Procrastination – putting things off – is a common response to feeling overwhelmed. Overwhelm can lead to missed opportunities, lost conversations and unfulfilled potential. But when everything is happening all at once, how do you find motivation to get past the anxiety and uncertainty that seems to be part of the chaos of life? We get distracted (lose focus) every three minutes, according to Forbes. We check our phones 144 times a day – and the flashlight that brings the bad news isn’t always a source of positive motivation. Everybody gets stuck from time to time. Have you been there? Turns out, when you understand where procrastination really comes from, you can turn frustration into transformation – and access your personal power. Here’s how.
When Potential is Crushed By Procrastination
“Procrastination is the feeling that says, ‘I’m stuck,” Toyin Crandell says, as she brushes a handful of curls across her forehead. “Helplessness is what it is.” Indeed, procrastination is often attached to overwhelm – wondering where to begin, and how to create change, when life seems so overwhelming.
Toyin knows all about procrastination firsthand. In an exclusive interview with Forbes, she says she let so many things slide that she was nearly homeless, thousands of dollars in debt, and unsure where to turn. At an early age, she showed a lot of promise: enrolling in university at the age of 16, she launched a business in college and made $150,000 in the next two years. But she spent more than she made, and graduated with a crippling debt. She knew what she needed to do, but couldn’t – and it almost put her out on the street. Potential was crushed by procrastination. Have you been there?
Today, Toyin is the founder and CEO of one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in Canada for the last two years in a row. Going from near homelessness to successful small business owner taught her some powerful lessons. The first step she took towards finding her way to leadership – and conquering her debts – was getting rid of the labels around procrastination. “People think that procrastination is simply a habit. It’s not. Procrastination is often tied to resistance [not personality]
.”
Second Chances: from Procrastination to Power
“Whenever we procrastinate on a specific task,” Toyin says, “it’s because there’s something around it that’s causing resistance. And because we’re not looking at the resistance, we avoid the task. Then we label ourselves, ‘I’m just a procrastinator’.” Turns out that what you do is not who you are. People can change. Labels can be removed. Preferences are not a prison. Everybody gets stuck from time to time – overwhelm is everywhere. But Toyin is living proof of new possibilities.
Her journey to business owner led Toyin to create a five-step framework for turning procrastination into personal power. “It’s called RHODAA™,” Toyin explains. Here’s what the acronym stands for:
- R stands for Radical: Transforming behavior is a radical act – something unexpected, but always do-able. Are you ready to introduce some radical ideas?
- H stands for Honesty: radical honesty means being honest with yourself. Toyin asks, “What am I avoiding here?” If we can come to terms with what we are feeling, and make it OK to feel that emotion (whether it’s disappointment, frustration, shame or whatever) we can find the thing that we fear. What’s that thing that’s holding you back? Be honest!
- O stands for Ownership: Toyin realized that her debts were hers alone to fix (never mind that her ex-boyfriend was the one who left her to fix them). “Only you can do something about your problems,” she says. “Ownership doesn’t mean you have to do the task,” she explains. “You have to be in charge of the outcome – and make sure it gets done.” That’s radical ownership.
- D stands for Decision: a radical decision is one that you will fulfill. Fighting back from overwhelm starts with doing the do-able: making a commitment and honoring it, as a sign of self-respect. That’s a decision that you can make, today.
- A stands for Action: when we move from radical honesty to radical action, we add the antidote to procrastination. The antidote is just a little bit of movement. Making that phone call, sending that email, asking for what you need instead of what you think you can get…What’s the action – the radical action – you know you need to take? Take the first step – not some giant leap. Trying to do too much is overwhelm. Doing what you can is wisdom. Do the do-able, and get a little bit of motion into your plan.
- A stands for Accountability: “The biggest fear people have about accountability is whenever they actually check in to be accountable,” Toyin says, via zoom. “If you don’t frame the concept properly, and if you don’t have a culture of accountability, people will think that you are actually coming after them.” She advocates for boundaries and agreements, so that people can check-in and hold one another accountable. But the first step in accountability is to honor your commitments…to yourself.
In the book, A Rich Man’s Secret, author Tony Roberts remind us of a simple formula for success: “Take the first step – no more, no less – and the next will be revealed.” Within Toyin’s six-step framework, she found big success – and now, she helps her clients to do the same. By implementing structured strategies like Toyin Crandell’s RHODAA Framework™ and focusing on small, manageable actions, you can build momentum.
When overwhelm is everywhere, it’s easy to see life as an impossible challenge. But the fact is that options always exist. Want to create the impossible? Start by doing the do-able. A single step changes procrastination into motivation, because you are no longer stuck. And finding folks who can help give you a nudge (and hold you accountable) can be a smart move. Toyin reached out to a support system: “I told my sisters and I told my parents that I was going to become debt-free within a year.” She asked them to hold her accountable, to check on her progress. Who’s checking in on you (other than your boss) to make sure you know that you are supported in your goals? Have you formalized an accountability partnership with someone? That’s when accountability isn’t obligation – it’s an opportunity. An opportunity to move past procrastination, and honor your commitment to yourself.