Kathy McDonald, is a certified professional coach, MBA and author of Creating Your Life Collage and owner of
Get Clear, Get Going Coaching, Inc.

“I know I should get this certification done,” my client Barbara lamented, “But I just can’t seem to get myself to sit down and study for the exam.”

“Because it’s a waste of time. It’s becoming standard in my industry but I’ll never use this stuff,” she said.

Barbara hit on the number one reason why we procrastinate. In case you missed it, it’s because: WE DON’T WANT TO DO IT.

Yep, our inner rebellious teenager has hi-jacked our resolve.

Too often, there is something getting good and wrinkly on our to-do list because we “have” to do it.

If it’s something we can’t delegate or ignore, we have to figure out how to turn the task from a “have to” into “I choose to.” Notice the difference. There’s resistance when forced to do what we don’t want to do. With “I choose to” we are at choice. But if it’s something our boss is making us do, how do we turn it into a choice? Isn’t this just word games?

Find the core motivation

As Barbara beat herself up about not studying to complete her certification I surprised her by saying, “Great. Don’t do it.” She raised an eyebrow at me. “Give yourself permission not to do it,” I challenged and then waited.

Barbara’s face turned from relief to crinkled brow in under a minute. Now I knew we were getting somewhere. Truth was, she had her resume out with recruiters for a year but there had been no offers.

She just found her core motivation to turn her “have to” into a “choose to”. In order to remain competitive in her field she needed the certification, which would help ensure her family’s financial stability, something that was critically important to her.

Explore your resistance.

When Barbara was laid off from her vice president job two years ago she took a step-down position in order to keep working through the worst of the recession. At first she resented her lower status. But the upside was her new company let her work from home two days a week. She had grown to love the flexibility and didn’t want to give that up. What she really wanted was flexible work that challenged her intellectually and was financially rewarding.

She just uncovered why she was resisting certification. On the surface, she saw the certification as industry hoop-jumping, making her expand her knowledge in a way she’d never use. But underneath, there was concern she’d be enticed by a job offer that would erode her flexility, something she had come to value more than a big title. She chose to pursue the certification for her family’s financial stability while hoping to land a position with enough power to build flexibility into her job.

What is your resistance telling you?

For Barbara, digging deeper helped her realize how important flexibility was to her in any new position she considered.

Your resistance is trying to tell you something. Ask yourself, “Why am I resisting here?” It could be from a fear of looking silly because the goals aren’t clear. If so, you now know what you need to move forward – get goal clarity.

Your resistance could come from the fact that you view the task as non-essential busy-work. It’s normal to feel resistance around something you don’t want to do, especially if it feels like a waste of time. Getting more information from your boss as to why she considers it essential may be enough to get you moving.

If this doesn’t do the trick, consider what you can get out of it – satisfaction in a job well done, being held in high regard by a boss, furthering your career prospects, or when all else fails, enjoy the energy you free up by finally getting it off your to-do list. Reward yourself by spending some of the energy you release on something you’ve been wanting to do.

Procrastination doesn’t have to stop you. Go within to uncover where the resistance lies. With that awareness you’ll have the insights you need to move forward.

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