224. Motivation Vs. Discipline: Winning the Battle Against Procrastination

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Welcome back to Passion for Dance. I'm your host, Dr. Chelsea, and I'm on a mission to create happier, more successful dancers through positive mental skills. And today I wanna talk about procrastination. I see it the most in teams, but of course it happens for individuals too. You know that feeling when it's fall early in the season, you're months away from your big competitions.

So getting the choreography down doesn't feel super urgent, and it's easy to put things off or feel like there's plenty of time to get that new skill, or we have lots of time to get this [00:01:00] precise and clean, but inevitably there's a scramble at the end of the season and you wish you would one more week.

It's that feeling when you tell yourself, eh, it's okay. I'll start tomorrow. And then tomorrow comes, and suddenly you're pushing it off again. Before you know it, the performance, the audition, the competition is right around the corner and you're scrambling to get ready. We know that steady work is better than a burst at the end with no break, and yet it's so hard to stay motivated when the big event feels really far away.

There's a phrase I like that captures this feeling, yesterday you said tomorrow. It's a reminder that putting things off doesn't move you forward. And for dancers especially where our seasons and our auditions and opportunities are limited, waiting until tomorrow means you're losing valuable time to grow.

So in today's episode, we'll break down why procrastination happens, what the science says about how to overcome it. Most importantly, I'll give you practical tools you can start using today to stay accountable and consistent. [00:02:00] Because stating your big goals and dreams is just the first step. Then you have to be willing to do the work and not put it off until tomorrow.

Welcome to Passion for Dance. I'm Dr. Chelsea, a former professional dancer, turn sport psychologist, and this podcast is for everyone in the dance industry who want to learn actionable strategies and new mindsets to build happier, more successful dancers. I know what it feels like to push through the pain, take on all the criticism, and do whatever it takes to make sure the show will go on.

But I also know that we understand more about mental health and resilience than ever before, and it's time to change the industry for the better. This podcast is for all of us to connect, learn, and share our passion for dance with the world.

Let's start with the truth. Procrastination isn't about being lazy. Most of the time procrastination happens when we don't know where to start or we're waiting to feel more motivated, but motivation's unreliable. It comes and goes. If we only train when we feel motivated, we'll never be consistent enough [00:03:00] to reach our goals.

So if you find yourself procrastinating and wish you were more motivated, that's actually the wrong approach. Procrastination isn't about motivation. It's about discipline. Discipline means sticking to a plan even when you don't feel like it. Think about that dancer that keeps putting off a true, full out until only a few weeks before competition.

Now they don't have the stamina to do the whole routine. They probably feel more stressed, more frustrated, and not nearly as confident when they show up to competition. On the other hand, the dancer who has had the discipline to go full out every run through, even when they're tired or not in the mood, walks into competition prepared and calm.

Discipline is more important than motivation, and procrastination is more a sign of a lack of discipline than a lack of motivation. If you wait for motivation, you won't make the progress you're capable of. So instead, you have to lean in to the skill of being self-disciplined.

[00:04:00] Being undisciplined and putting off the hard work also chips away at your confidence when we repeatedly say, I'll do it tomorrow, and then don't follow through, we stop trusting ourselves. Confidence is really about your ability to build that self trust. Do you trust that you can hit that aerial in the routine and not just when you try it by itself? It's hard to trust yourself if you haven't done it in the routine full out consistently. But the more you practice a full out and nail those hard skills in context, you build confidence. Procrastination damages that confidence putting off the full out saying, eh, I have lots of time to get, it hurts your confidence. Even if you do have lots of time, it's about the discipline to know I have lots of time, but I want to give my full effort every day and not wait so that I'm confident when it's time to compete.

If you don't put off the hard practice and instead build the habit of taking action today, you create that mental edge that separates good dancers from great, confident, consistent dancers.[00:05:00] 

Now let's look at what the research says about how to beat procrastination. One of my favorite findings is about something called implementation intentions.

You may have great intentions, but that's not enough. You have to implement those intentions. Strong intentions like writing down a goal in your planner or telling a friend, you wanna go to that extra turns and leaps class this week isn't enough. Intention only helps about 30% of the time. That's not very reliable and it's not enough to help you reach your goal.

But when we implement those intentions, now we're making real progress. And one tool to do that is to use if then plans. When you use these plans, you're much more likely to follow through on your good intentions so you can actually implement what you really want to do. Here's how it works.

Say you made a goal to stretch more outside of practice, you have the intention to work on your flexibility. That's a great start, but something always gets in the [00:06:00] way, feels more important or pulls your focus so you don't get that extra stretching in. Changing that intention to an if then plan makes it much more likely, you'll actually do the work you intend. So the plan might be if it's four 15 after school, then I'll start my 10 minute stretch. You're putting a specific time and plan into action.

