Guided Meditation for Procrastination

Hi.

If you clicked on this...

something's probably been waiting on you.

Maybe you opened the same file...

three times today.

And closed it each time.

Maybe you cleaned the whole kitchen instead.

That counts too.

Let's take six minutes.

Not to fix your whole list.

Just to get you started on one thing.

Sit back in your chair.

Let your hands rest in your lap.

Feel how heavy they are.

Let your shoulders drop.

Just an inch.

If you're at your desk right now...

that's fine.

Nobody can tell you're doing this.

So what's the thing?

Say it to yourself, plainly.

Maybe it's an email...

you've been dodging for a week.

Or the laundry piled on the chair.

Now picture actually starting it.

And notice what happens in your body.

Maybe your chest gets tight.

Maybe your jaw clenches.

Or your hand drifts toward your phone.

That's the resistance.

You can usually feel it somewhere.

You don't have to fight it.

Just notice it's there.

Like a cat sitting on your keyboard.

Here's the part that's easy to miss.

The task usually isn't that hard.

Starting is the hard part.

Putting it off doesn't make you Maybe lazy.

the task feels big...

or fuzzy.

Or you're scared you'll do it badly.

So your brain picks something easier.

That's all it is.

Let's loosen that knot a little.

Breathe in slowly through your nose.

And out through your Long mouth.

and slow.

Again.

In...

And out...

Let your hands get heavier.

Now we're going to rehearse.

Not the whole task.

Just the very beginning.

Picture yourself getting up.

Walking to where the task lives.

Your desk.

The kitchen table.

See yourself sitting down.

Opening the laptop.

Nothing dramatic.

Now do the smallest first step...

in your mind.

Type the title.

Write one messy sentence.

Notice how small that is.

It's almost silly.

Good.

Small is the whole point.

It's allowed to be bad.

First steps usually are.

Then the next small step.

And the next one.

Watch it start to feel ordinary.

Like brushing your teeth.

Or making coffee.

Notice that nothing terrible happened.

You're just someone at a table...

doing a small thing.

The resistance might show up again.

That's fine.

Let it sit next to you.

Now make a small deal with yourself.

You only have to do it...

for the length of one song.

When the song ends, you decide.

Stop...

or keep going.

Most of the time...

once you're in it, you'll keep going.

And if you don't, you still started.

For now, just rest here.

There's nothing to finish yet.

Breathe in...

And out...

Just the rain on the window.

And your hands, resting in your lap.

If your mind starts listing everything else...

let the list drift by.

You only need one thing today.

Alright.

Time to come back to your desk.

Roll your shoulders once.

Let them settle.

Take a slow breath in...

And let it out.

Here's your next step.

Pick one song you like.

Press play.

Open the thing you've been avoiding.

Do the first small step while it plays.

the When song ends...

decide if you want to keep going.

Leave your phone in another room.

Or face down, across the table.

That's all.

One song.

You can do one song.

Go start it now.