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Partner With The Kid Inside – 3 Tips to Fight Adult Procrastination

 

Do you remember how it was to be a kid? The world was full of wonder, our imagination had no boundaries and the sky was the limit.

But then…reality came knocking. We began going to school and discovered that the world is not all fun, we can’t do everything we want.  For every action there is a consequence.

That’s how we systematically started replacing our urges and impulses with allegedly rational and logical behavior. We started analyzing our environment and adjusted our behavior to the new norms…and guess what a kid does when he’s not allowed to do something?

You guessed correctly, he rebels. Part of the reasons we procrastinate is because there’s a little kid inside of us that wants to rebel.

In almost every post that talks about fighting procrastination there are a lot of tools and techniques to fend off the “adult” procrastination problems…but I rarely encountered any post that helps us work with that inner child as opposed to fighting him nail and tooth.  There is a lot we can learn from that inner child, let’s explore…

1# Kids Have No “Later” – They Live in the “Now”

When we were kids the world revolved around us.  Neither time nor space constricted our imagination.  As a result there was no future or need to plan, we lived in the “Now”.

Living in the “Now” focuses you on the task at hand.  You stop thinking about what’s next and you don’t get distract by “incomings” of any sort. Kids approach tasks one step at a time without worrying about irrelevant or unrelated items…they just do them and so should you.

If you have an urge and you want to do an action, even if it’s not according to plan (but it’s still on your to do list) – just do it; embrace the “kid”.

2# Our Nature is Active, Not Passive

As we grow, our schools work hard to turn us from active and passionate listeners and doers to passive machines. We are taught that information and tasks need to be absorbed and completed.  As kids, everything is new and exciting, we’re constantly asking questions and we’re not afraid to push boundaries.  That’s one of the reasons kids learn faster…they’re curious and inquisitive by nature. As we grow up, our nature remains the same but years of dulling it down ultimately decreases our passion to learn new and do things.

We need to be attentive to our inner child and once again become inquisitive and passionate.  Rather than suppress our questions as childish, new tasks and challenges should be actively pursued as opposed to robotically completed.

3# A Kid Will Never Be Afraid To Be Too Drained

When kids are engaged in activities, they’re not concerned with managing their resources properly.  They are 100% in the activity.  Everything around them stops to matter and it really doesn’t matter the type of activity.

Kids are not worried about “crashing” or “burning out”.  They are only concerned that they’re having fun now.  If a crash comes and they become tired, they simply take a nap.  That nap allows them to wake up with the same amount of enthusiasm and power they had before and continue 100% into their next activities.

So, stop calculating the amount of energy you’ll need.  Do what is needed to get it done!  Just thinking and worrying about the tasks will consume more energy that the task itself.  When you get tired, get up, take a power nap, grab a bite to eat, walk around the office…there are hundreds of mind breaks you can take to recharge yourself.

Neutralize your inner resistance by paying attention to your inner kid’s needs, you’ll feel happier and reignite the passion you had for doing so many years ago.