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 Have You Heard Any Good Podcasts Lately?
I'm a huge fan of podcasts! Audio options are my daily exercise companion. Podcasts have the advantage of fitting in a variety of time windows you may have, anything from 10 minutes long to 30 minutes, an hour, or more. Podcasts are fun and educational! I'm always keeping my ears open for new podcasts that mentors I admire recommend and often have on their podcasts. Podcasts for Nonprofits These are a number of podcasts available for those of us in the nonprofit sector. Most of these are on my To Listen list but I've seen good reviews.
Podcasts for Authors There is only one favorite on my podcast feed particularly for authors. Definitely check out my friend Gillian Whitney's Easy Peasy Books with her weekly podcast! She has additional content including monthly deep dives along with great articles on her LinkedIn. Podcasts for Solopreneurs/Business Tactics I have a number of favorites here on a variety of topics.
Your Turn! This scratches the surface of my podcast list. I've tried to focus on those I've actually listened to, although my nonprofit list is predominantly sharing available resources I have not heard yet as it's a rather niche podcast topic to find. What are your favorite podcasts right now and why? Love to hear - Let's Chat or find me on LinkedIn or Substack!
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 What Are the Four Horsemen of Fear?
I had the pleasure of catching a summit webinar hosted by Austin Church featuring Corey Wilks, Psy.D. Corey shared a presentation he's posted on his blog, podcast/YouTube channel, and broadly enough to be discovered in a few additional places. Catching this immediately after reading Jon Acuff's book, Procrastination Proof, as shared here on a blog post, Corey's information stopped me in my tracks. The concepts in both complimented each other. Who Are the Four Horsemen? You can enjoy the full perspective on Corey's blog post. We'll touch on the basics.
Procrastination Profiles Jon Acuff identifies four profile types depending on your procrastination methods. You can take his quiz here to discover your profile.
Is It Really All or None? I suggest no, for either profile. I suspect most of us tend to be one type or another primarily, but we can all get stuck in a bit of each depending on the situation. I wager the Fears are only too happy to take turns attacking you from all sides! Fear Inoculation Corey suggests the best way to combat any of the fears is to step back to imagine the worst that could happen by asking "What if..."
Inoculation, like a vaccine, helps you prepare for attack or an illness. What if the worst thing possible actually happens?
Functional Analysis Corey suggests a bit of reflection or self-analysis when faced with one of the Fears. The technique works for any procrastination method as well. Look at a behavior and ask "What function does this serve?" Until you understand why you do a behavior—the function it serves—you can't change it. A behavior may serve a variety of functions. The key is determining how the behavior serves you in the moment. "Once you understand this function, you can find an alternative behavior that serves the same function, but is healthier...After you run a functional analysis, the next step is coming up with other things you can do that serve the same function, but are more helpful in the long run and align with your values and goals." You can read Corey's full article here. Your Turn! Which Fear holds you back most and which Procrastination profile do you tend toward? Laying it on the line here, I will admit to a Fear of Success and occasionally Fear of Failure. I am a Hustler per Jon Acuff's quiz—I jump in and ask questions later as we go. Image courtesy of The Cleveland Museum of Art.  Let's Start with Statistics
Many of these statistics are from Solving Procrastination and Zippia:
Do you feel called out yet? I know I do! Procrastination Proof Jon Acuff recently posted his latest book, Procrastination Proof. Jon has regularly noted his procrastinating tendencies in his many earlier books. He's become a "goal guru" as his business platform. I'm a fan of his and have noted him in earlier blog posts here, here, and here. Jon's current book urges readers to aim for remarkable! (I love that attitude) He suggests four processes to move forward:
Planning Makes It Easier Jon focused on how his Night Me plans for Morning Me—tomorrow is made much easier by planning today. Take a few minutes to schedule and prepare for the next day before settling in for the night. This may include packing your lunch the night before, packing or setting out the work-out clothes and business items to be ready to go—no excuses. Especially for entrepreneurs and those working from home, when your choice is everything (completely open schedule to plan), you often can't choose anything. You're overwhelmed by choices and possibility so do nothing and procrastinate. Stress Stacking Many procrastinate because they see the long list of items all seemingly due now. Jon suggests we dial back "right now" to make your options more manageable to take action.
Get Into the Mindset Reflect on your goal and ask yourself
Additional Mindset Ideas
Perfection As a procrastination tool, perfection keeps us stuck in Plan mode—always far too many items to check off to really move forward. Try auditioning dreams—test them for a month, then 2 months, and later 4 months to reduce the feeling of commitment that may be attached and holding you back. They don't have to last forever! (think of it as a henna tattoo rather than permanent ink) Motivation Portfolio Jon suggests we create a Motivation Portfolio of anything and everything that motivates you so you can pull them out in the thick of Doing when you start losing energy and procrastination sneaks in. Ideas of what may motivate you:
Review Tracking progress is the only way to review. Consider focusing on one of these aspects—keep it simple. Don't get bogged down in details which will only give you more excuses to procrastinate.
A few random ideas that struck me while reading:
Procrastination costs you Time which costs you your life. Your Turn! I don't think I'm making too large a claim to say we all procrastinate to some degree in various circumstances. How do you battle procrastination? Any tips or tricks for what's worked to motivate yourself? Love to hear about it - Let's Chat or message me on LinkedIn or Substack!  Book Review
To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth about Moving Others by Daniel Pink was published December 31, 2012. I only just read it. This has been #1 on the New York Times Business Bestseller list, Wall Street Journal Business Bestseller, and Washington Post bestseller. We're All in Sales While reportedly one in nine Americans work in sales per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics according to Daniel Pink, he makes the case that the other eight do as well. He's not wrong. When you consider "selling" is how we make our way as nonprofits, solopreneurs, and authors, it starts to make sense. We all tend to sell far more than products—we're selling ourselves, our cause, and our books. We're "selling" our kids or each other to motivate action. You may be trying to convince your kids it's time to stop playing to begin homework. We're selling ourselves daily that it's time to stop procrastinating to get focused on work. Healthcare professionals are selling us on ways to be healthier. Sales Are Icky Talk of sales likely brings up images of stereotypical sales guys, anything from door-to-door salesmen to an Avon lady to the car dealership sales person. It's time to defuse the knee jerk reaction to realize it's "every man" (and woman!) out there selling "something." New ABCs The old philosophy of "Always Be Closing" Pink suggests needs to now be grounded in
Skills Needed
Your Turn! Do you see yourself as selling things or even yourself? Do you embrace it or is it a struggle? Have any great sales tips to share with the rest of us? Love to hear them - Let's Chat or find me on LinkedIn or Substack! |
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