The old adage suggests that if you want something doing, give it to someone who has too much to do rather than leaving it to someone who has an abundance of capacity. However, that does seem to be a contradiction. After all, why would someone who doesn't have time on their hands have the facility and capability to take on more?

Maybe it identifies the challenge of procrastination that isn’t easily discarded; clearly, why not put off until tomorrow what you could do today? It makes perfect sense as one has plenty of availability for doing anything, or indeed, nothing at all. There is no rush, no urgency. In some quarters it could be defined as a degree of idleness, although I don’t believe we are inherently lazy by design.

Some of us will lounge in our beds, happy to let life drift by and wait for that something to materialise. But the reality is that the absence of pressure is what minimises the determination and importance of activity. It is perhaps only for those with a heavy schedule who need to be mindful of planning, recognising that what needs to be done is vital for reaching any objective.

And yet, for anyone who faces the trials and tribulations of life with a heavy heart, perhaps an overwhelming feeling of dread when even contemplation creates a stomach-churning emotion, procrastination becomes a major block to realise one’s purpose that is often submerged within a world defined by a distinct lack of motivation,

It isn’t helped by the vicious circle of intent, reason, and benefit. Having to deal with perceptions that insidiously create an antipathy of life suggests that little can be done to change the behaviour, with a self-fulfilling reluctance to initiate any physical, or indeed, artistic endeavour. The problem subsequently feeds upon itself, and the greater the reluctance to do something only serves to reinforce the perception of negativity. Thus, like an immovable cloud it hovers over one’s disposition.

I recall reading an interview with Paul McCartney about the breakup of the Beatles and how ‘lost and demotivated’ he felt. The Beatles were finished and he had no reason to carry on with music. That for him, his ‘raison d’etre’, must have seemed like the end of his world. And yet, with the encouragement of his new wife (and of course accepting that as a musician and writer the creative aspect was, and probably still is, his cathartic solution), he forced himself to continue doing what he knew best. And the rest of course is history.

One may wonder how all this has any relevance for clients who feel lost, without commitment, disenfranchised from life. Most of us, of course, aren’t amazing artists who can bestow their gift upon the world. And yet, the need for something to focus on, to be aware of direction and give meaning to our lives, is relevant to all.

How do we start, begin that journey of recovery, discover ambition, hope, and, reflecting on Maslow’s hierarchy of need, reach the point of self-actualisation?

The answer, take ‘baby steps’ with ‘tiny goals’, perhaps little more than to set oneself a daily task and focus on the minutia of life. It may seem crazy, but just by writing down a list of deadlines and focus on a handful of individual activities will help you ‘kickstart’ the process and engage your mind, retrieve that motivation, and begin to absorb that benefit of achievement. It will not necessarily be an overnight success, but slowly and surely a gradual reawakening of purpose to leave confident that procrastination is a thing of the past.