The Art of Joyful Doing - aka releasing procrastination!

Allow yourself to settle into this space for a few moments. There is nothing for you to do here, simply relax, allow the words to flow and let the muscles around your eyes soften as you breathe… That’s it. You might like to close your eyes as you breathe in… and out. Stretch into the out breath as much as you like. You might want to sigh with relief as you breathe out and out and out and out, feeling the pleasure of letting go of all effort.

That’s it.

And now, remind yourself in this moment that the future is not here, now, it isn’t ‘real’ in this moment. The past is not real, in this moment now. The storyline isn’t real. It’s simply a series of thoughts…

Here, now, there is no future, no past, no story and no need.
There is nothing you need, here, now. If there were, you wouldn’t be here!

No future, no past, no story, no need.
You are whole and complete in this moment, even as you are expanding to more.

That’s it.
As you allow yourself to relax into this moment of stillness, notice whatever thoughts, emotions, sensations are happening inside you, as you breathe, with soft eyes. Just notice them and allow them to be there.

You might like to get a sense of placing all of that just outside yourself as you breathe out. That’s it. Allow it all to be there as you breathe with soft eyes.

And bringing your attention back now to whatever is inside you as you breathe.

We’re going to spend a few minutes deliberately activating the way you’d like to feel as you approach your ‘To Do’ list especially when you’re under pressure. This is a powerful way of circumventing the worries of the mind. As you engage the limbic system, focusing on the way you want to feel, rather than thinking about the things you have to do, you are tuning into the powerhouse of behaviour.

Allow the words to reassure and encourage you, without any effort. All you want right now is to feel good.

Enjoy these kinds of thoughts for the next few minutes.

I really like being focused; I like getting things done.
I love being helpful to others, adding value to their work.
I really like the idea of feeling good about all the things on my current To Do list.
I like the thought of being someone who relishes all kinds of tasks, taking them all on with eagerness and interest.
I love the idea of relaxing and letting go of the unhelpful stories I sometimes tell about some tasks.
I like the thought of being one who approaches all tasks with ease and eagerness.
I love the idea of being someone who enjoys every item on their To Do list.
I like the thought of being someone who relishes the big tasks, knowing that all is well and the quality will flow as I engage.
I love wanting to do my tasks well.
I love the fact that I have really high standards. I enjoy taking pride in my work.
I love the idea of being confident that the standards I want to achieve are well within my grasp.
I love the idea that as I line up my limbic system to get into the state I want for full satisfaction, I access all the resources, inspiration and enjoyment I want.
I love knowing that it’s ok to focus on my desired state first before I engage in a task.
I really like the idea that so-called procrastination is simply my system’s way of directing me to focus attention on my state. It’s my internal signal to line up my limbic system so that the task feels appealing.
I love the idea of being one who coaches themselves into feeling reassured and ready and focused and sure.
I love the idea of being a person who can easily activate the state they want before getting into a task.
I can see how much better all tasks will feel as I get better and better at doing this.

And…

I love the fact that this is how I’d like to be.
I love knowing that I don’t NEED to be like this.
I love that I want this, especially if I feel a million miles away with no idea how it can happen!
I like the idea of spending a few days in this wishful thinking mode, giving myself permission to NOT do any of these tasks just yet. I like the idea of giving myself some space for grace as I work my way into feeling ready.
I can feel great benefit in focusing attention on the huge satisfaction I will feel after the task is done.
I love the thought of feeling great even as I approach these tasks.
I love the idea that I can set my trajectory by the way I want to feel about starting each one.
I love the thought of the satisfaction I will feel as I approach each task feeling so much clearer and easier about getting into it.

I can feel the benefit it will have as this focused time softens the way I feel about my list.
I love the idea that this limbic focus will give me ever greater ease and relief, so I’ll feel on top of my work because I know I’m either getting the jobs done or I’m in the limbic stage of preparing my system to enjoy them.
I love the thought that I will never again feel bad about myself for putting off the doing of the task.
I love the thought of knowing just how to get myself ready to start every kind of task, so I am focused and calm about them, no matter what may be involved.
I love the idea of viewing all tasks as enjoyable mental exercises, challenging and pleasing me as I stretch myself and expand to embrace them.

Let the impact of this focused practice build very gently over time without any conscious action on your part. There is nothing you need to do or make happen. The repeated, enjoyable focus, each day, will do all the work through your limbic system, until you find yourself inspired to act differently with ease.

By spending a little time each day thinking wishfully like this, you are engaging your inner inspiration; giving your system a way of feeling good about all the things on your list. That way, you enjoy the tasks, before, during and after doing them, regardless of where they came from, or what kind of tasks they are. They become simply vehicles for your focus, ways to enjoy being active and engaged.