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In this lesson, I talk about bringing the harm we do when we procrastinate to light, and how to create an awareness of it throughout the day.

When we automatically avoid our difficult/important tasks and run to distraction, it seems like such a small thing: “Just one more video won’t hurt.”

But in truth, there are some major harm that can accumulate over time with repeated procrastination:

These are just some examples … I encourage you to bring awareness to the harm you’re causing yourself when you run from tough tasks.

Some ideas:

  1. Bring mindfulness to this harm during your Unprocrastination Sessions.
  2. Put a note somewhere visible so that you ask yourself the question, “What harm might this cause?” during the day.
  3. Journal about it at the end of the day — just a few sentences reflecting on harm you caused during the day.

These are small things, but they can make a big difference. By shining a light on this, we can start to be more conscious about the way we choose to spend our days.

Exercise

I suggest you do the following:

  1. Start paying attention to this in your daily sessions and during the day (use a note to remember).
  2. Journal about it, if you can, for just a few minutes at the end of the day.
  3. Share the harm you think you do with procrastination in the discussion thread in Slack.