Hi Trybees! I welcome you all to another episode of Penbee. Big ups to my day ones, I am so grateful to you all and I am happy you are all with me on this exciting journey. To the flowers growing through the concrete, I know it is not easy but I know the ride will be worthwhile in the long run, just know that I am always rooting for you. Without further ado, let us get down to the topic of today. I know you are wondering what I want to set on the table, well I have given you some doses: mindset refurbishing was the first dose, handling and working with your fear was the second dose. Now I will give you the booster shot and that is setting the table for your success.

Let me start by dropping this quote…

“There is one quality that one must possess to win and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants and a burning desire to achieve  it.” – Napoleon Hill

The first step to setting the table is CLARITY, yeah, repeat that so it sinks in, CLARITY! Clarity is perhaps the most important concept in personal productivity, being clear about your goals and objectives without deviating from them. The greater clarity you have regarding what you want and the steps you will take to achieve it, the easier it will be for you to overcome procrastination. I will get to procrastination in a moment. However, I want to state the lucid truth which is that most of us are not yet clear with our goals and what we want, we leave things to chance and live our lives daily letting things happen anyway and constantly putting things that can and should be done today till tomorrow or whenever, which is not really an advisable way to live life and do things. You have to be clear about your next move, review them daily if need be. Here is a short story, I used to be a procrastinator, I mean, not a chronic one but I know I always do things at my convenience and if I see that it is getting overwhelming, I put it off for a later day and that habit was not healthy for me. I missed out on opportunities, I had to do more and be more, so I started studying and realized that life and fulfillment does not come that way. I have made and still making conscious effort to work on myself and my mind. I discovered that one major reason for procrastination or the major reason people procrastinate is as a result of lack of motivation. The second reason which is quite the case 80% of the time is vagueness, confusion and fuzzy mindedness about what it is you are trying to do, in what order and for what reason.

People lack motivation in various ways and in certain tasks which makes them procrastinate and put off tasks and assignment. It is often mistaken for laziness but I am of the opinion that it’s not always the case. They just lack the zeal to carry on the tasks or activities. Sometimes, the task may be boring or brain draining and in such cases, you just look for ways to motivate yourself and make the activity exciting and filled with a lot of energy. I will give you an example, reading used to be a bore for me way back as an undergraduate, it dawned on me that my course of study required a lot of reading if not I was headed for the trenches. I had to sit up and find ways to motivate myself, this particular method I learnt from my roommate in the hostel at the time. She reads with music on. I gave it a try, earphones plugged and some soothing music playing. That was how I started reading with music, I enjoy it and it gives me so much energy to read and I assimilate faster. Now, like I always say, this method may not work for you but be sure to grasp the point. Always find what works for you.

Vagueness, confusion and fuzzy mindedness is simply lack of focus. It is a common condition that one must avoid. If you are asked to carry out a task, you should know what it is you are doing exactly, in what order you ought to do it, if you are not sure of the order to go, ask questions and seek counsel, this helps you to know the reason why you are doing that particular thing. This way, your focus is realigned and you will be back on track. One thing that has helped me and still helping me till date is I “THINK ON PAPER.” People that know me always ask how I do it. I can write anything that comes to my mind, any plan I have and the steps I intend to take in achieving it. My plan jotter is my vade mecum these days. I would really like that you try thinking on paper from now on, it really helps. A quick fun fact, thinking on paper is how this blog was birthed. So practice writing your goals down, that way you crystalize it, gain clarity and give it a tangible form backed with energy and the strong urge to work towards it.

So, this is the end of my sermon for today, I want to hear feedbacks and testimonies in the next two weeks about how you are thinking on paper and gaining clarity on your goals and purpose. As always, like this post, share, share and share. Finally Beehives, before I run off, here’s a quick announcement, I’m counting down to my 10th blog post and to celebrate it, I will be giving out freebies to the Trybees! To qualify, you just need to do something very simple, so permit me to say there are terms and conditions. I will be giving updates subsequently so make sure you are here in the next two weeks. God bless you for cheering me on. Till I come on your screens, it’s bye for now! ❤️

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