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PROCRASTINATION…BUT, WHY?
By Vicki Ronchette
I have been thinking for a while that I need to write a blog post. I’ve been thinking that for quite a while, actually. Checking in, I see that the last blog post I posted was in the middle of 2023! And, it wasn’t even my article! Now, I sit here writing this, feeling like a loser and a horrible business owner because I have let this slide. The truth is, I’m not really a loser and horrible business owner. I have been busy working with clients, creating content, creating more programs, working with clients and running my business day to day, and sometimes, I just get a block when it comes to writing.
The weird, and frankly, annoying thing is that I really enjoy writing. But sometimes, when I feel like I have to, I don’t do it. You might be wondering, why the heck is she telling me this? I don’t want to hear about her running a small business issues, I want to learn about how to show my dog. But, training procrastination is not that much different.
Oftentimes, we have big plans to train or work our dogs, but when we go to actually do it, we feel overwhelmed with what to work on, setting up the situation for training, deciding what dog to work to the point where we just decide to do something else instead. I know, I have been there. Dog training, like writing, like creating content can feel daunting especially when we feel like we have to. So, it’s important to remind ourselves that, in fact, we don’t really have to. I don’t have to be spending my Sunday morning writing, but I actually want to. I love writing. I miss writing bigger pieces. I have a lot to share. It really comes down to planning and time management. I have to figure out a new way to remind myself to do this. It may be the same is true for you and your dog training procrastination. Let’s talk about some ways we can create a solid plan for getting our stuff done.
REMINDERS THAT WORK
If you are anything like me, your Google calendar is crazy. I have three calendars linked together that show my personal events, my Mentor Program events and my Show Dog Prep School events. My personal calendar is packed with things like repeat items, such as “Fluff” which means I work at the grooming shop that day, or “Payroll” which reminds to write a check. Along with all the actual appointments, it gets full fast and so sometimes things get missed. For this reason, I purchased a new dry erase calendar that is a physical, calendar in my office where I have it set up where I will see it regularly. This is already helping me to really see what I need to get it done and it is placed in a spot where I go to work.
A new, different calendar can help you actually SEE things you need to get done.
What if you got a new calendar like this for dog training? Different colors would even allow you to choose a color for each type of training. Green = conformation, pink = manners, blue = rally, for instance?
SMALL GOALS
I keep coming back to the feeling of being overwhelmed because I know, for me, this is what frequently derails me. Setting smaller goals can be really helpful with this. For my blogging, I am going to set a goal of one blog post per month. That is way more than I have been doing, but not too much to commit to, so I feel confident I can stick to it.
Saying to yourself, “I want to train my dog to perform like a Westminster winner” is a huge goal. Instead, pull that apart and ask, what is it that I really like about how this big winner performs? Super reliable free stack? Awesome, let’s start there! Commit to working on your dog’s free stacks three times a week for 10 minutes.
CHOOSING WHAT TO WORK ON
Sometimes we get stuck on details like, for me, should I be working on my blog, my podcast, my courses, my programs to the point that I could just walk away and say, I can’t decide, I guess I’ll just do nothing. No! I need to get this stuff done. Again, scheduling specific time for certain things can be really helpful.
For instance, on Sundays, no matter what, I batch my Facebook posts for the week for my business and for my best friend’s grooming shop. I just do it. In order to be sure I get my podcast episodes done, last week I scheduled myself time to record four episodes. Those are scheduled to drop every two weeks, so I have over a month of that content done. What if you did the same with your dogs or your training. You could schedule on your new calendar, Tuesdays = work on free stacks with Lizzo or Thursdays = work on stays with Merry. Schedule what you are going to work on and with who.
PLANNING AHEAD
All of this really comes down to planning ahead. Set up the time to plan when you feel motivated and able to think. If your are like me, the planning part is not stressful, in fact, I enjoy it. So, I can spend some time when I am feeling motivated and enthusiastic to make the decisions about what to create, how to create it and where it is going to go. In the same way you could decide when to train, what to train and who to train ahead of time. This is so that when the time to train comes, you don’t have to decide anything else because you scheduled it ahead of time.
HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE
I just shared with all of you what my new plan is. That I will be creating a blog post one a month and this is how I am planning to hold myself accountable! I also cross things off of my new calendar when they are done. And, because it is a dry erase calendar I have to sit down and write out each month and what I plan to do. I think this will help me hold myself accountable as well!
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