You’re NOT Lazy. Proven Ways to Overcome Procrastination.

Makena: Hello everyone. 

Gigi: Hello everyone. Hello Makena.

Makena: Hi, Gigi. Welcome back to another episode! 

Gigi: And welcome back to you. Where were you the last week?

Makena: I was in Hawaii for my babymoon, so it was super fun. We went for six days to Hawaii and two days to Maui, which is where I was born, actually. So it was really fun to go back and visit and explore a new island as well. So very relaxing.

Gigi: And did you like it?

Makena: I loved it, yeah. And we had our maternity photo shoot, so that was fun. First photo shoot in a while. 

Gigi: Can’t wait to see that. That’s gonna be so fun. I love this babymoon thing. You know, this is just something I’ve learned about in the last, I guess, four years since Mariah did that and stuff.

Makena: Yeah. I think it’s probably in the last 10 years or something it’s become a thing. I don’t think it was really something people did before…

Gigi: But I mentioned it to a couple people, and they’re like, “What?” 

Makena: Especially before the first baby. It’s nice to get that time with each other.

Gigi: Yeah. Absolutely. Well, let’s talk about our good topic today. I think it’s one that everybody can relate to.

Makena: Absolutely. So we’re gonna talk about overcoming procrastination. So if you ever feel like you’re putting stuff off or can’t seem to get it done, then today’s episode is for you. Or if you have someone in your life who struggles with this…

Gigi: My assistant would jump in here and tell you guys all the ways I procrastinate. She knows. She knows, believe me.

Makena: Well, you are a very busy woman, so I don’t know if you’re quite procrastinating.

Gigi: Certain things though, you know? I don’t know about you, but I get on these certain things I just cannot get done, you know?

Makena: Yeah, definitely.

Gigi: So, how this came up, this episode, started with a conversation in one of our alumni groups for our coaching certification program. What happened is one of the trained coaches said she had a client that was struggling with procrastination, and she wanted strategies to support her. 

This really spiraled into a big conversation. Remember, Makena?

Makena: Yeah.

Gigi: Everyone started chiming in, and they all started sharing about their clients and for themselves. So you really went in and actually made that the topic in one of the alumni sessions, right?

Makena: Yes, absolutely. And we realized, wow, this is really a big topic for people, so probably one we should talk about.

I’ll talk more about the session in a minute, but first I just want to say that procrastination usually shows up in a couple of different ways. 

There are a lot of reasons that we procrastinate, and I’ll talk about those in a little while. But the way it shows up is usually either putting something off until the last minute—I think that’s the cliché of procrastination—or just not getting it done at all, which is maybe the least ideal scenario.

Then there’s also productive procrastination, which many of us are familiar with. This is where you’re getting a lot done, just everything except the thing you really need to be doing. So if any of those show up for you, we’ve got some great strategies for you today.

Before we go further, I am pregnant, as most of you know. I’m out of breath a lot today, so if I’m huffing and puffing, that’s what’s going on.

Gigi: Yeah. She’s okay. She’s all right.

Makena: Yeah, I’m good. I’m just working this extra cardio of a baby in my belly.

Gigi: Yeah. So as I said earlier, we ended up devoting one of the ongoing education classes to this topic. And Makena, I wasn’t on that, but you said it turned out to be really, really great. And so we’re going to share some of the things that you all went through on that call.

Makena: Yeah, definitely. We went through a lot, and some of what we shared on that call we’re going to share today in a different context. 

Because there we were working with our coaches trained in our coaching methodology, the Aliveness Method. We were talking about it in the context of how they could support their clients with procrastination.

Today, we’ll flip that and show you how you can use some of those strategies with yourself. I also did some coaching with the women themselves, and I wanted to share a couple of stories or scenarios to illustrate different reasons why you might be procrastinating and how you might move through it.

So, one of the women wasn’t clear. When we dug in deeper to what was going on—why she was putting something off—there was a program she wanted to create, and she was just kind of spinning her wheels. When I coached her around it, we realized she wasn’t actually 100% clear on which program she wanted to make first. 

She had two different ideas and was bouncing back and forth in her head all the time. The story she was telling herself was that she was just putting it off, but when we got down into it, I said, “Why don’t we get you clear on which one to start with?”

So we helped her get clear, and as soon as she had that clarity, it was like, “Okay, now I know the next steps to take,” and she could go take those steps. 

Sometimes there is this aspect of a lack of clarity, which might just feel like being stuck.

Another woman was thinking about starting a foundation, a nonprofit. She had been encouraged by people in her life to do it. She already has a business and was really excited about the idea, but when we dug in deeper to see what was holding her back, she realized she hadn’t fully thought it through yet. 

