How much is procrastination costing you? In this post I share 5 possible reasons we procrastinate when writing a book.
How many of you have ever suffered from procrastination?
I know I have (and still do at time)!
I’ve written a book called, ‘Procrastination to Publication‘ about helping you get unstuck so you can get your book published. However, I work with people every day who are still stuck and not moving forward with their book.
It made me think of my recent visit to the dentist today.
How Much is Procrastination Costing You?
When I resigned my job as a Physical Therapist we lost our dental coverage. Therefore, I decided to put off, or procrastinate, going to the dentist.
I had no idea how much putting off this task would cost me.
It had been 4 or 5 years since I visited the dentist when I was having an issue and needed to go. Thankfully the dental hygienist told me my teeth were really clean and had hardly any plaque on them.
Cool! Good news.
But, then the dentist came and dropped a big bomb.
I had 5 cavities. Yes, five.
Yikes!
Over the last few months I’ve went in and slowly had them fixed. My procrastination ended up costing us $1205. Wow.
My grandfather, “PawPaw,” had his original teeth until he was 96. I told the dentist I was hoping I had his teeth. He then calmly asked me about my grandma, “MawMaw’s,” teeth.
MawMaw has had dentures for as long as I can remember. Apparently she has “soft” teeth that break down easliy.
He said I must have gotten MawMaw’s teeth! Ugh.
However, I learned a costly lesson that some things should NOT be put off. Procrastination is often costly.
So, I ask again…
What has procrastination cost you?
If you are procrastinating writing a book, it may be costing you much more than book royalties.
A published book can bring you:
- Speaking engagements.
- New clients.
- New leads for your business.
- Confidence as you finish something you started.
- Satisfaction as you see your book impact hundreds, if not thousands, of lives who need the information you share in your published book.
How do you get unstuck so you can cross that finish line and enjoy ALL the benefits of publishing a book? I believe the first step is to identify the reason you are procrastinating.
5 Possible Reasons We Procrastinate
You can watch the video replay of my Periscope broadcast or read the post below:
I was thinking about this recently, because there was something that I needed to do this week that I have not gotten done. I just keep putting it off. I was out for a walk and I was thinking, “What was it? What is at the core of my procrastination? Why am I procrastinating this task?”
It got me thinking about this. I came up with five different reasons that we may procrastinate. For those of us that deal with procrastination, what is it that stops you? What are some things that you think are stopping you from reaching your goal?
1.) Fear
One of the major things, one of the first things that came to my mind, is fear.
Fear often stops us from moving forward towards out goals. False Evidence Appearing Real – or you can say Face Everything And Rise.
For me, this week, one thing I needed to do is start working on Facebook ads for my webinar I’ll be hosting October 1st. “Three Proven Book Writing Formulas Every Nonfiction Author Needs to Know.” If you’re interested, you can sign up at shelleyhitz.com/livewebinar.
I need to start some Facebook ads to promote it. I realized part of the reason I’ve been procrastinating on it or putting it off is because of fear of failure. I know I have only a certain budget to spend on ads. If it goes wrong, or if I don’t target right I could lose money. I was feeling fear that I was going to waste money.
For you, what fear could it be that would be holding you back?
If you’re writing a book, it could be fear of failure. It could be fear that people are not going to like it. Fear that no one will read it. I’ve heard authors say that over and over, “Who’s going to read my book? Who want to read what I have?”
The first thing that can be causing us to procrastinate is fear.
2.) Overwhelm
The second thing that I was thinking that can cause us to procrastinate is overwhelm. I did a scope awhile back on Five ways to overcome overwhelm. It was a very well received, very popular – one of my most popular scopes. I think it’s because we all tend to get into that mode, where sometimes we feel overwhelmed.
Can I get an ‘Amen’?
Sometimes when we feel overwhelmed we just don’t know where to start. We don’t know what to do first or what to do next. We get paralyzed.
And it can cause procrastination.
I had a member in Author Audience Academy forums – it’s my paid membership and my signature program – post this week that she was feeling overwhelmed. She was stuck in publishing her book. Part of it was being a perfectionist, but part of it is she is overwhelmed. She’s doing so many things and she has so much going on.
What I recommended, for her, is to do a ‘brain dump’. Decide, what is the very next step? What is the very next step that you need to do? This can really can help you get unstuck when you have that overwhelm.
3.) Doubt
The third thing that can be causing us to procrastinate is doubt.
This is a big one.
There’s a lot of mindset issues to overcome when we’re running an online business, when we’re publishing books, when we’re writing. When we’re putting ourselves out there, it’s so easy to let the few inches between our ears stop us.
