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I know what to do and how to do it but I'm paralyzed! Soon my whole work life is going to come crashing down!
  • Could be depression. Also pick up some anti-procrastination skills.

    For me, procrastination is a coping mechanism (an unhealthy / self-destructive one) that has come up at several points in my life.

    1: College, major I hated. Would not just sit down and do the work. Mild depression. After almost failing out my freshman year and nearly losing my academic scholarship, I went on meds to quickly stabilize myself. Over the next year or so, I switched majors, developed healthier habits (yoga 2x week, more water, more sleep), saw a school counselor, and got off the meds. You might consider meds to get you steady in the short term, while you figure out what's really wrong.

    2: Recently. Totally burned out of my job, to the point where I almost hated my profession. I hated doing anything. I went on leave for a couple of months and then switched to a totally different division of my company, doing the same thing. Love my job again. Looking for a new job sucks, but maybe you should find a different company, or find a position in your current company that suits you better.

    Finally, you may need some additional coping mechanisms for overcoming the habits of procrastination. I recommend two books on productivity that a lot of people at my company have read & really like: Getting Things Done by Paul Allen, and Never Check Email In The Morning by Julie Morgenstern.

    Allen's book teaches you the skill of breaking down projects into minute, concrete steps & how to identify the true starting point. For example, "Call to confirm printing" may actually require you to check with 3 designers, make sure you have the most up to date deliverable, talk to the other marketing person to get the address of the conference where you need the materials shipped, arrange a special deal with FedEx to get things shipped correctly, look up the right Pantone color that the printer needed, find the printer's number, and then finally actually make the call.

    Morgenstern's book has similar coping techniques, and she's also a consultant who helps people like you to prioritize their tasks to maximize value to the company.

    My own personal additional coping technique: Get content blocking software on your computer! I am also a "creative" type -- I'm an interaction designer. Often I find myself procrastinating (going to Salon, *cough*) when I have to make a complicated decision & don't quite feel like getting lost in my work. The best thing I've done for myself is install content blocking software on my computers at work. I block my problem sites -- news, shopping, email, IM, etc. -- for most of the day. (I give myself a half hour at lunch, which has the added benefit of making me quickly process all of my personal email and online chores, without dawdling.) You may just find that you have nothing left to do BUT work!

    Good luck!