There was hesitation because she didn’t know how much work it was going to be. Basically, she wasn’t 100% all in. She thought she was hesitating because she was being lazy or just putting something off. But the truth was, she didn’t have all the information to make the decision yet.

Gigi: So, you know, both of those have to do with clarity, right?

Makena: Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely.

Gigi: Both of them had to do with not completely getting clear about something, which is an interesting perspective. 

So I think as the listener listens to this, what they could do is think about: if you are procrastinating, why are you procrastinating?

Because, like in these examples you’re giving here, Makena, if they had asked that question instead of just assuming they were being lazy or whatever, they might have come to their own truths there.

Makena: Yeah, absolutely.

Gigi: Another way of putting it is: why are you putting this off?

Makena: Yes. Yeah, absolutely.

So we looked at that, and you can look at that, like Gigi’s saying, for yourself. With that first woman, I helped her get clear on the answer, and she immediately felt like she could move forward. 

Sometimes you just need a sounding board, a trusted person, or maybe a coach that can help you get an outside perspective. Even if she had gotten clear, like, “Oh, I need to know which program I’m going to create first,” she might not have been able to come to that answer on her own. She needed that outside perspective and feedback to really help her see it.

And with the second one, we made a plan for how she could approach getting that information. She had some mentors and people she could talk to who had foundations, to decide—was she all in? Was she going to go for this or not?

Something you really taught me, Gigi, and we use with our clients a lot, is to set a date by when you’re going to make a decision. So you’re not just leaving it open-ended and staying in the information-gathering stage, which can actually become a form of procrastination. But you say, “Okay, within 30 days or 60 days, I’m going to decide one way or another.”

Gigi: m. Yeah.

Makena: So it’s really rarely about laziness. And I think that’s the story we tell ourselves. Do you ever tell yourself that story?

Gigi: I don’t think I’m lazy in any sense of the word. Okay, that’s true.

No, sometimes I do. I don’t know if I do. Have I told you? Have I ever said that to you?

Maybe you have one time.

Makena: You have?

Gigi: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right now, I don’t feel lazy at all.

Makena: But do you get hard on yourself about not doing things?

Gigi: Absolutely. Yes, I do. Yeah.

Makena: What’s the hard on yourself—how does that show up for you?

Gigi: Oh, I just think, you know, I don’t think I’m lazy. I just think a lot of times I don’t want to do some of the things I have to do, so I wait, and I get hard on myself. I’m like, “Oh my gosh, you should just do it. Just get on it and do it. What are you waiting for?”

Makena: Yeah.

Gigi: So, some of that is, “Oh, I already do so much. I want a little break,” or something like that.

Makena: So it’s different forms of the stories we tell ourselves—ways that we’re hard on ourselves. But in reality, again, it’s often not that we’re just not doing it. It’s that you are very busy. Or, as we’ll talk about in some of the strategies, maybe there are areas where you need support, or you need somebody else in there with you, or whatever it might take. We’ll share some different ways that you can approach that.

Gigi, do you want to share some of the questions that they could start to journal on?

Gigi: Yes, absolutely. So: what is stopping you from doing this or moving this forward? Think about that. What is it? If you’re hesitating and you just can’t seem to get it there and make something happen, what exactly comes up when you think about it and then don’t take the action?

Are you just forgetting? Are you confused about what to do? Do you have enough information to make the decision, like Makena shared in that story, to go all in? Maybe you’re not clear about the project—you’re not, like you said, a hundred percent sure that you want to do it.

I know I often fall into this category, like trying to make a decision between two things and not knowing. This, for me, is where I need a sounding board because I’m one of those external processors.

Makena: I’m definitely an external processor too. There are some people who can—if you’re listening to this and you’re the kind of person that can work through things on your own and come to your own clarity, that’s amazing. I wish I had that. One of my sisters is this way, and I’m like, “Wow, how does she do that?” I’m like, I need to talk everything out. You and I both, right?

Gigi: Yep.

Makena: Thank goodness we have each other and our coaches. We do this with a lot of our clients—to help them get clear.

Another thing you can think about—and these are questions again you can journal on, meditate on, or whatever your process is—is: what kind of system could you put in place to help move this forward? Or, like we said, what support do you need?

For example, if you keep forgetting to do something, can you set an alarm on your phone to go off at the same time every day and remind you to do that? Or, if you’re someone who lives by your calendar like I do, can you put it into your calendar?

We see this so often with clients. They’ll say they want to do something, and then until they put it in their calendar or they set that reminder or alarm on their phone, it just keeps not happening. And the minute they do that, usually the odds of them getting that thing done increase exponentially.