We start to have self-doubt that whispers in our ear, “Is it good enough?” We can start thinking all these thoughts and doubt whether or not what we have to offer is enough.
I will tell you that after publishing over 50 books with our publishing company, it’s never going to be 100% perfect. If we wait until it’s perfect, then we will never get it done.
Yet, so many times we allow that doubt and that self-doubt to stop us. That’s another obstacle.
I was feeling that this week, doubting my ability to put together Facebook ads in a way that will attract my target audience. However, I have a coaching program where people pay me to coach with me, and I also pay others to get coached. I’m in a coaching program right now all about webinars and Facebook ads. I shared in the Facebook group about my fear this week. The leader said, “Shelley, when you have an idea of what you want, post in here, and we will help you work through it.” That really helped me to feel better about moving forward, but I’m still not moving forward.
Yet.
4.) Being Overloaded
The fourth thing, that may be stopping you from moving forward, is being overloaded. I think that was part of my issue this week, too. I had so much going on. I had a Take Action Workshop for my members Tuesday, a speaking engagement Wednesday, a networking event up in Denver on Wednesday night, I had two live speaking engagements online yesterday, etc. I had a ton of stuff going on this week.
Part of our procrastination can be that we just have too much going on.
What I tell my members of authoraudienceacademy.com, and I often tell people when they’re thinking about joining is, “Is there something that you can let go of during this season so you can get your book done?”
Maybe it’s a TV show you give up for awhile. Maybe it’s time on social media. Maybe you let go of some volunteer responsibilities. Maybe you get up an hour earlier or stay up an hour later, etc.
Something has to give.
If you are a busy, busy, busy, person and you’re trying to add another thing, it’s going to be hard. Then, you’re may start procrastinating because you’re simply too busy. Next, you may start beating yourself up and that’s self condemnation, self sabotage, and then it’s a spiral downward.
One of the things I realized, for me this week, is I just have too much going on.
All of those first four things, I believe, can be overcome through having a coach. When people signup for Author Audience Academy, it’s not just a digital product. It’s coaching. You get access to me everyday in the forums. You get access to someone who’s been there, where you want to be, who’s published books. I’ve taken the path and I can help you to get unstuck, to overcome these things and to take the next step. I am also getting coached as well. That helps me to move forward as well.
5.) Spiritual Battle
The fifth reason I believe we procrastinate is a bit different. I am a Christian, a Christ follower. I believe that there is good and evil in this world. Sometimes, because you have a message to share and that message has a great impact and potential impact to impact many lives, the enemy doesn’t like it.
If you are also a believer and you’re doing things that are going to impact eternity, it may be a spiritual battle holding you back. I think this is part of what I may have been facing this week as well along with everything else.
Prayer is so powerful. I’ve formed a Facebook group for Christian entrepreneurs who want to keep Christ the center. It’s authors, speakers, ministry leaders, business owners. If you would like to join that group, you can get prayer support and pray for one another. You can get access at godlygain.com. It’s a free Facebook group and a place where you can find that support, prayer and encouragement.
Conclusion
These are just five of the potential reasons for procrastination.
If you’re procrastinating on something right now, I encourage you to go on a walk, to create some space and say, “Okay, what’s at the root of this? What is it at the root of my procrastination?”
A lot of times, it’s a mindset issue.
It could be fear. It could be overwhelm. It could be doubt.
Maybe, it’s simply that you have too much on your plate right now and you need to let go of something.
Maybe it’s even that there is a spiritual battle. With my member in Author Audience Academy this week, who was telling me she was stuck over whelmed, she is also a Christian. Therefore I said, “I recommend you also consider asking a few close family and friends to be praying for you. Because this could be a spiritual battle, and prayer is powerful.” That could be something, too, that could be stopping you.
If you need help on writing and publishing your book, I would love to help you. You can check out my signature program at authoraudienceacademy.com, or better yet, signup for me free webinar on October 1st. You can sign up at shelleyhitz.com/livewebinar.
On the webinar, I’m going to give you the three proven book writing formulas I believe every nonfiction author needs to know. I’m going to be covering my book topic formula, my book outline formula, and my book content formula. I encourage you to really check it out and I will repeat it occasionally if you miss the next date.
My Breakthrough
You’ve got to love Periscope! After sharing this training and stating PUBLICLY what I was procrastinating, I finally got the task done. My first 6 ads are now live on Facebook. WooHoo!!
Your Thoughts?
Let me know your thoughts on procrastination and getting unstuck below. Tweet me @shelleyhitz or leave a comment below if you had any ‘Aha!’ moments during this post, or if there’s anything that I can help you with to get unstuck.
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