For the first thirtyish years of my life, I was a world-class procrastinator. I had just accepted it. I knew that I could work and function under the pressure, and I knew even if I procrastinated, I would most likely still get the thing done. Afterward, the stress and adrenaline would manifest in a major crash, but at least the thing would be done. Super healthy, yeah?About a year ago, I started recognizing that something had shifted, and I didn't really procrastinate anymore. To this day, I don't really know how that happened, but I have some theories.In hindsight, there were three main components to my procrastination: perfectionism, lack of clarity, and a shit ton of overwhelm.I was always that person that did, then thought. I didn't follow instructions, I didn't really think things through right up front, and I was living for instant gratification, with zero patience.I was also that person that was always looking for the next thing to make her happy. I know now that the reason for all that was that I was completely unable at that point to sit with my anxiety. To understand it, to manage it, and to live with it. I was running from it, and it showed.Jumping from one project to another, searching for the key to contentment and peace, I experienced a lot of overwhelm. I wanted to do this because someone told me it worked for them. I wanted to try this because an article mentioned it. On and on and on, no end in sight. I also wanted to do everything I tried perfectly, and I wanted to do it all at once.It was all way too much, and instead of paring down, or even reevaluating, I just got stuck in perfection paralysis. Nothing happened, and I found myself procrastinating on every ill-begotten idea I had.When I did my life inventory in 2016, I started doing some really deep work on getting to know and love myself right where I was. As the years have passed, and I have learned the things that lead me to feeling content and empowered on a daily basis, I've been able to gain incredible clarity . With this clarity, I was able to reduce the overwhelm. Now, instead of perfection paralysis, and trying lots and lots of different things, I have very clear goals, and I only move forward on something if I think it will help me to achieve that goal. I also have the time and energy to research, which eliminates a lot of non-starters right off the bat.I've also embraced realistic expectations, instead of perfectionistic ideals. Now, when I set goals, I use it as a guideline, and I don't allow any negative self-talk around those goals while I am building new habits. The old intrusive thoughts of "You didn't hit your goal today - and that makes you a total failure! Why are you even trying?" are not welcome here anymore.All of these things together have opened space for me to think, research, plan and act, which means that when I decide I am going to do something, I have been so intentional with the decision, that the fear and overwhelm and perfectionism is gone. I am excited and driven to do the new thing, and procrastination isn't even a factor.Does this mean that I never procrastinate anymore? Um, no. I still procrastinate sometimes. The key now, though, is looking inward to understand what's causing me to procrastinate. Am I not feeling it? Should I actually be doing it? Is my intuition sending me a message? Now, when I procrastinate, it's not because I can't move forward, it's usually because I don't want to. That in itself is extremely valuable.In Part 2 of this post, I will share some ways to work through procrastination that I have found useful, and that I hope will help if procrastination is a challenge for you!