plane, with a mimosa in-hand, this was worth the struggle. I worked for the last 16 days straight. I worked on Saturday AND Sunday. I worked on files that I pushed to the side for a month, so I could sit here today without guilt or pressure or judgement. And I will tell you, boy it was worth it.
Moral of the story - pressure enables the mind to tackle things you may have otherwise waited another week to do. Don't procrastinate. Book the trip, get the work done, deliver, then drink that damn mimosa (guilt-free and pressure-free). It will taste all that much sweeter.
#feistyboss @feistyboss
