Procrastination Types: The Overdoer
Are you proud to be a Highachiever?
Do you believe “going the extra mile” is the key to success?
You feel like you are at the center of lots of things (if not everything)?
Does it feel like spinning plates when you try to multitask?
You might be The Overdoer.
Overdoers are those who have signed up for many things yet couldn’t get them all done all at once. They constantly have too much on their plates or have their eyes bigger than their stomachs. They tend to feel “not enough” hence they keep adding more and more to their already piling up tasks. When they have a lot going on, they don’t know where to start and feel totally overwhelmed. They couldn’t decide what goes first. So their work is not in flow and the quality can be unstable. As a result, they procrastinate one thing after another and feel totally worn out.
Needs: Connection, Safety, Significance
This can be reflected in your commitment to others, such as family, company, community. You find yourself giving away too much and the adverse effect happens – You start to procrastinate. What could help you? Here are the tips to switch from “Overdoing” to “Doing just right”.
- Replace the solution for your needs
Can you find another way to connect, feel safe or feel significant?
Acknowledging your need will be a more sustainable solution than ignoring the intrinsic motivation. Listen to your inner voice and see what your heart tells you what you are really longing for.
You are more likely to find an effective approach when it is not contradicting your need. - Learn to prioritize and delegate
This is fairly typical if you enjoy being “somebody” – How can a big boss not be preoccupied with tons of work? However, if you are really the boss, it is you making the call – What goes first and who does what.
Prioritize important and urgent items. For less important but urgent ones, delegate or do it after you are done with the first priority.
Like what we say in Dutch “Het is jouw feestje” which literally translates to “It’s your party” – you are in charge of the guest list and how you play. - Essentialism: Learn to say NO in order to say YES to your finish line
In Greg McKeown’s “Essentialism”, he advocates the discipline of pursuing less – Focus on what really matters and excel in it.
What I find most powerful, is be careful of what you say YES to, because at the same time, you are also saying NO to something else. Time is not an unlimited asset and neither is our energy. So if you struggle to say NO and end up procrastinating lots of things, it is time to reduce them to the level you can work Right Now.
If you still can’t get a grasp around it, just play the famous Frozen song – “Let it go~~~”
So what do you say?