Gigi: Mm-hmm.

Makena: Another kind of system would be, like we said, just talking it through with someone—knowing who that person is, that sounding board.

Gigi: Yeah, yeah. So we actually have a process that we take our clients through, which is called Scenario Thinking. And I want to give a little background about that. I read a book called Synchronicity by Joe Jaworski back in the ’90s, and the book really changed my life. One of the things he talked about was how they went into Dutch Royal Shell and started doing these different scenarios for how they could handle specific problems.

And in that moment, I thought that would be a fascinating thing to do with my coaches. So I changed it up a little in terms of the way I do it, and now what we do is take people through this process. It’s super powerful because you go through the different scenarios you’re thinking about—either going for something or not—and walk yourself all the way through that from beginning to end on both paths.

What happens is you get a lot of clarity from it. Often, what we see is that it’s a little bit of both—people take pieces from both scenarios.

The other thing is, do you just need someone, like you talked about, Makena, who inspires you to get things done? That, for me, is something I really love—working with someone. It makes me so much more effective. So, can you invite a friend over, you both work on your taxes together, and that way you’re doing something you really don’t want to do, but you have someone there with you, and you’re doing it together. Maybe have a glass of wine and make it a little party, right?

Makena: Yeah. I do this a lot with things that are more… You know, taxes would be one thing that requires more focus, so you’d probably be sitting silently next to each other.

Gigi: Well, we’re not doing our own taxes either, right?

Makena: No, no, no. That was an example for people who do. But I’m saying something that doesn’t require mental concentration—I’ll talk on the phone a lot. I’ll call you or my mother-in-law or my sister or a friend and catch up. I love talking on the phone, and that kind of distraction is perfect for unpacking suitcases or doing things around the house that I’ve been putting off. That’s one of my favorite strategies.

Gigi: I love that.

Makena: So, those are some journaling questions. Again, I’ll just recap them:

What is stopping you from doing this or moving this forward?

What exactly comes up when you think about it and don’t take action?

Are you just forgetting?

Are you confused?

Do you not have enough information to make a decision?

What kind of system could you put in place?

What support do you need?

All of these questions are ones we use in our coaching or have our coaches use with their clients. We’re just turning them around and having you do some self-reflection.

On the other side, it’s also great to look at: Why do you want this? Why do you want to do this?

If you’re kidding yourself about it—for example, my suitcases, this is a big one for me that I procrastinate on. I’m getting better, but I will come home, and if I don’t unpack my suitcase right away, it’s there for at least a week.

So if I look in and ask, “Why do I want to unpack my suitcase?”—if the answer is, “I don’t really want to, it doesn’t matter that much to me”—then the reality is I’m probably not going to do it, and I might as well let myself off the hook, relax around it, and do it whenever I get to it. When I get sick of seeing stuff in a suitcase, I’ll unpack it.

Or you might dig in—like in the example of starting that foundation—and ask, “Why do I want to do it?” If you have a big why and gather the information, then that why becomes really powerful. If you connect to that, it helps give you the energy and inspiration to move the project forward.

The other question is: is now the time? Are you really ready to go for this now and go all in? 

Gigi, I feel like you could talk a little about this idea of going all in, because I’m pretty sure I got it from you originally—the idea of being all in or all out.

Gigi: Right. “All in” means there’s no one foot out the door. We’ve all had those experiences—maybe in relationships at one point in your life—where you had one foot in and one foot out. Or in business, you decide on an opportunity, then start questioning yourself.

So, being all in means once you make that choice, you don’t question it again. 

You fully participate. You go 100% in, because anything less than that will affect the results of whatever you’re doing. 

Going all in allows the brain to stop overthinking—no more “Should I or shouldn’t I?” It lets you be fully present and much more productive. That’s the other benefit.

Makena:  Yeah, I love that. It’s been such a powerful concept for me in so many areas of my life—my relationship, my business. There were times I used to be one foot in and one foot out in different parts of my life. When I learned this concept of being all in, it made things so much easier.

Here’s what I love about it: it’s either all in or all out. It’s not that you have to go all in on something. It’s that if it’s not the time, or you’re not ready to commit, then you set it aside for now.

So the next question becomes: if you don’t do this, what will happen? Is there a natural consequence? 

Or will you simply say, “Okay, if I don’t do this within the next 30 days, I’m going to set it aside,” and take it off your mental list? Because these things can start to take up so much space in our minds. That’s a big thing we see with clients—these undone tasks take up so much mental and emotional energy.

