Board Members -- 

You are your only limit. More often than not, our own minds are our own worst enemy. 

Sometimes that comes in the form of continuous instant gratification or imposter syndrome. We’ve experienced a healthy dose of both.

Don’t be mistaken, we are firm believers in the pursuit of pleasure. At times that means living in the moment and doing what brings enjoyment right then and there and others - something we’re honing in on more now - is the pleasure you’ll experience later, by setting yourself up now. 

We find that oftentimes the hardest part of getting something done is getting started. We will do anything to stand in our own way. Our tap dancing attention spans can be swayed by even the most seemingly casually fleeting or intrusive imposter thoughts. Some call it procrastination, for others it is quietly “substituting” one task for another more desirable one. 

We are the Queens of shiny new project syndrome. Whatever may lie at the top of the to do list, is… suddenly undesirable. We build up a simple task unnecessarily, making it much larger than it really is, causing a heaviness, discomfort, and doing literally anything but the task itself. 

Our procrastination cycle goes a little like this: 

The mind is a jumblefuck. Thoughts and To Do’s swirling around like a Tasmanian devil. Take a deep breath. Create a clean space (as Tiktok productivity demands for any good start). Sit down. Make a plan. The plan is great! Genius some may say. Get tired. And off we go to do something completely unrelated to the plan just meticulously crafted. Repeat.

The saying goes, “procrastination is like masturbation. It feels great while you’re doing it, but afterwards you realized you’ve just fucked yourself.” 

We are guilty of such, more than we’d like to admit. While we enjoy our vibrating little lovers (ever tried a mid-day session before lunch?), we have experienced the deep regret, anxiety and dizziness of the repercussions of procrastination many a time.

Other times, with personal experience, we have actually found that procrastination can sometimes lead to magic. Getting to something, when we’re ready for it or being under just the right amount of pressure during the task’s final hours, can prove that timing is everything, and maybe you simply weren’t ready or meant to start when you were “supposed” to. When you had all the time in the world to start but couldn’t.

More often than not, however, it is not worth the pleasure of the instant gratification chosen instead of completing the task at hand. 

And so, after 20+ years of experience with procrastination, we are working on getting better everyday…except for the days when we push that off too.

Matthew McConaughey commencement speech:

“Don’t leave crumbs and the beauty of delayed gratification. So what are crumbs? The crumbs I’m talking about are the choices that we make that make us have to look over our shoulder in the future. They come in the form of regret, guilt and remorse. You leave crumbs today, they will cause you more stress tomorrow. And they disallow you from creating a customized future in which you do not have to look over your shoulder.”

It might come in the form of washing the dish right after using it, instead of adding ‘just one more’ to avoid a sink full of single dishes that are suddenly a huge stack and huge pain.

Calling someone when you simply think about them, instead of when you just need them. 

“The mind is its own place and, in itself, can make a heaven out of hell or a hell out of heaven.”

{A line from John Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost wraps this up nicely.}

Grab hold of the thoughts and remember, you are the Director of your thoughts and actions. You decide who, you decide when. 

Whether today is the day you play, lounge or conquer (or perhaps all 3 depending on the strength of that morning cappuccino) know that you have the power to be your greatest advocate or your greatest obstacle. 

Choose to suit yourself. Always.