On procrastination

As the summer draws to a hesitant draw, I find myself experiencing a sensation of disappointment with myself. A feeling that I did not do enough to progress my coaching journey, write blogs for my website, work on finding my next coaching client. Yes, I listened to my favourite podcast, The Coaching Crowd of course (available on all podcasting platforms!) but I felt I didn’t do enough. If it had a voice, procrastination would say – why are you not making time for this, what are you avoiding when you invite me in?

And the answer I have been giving myself has been – enjoy the summer, take time to rest and don’t worry, there will be time to do all of that when autumn arrives. The reality is also a little bit of fear – the impostor syndrome, that niggling lack of confidence and belief in my abilities as a coach but there is also something else. I have wanted to consciously protect myself from burnout, to slow down, to enjoy the warmth of the sun on my skin and the cool ocean water helping me cool down during the scorching hot days. There has also been a deep knowing that clients will come, that each will teach me so much about myself as a person and as a coach, and that I will connect to the people I am meant to connect to in ways that I can’t always understand or even create intentionally.

As I step into September, I am looking forward to resuming the How To Coaching series delivered by In Good Company, and the wonderful Jo and Zoe. And the irony is not lost on me that it is with a course session focused on procrastination. This is what I mean when I say that things just seem to happen at the right time, if only we noticed. I know the session will be really useful and I know that it will help me not only support clients in the future with procrastination, but also that it will help me become more aware as a coach about how and why it shows up for me.

What have you been putting on making a start on? What does this procrastination protect you from? What are you afraid might happen if you begin?

All great coaching questions, for my clients and for myself.

For me, stepping back from the pressure to “do more” has helped me recognise something important.

I needed rest.

I also needed to acknowledge the fear that comes with putting myself out there.

Both things can be true.

I can want to grow my coaching practice and still need to slow down.

I can be excited about what comes next and still feel uncertain.

I can take action without having to feel completely confident first.

I don't have to solve everything today.

Maybe understanding the resistance is the first step.

And maybe that's enough for now.