Gigi: Yeah, and like you’re saying, it’s a painful place to be. When you don’t make a choice to either go for something or not, you constantly think about it. It drains your energy. It takes away from your productivity and presence. It’s so, so important. 

I just got off a call with a client and talked to her about this—how so much of our lives are spent carrying things around or hesitating to make decisions. We process and process and just waste so much time.

We’re talking about exactly that—looking at the questions, walking through the process, and then consciously choosing. I’m all about that. Consciously choose to either go for it or not—and then set it aside.

Makena: Yeah, and I think there’s a distinction here between this and information gathering. Sometimes you’re dreaming up a business idea or a creative project, and you’re in that ideation phase—gathering information. That’s an important part of the process and not necessarily procrastination.

But at some point, you want to put a timeline around deciding whether you’re going to go for it now. Where it becomes procrastination is when you start being hard on yourself for not doing it. 

If you’re going around and around mentally, that’s where you really need to ask: can I go all in, or can I set this aside so it’s not taking up mental energy?

I also want to say that for some people, procrastination is just their style.

Gigi: Yeah.

Makena: If you were the kind of person who always studied for a test the night before and still passed—or even got straight A’s—then maybe that works for you. But then you grow up, get into the “real world,” and start telling yourself you should be doing it differently.

If that approach works for you, and you meet deadlines, then maybe it’s okay to relax and stop pressuring yourself to do it another way. But that only works if you have deadlines or some form of external accountability. If you’re an entrepreneur without a coach or someone keeping you accountable, that style probably won’t work, because there are no deadlines or external pressure to move forward.

Also, after a while of doing things last minute, you may naturally get tired of that and want to shift your approach. But you’re not going to shift it by being hard on yourself. That change will come more easily if you just allow yourself to work the way you work, get the thing done, and notice whether your approach begins to shift on its own.

Gigi: Yeah. We’re so good at labeling things and making ourselves wrong for them. That’s what we do so much of the time. So don’t slap the “I’m procrastinating” label on it. Like you said, just notice the energy around how you’re approaching it. 

Ask yourself: does it work for you? Do you feel good about it? Does it get you the result you want? Then you’re observing rather than labeling—and you’re not beating yourself up.

Makena: Yeah, because again, that wastes energy. So much of this is about clearing that out—so you’re not wasting time and energy. You’re doing the thing, or you’re not doing it—and either way, you feel good about your choice.

Gigi: Yeah. So, one final note: people have their own timing. So much of our coaching is about helping people walk through things and get really clear about whether they want to go for something or not. Like we touched on, otherwise these ideas and projects just sit in the back of your mind forever, taking up space.

And I have to say—this is something we’re really good at. We’re so good at helping people clear out the clutter, get clear, take action on the things they want to do, and let go of the things they don’t. That’s one of the reasons why the results from our work are so powerful. 

At first, people think it’s going to take more time—but what actually happens is that it opens time and space for them.

Makena: Yeah, because we’re clearing all of that stuff out of their heads. They’re taking action on what matters most, setting aside the rest. There’s more to it, of course, but that’s a big reason why people come in thinking it’ll be extra work—and they leave feeling like they have more time and more ease.

Gigi: Yeah, we like that. 

Makena: So think about how much time you’re spending being hard on yourself about things you’re not doing, or going in circles about something you’ve wanted to do for a long time but haven’t acted on. What if you could clear that up?

Some of the questions we asked today can really help you dig deeper. Maybe you need support. Maybe you need to try a new approach. But again, removing the labels and either doing it or not doing it—and feeling good about your choice—that’s what it’s about.

So, that’s our pretty short and sweet episode today. I think we were really concise because we already led a call on this just recently.

Gigi: Thank you so much to all of our listeners. And I’d love to make a request—if you’re listening and really loving the episodes, please go leave a five-star rating and review. Also, write a comment. Tell us what you like about the podcast or how it’s helped you—that would be awesome.

Because when new people come along and read your comment, it helps them see this is worth their time. And we really, really appreciate you being here and listening. Makena, thank you so much.

Makena: Yeah. And I’ll add—we love hearing your feedback. Some of you email us and tell us which episodes you loved, and we’re so grateful. Otherwise, we’re kind of creating this in a vacuum. We don’t know who’s listening unless you tell us.

You can always email us at support@wayofthemuse.com. Let us know what you’re loving, or give us ideas for future episodes. We’ve done that multiple times—someone emails in a topic, and if we feel we have something to say about it, we’ll do an episode. And those have become some of our most popular shows.

Gigi: It’s true. Please reach out. We love hearing from you.

Makena: We’ll see you next time.

Gigi: Bye. Thank you.

Makena: Thank you.