Is it really procrastination?

A new participant in one of my coaching groups got hit with a government tax audit. He *also* had a bunch of other really good stuff happening in his business at the same time, and he found that he put off, and put off, and put off the things he absolutely had to do for the audit.

He wondered how to face the procrastination issue within him.

I asked a different question.

What is procrastination, really?

Procrastination is, in essence, a story we tell about ourselves, that somehow we’re lazy, that we don’t do the things we really should, when we should, because of laziness or another personal failing.

Nuh uh. I don’t think so.

For most of us, life is really full. The lives we lead are already way more complex than our nervous systems evolved to handle.

The way I saw the situation with my client was that he had had an unfair expectation put on him and his business. How can a solo business person, who is newly having great things happen in their business and who had been struggling previously, be realistically expected to shut down his business for 1-2 weeks to do an enormous amount of paperwork gathering that an audit requires?

That’s not procrastination, that’s overwhelm.

The way I saw it.

The question I asked wasn’t about healing procrastination. It was about developing appropriate capacities in his business. “For where your business is in its development, what capacities are underdeveloped that would make it run more easily?”

When I asked the question, he admitted to having an inkling, a thought, a feeling, for months, that maybe it’s time he had an accountant and a bookkeeper. But he wasn’t sure if he should. After all, he *could* do it on his own.

The truth is that as businesses grow, one of the systems they need to develop are healthy, mature financial systems. Even for a small, so-called-solo business, there is still a certain amount of help that is needed.

For him, having a bookkeeper and an accountant wouldn’t cost that much annually, but it would relieve him of the work, his financial systems would be in order. Plus, when an audit or other expected-but-unexpected need hits, there’s someone to do it for him, while he continues to keep the business open.

The next step.

He ended up doing a LOT of extra work at the last minute, but got everything done for the audit, and his new opportunities. Then set about getting referrals for a potential bookkeeper and accountant.

Are there important tasks in your business that aren’t getting done? If so, instead of looking at it as a personal failing of yours, can you look at it as a business question, what capacities, what systems, what support needs to be developed in your business to help it mature?

With love,

Mark Silver, M. Div.
Heart of Business, Inc.
Every act of business can be an act of love.

Save the date: Virtual Retreat October 22

We’re not ready to register participants yet, but our next Virtual Retreat that anyone can register for, not just for members of our Learning Community, is Friday, October 22.

I’ve been leading business-focused, Sufi-based Virtual Retreats 6 times per year since 2005, and they are a surprisingly powerful way to do a spiritual retreat. Plus, no travel effort and expenses, no hinky logistics.

If you’re curious, save the date and look for the announcement that we’re ready to register.