If this happens, then I'll do that. Or if I'm getting ready for bed, I'll finish my skincare routine, then do my 10 minutes of stretching. You're again, putting that specific plan into action of how to follow through on your intention. If your goal was to get off social media during the school day, because you know it's a distraction, you could plan.

If I catch myself scrolling in my phone, I put it in my locker and take three deep breaths. These if then plans take the decision making out of the moment. So when the trigger happens making you want to procrastinate and not stay focused on the thing you actually intend to do in the moment, your brain knows what to do because leaving it up to [00:07:00] making the decision in the moment leaves you open to temptation. We're all still human. The decision to procrastinate and not do the thing that will move you forward will always be tempting.

It's a lot more pleasurable in the moment to stay in bed. Skip the class, do your homework later. But if you want to make real progress towards the goal that matters to you, and if then Plan can help you train your brain to react with a better decision in the moment of tempting procrastination.

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Another tool to fight procrastination and build discipline is called WOOP, WOOP.

It's a wish outcome, obstacle plan. Let's say your wish is to nail your double pirouettes. The outcome is you want to feel [00:09:00] confident in a full out. It's what you want to happen. The obstacle is that you give up during technique when you're embarrassed and falling out of your turns. So the plan is, if I feel myself want to give up, then I'll take one breath, reset my prep and go again. That simple mental script can completely change how you follow through.

Then the next across the floor, you don't quit on yourself, but you keep going all the way across. You keep trying the progressions again and again, and those additional reps add up. . Now you're not procrastinating and putting off the effort thinking I'll do it more tomorrow. I'll try it next week. You're putting your wish of a double pirouette into a specific plan and script to help you be disciplined in the moment.

Finally, don't forget about habits. Habits are a great way to build more discipline and combat procrastination because you're less likely to put something off until tomorrow if it's a habit. Building consistency is easier when your practice becomes automatic, and [00:10:00] research shows it takes about 66 days on average for a new habit to stick.

So those little daily actions really matter. Build a habit of prepping healthy snacks for dance on Sunday night, or build a habit of stretching 10 minutes before your nighttime routine. Whatever your goals and values are, build daily habits around those goals, and you will always be tempted to procrastinate and say, eh, it's okay. I'll do it tomorrow. But now you know better. You can change your script around it. Create an if then plan or a WOOP practice to make sure you stay disciplined in the moment. Remember these habits and disciplined actions mean you're not going back on your word to yourself. You're building trust in yourself, which builds your confidence.

Confidence grows from these successful repetitions. Every time you choose to act today, instead of waiting until tomorrow, you're stacking those successful repetitions and building your belief in yourself.

Okay, so how can you use this today? Let's talk practical [00:11:00] steps. First, I want you to think of something you've been putting off that you know you'd be proud of yourself if you did it.

What are you procrastinating on that you're ready to change? Got that thing in mind. Okay. You could write an if then plan. Take a moment to write down for yourself an if then plan related to your procrastination. You can write one for getting started on the thing you're procrastinating on, and you could even write an if then plan for recovery and self care. That way you're working on your goals and you remember to take care of yourself along the way. 'cause that's how you do this long term. Of course, then actually test those if then plans this week.

Or you could try the WOOP tool. Pick one skill or one goal you've been putting off. Write down your wish outcome, obstacle, and plan. Make it short and clear. Put it somewhere you'll see it. A sticky note on the bathroom mirror, a reminder that pops up every day in your phone, your planner, whatever works, but write out the WOOP [00:12:00] goal and try it this week. Either of those is a great way to start the if then plan or the WOOP tool, whichever feels like it fits you best.

So here's my big takeaway. Confidence doesn't come from waiting. It comes from taking action today. And every rep, every habit, every small step you choose now is a deposit into your future confidence. You're building discipline rather than waiting for that motivation or finding it somewhere.

When you're tempted to procrastinate and put it off, you're building discipline rather than waiting for motivation, and that discipline will build your self trust and confidence. My challenge for you this week is simple, write One if then plan or one WOOP goal and share it with a teammate or coach.

That way you're not only holding yourself accountable, but you're also inviting someone else to help you stay consistent. Remember there is probably some goal in your life where yesterday, you said tomorrow, so let's break that cycle. Today's your chance to start, and thank you for listening to Passion for [00:13:00] Dance.

If this episode helped you share it with a teammate who sometimes procrastinates because we all do and you can commit to making a change together. The more we support each other in taking action, the stronger, more confident we'll become as dancers.

Until next time, keep pushing forward. Don't wait for tomorrow and keep sharing your passion for dance with the world.

Thank you for listening to Passion for Dance. You can find all episode resources at passion for dance podcast.com and be sure to follow me on Instagram for more high performance tips at Doctor Chelsea dot Otti. That's P-I-E-R-O-T-T-I. This podcast is for passionate dancers and dance educators who are ready to change our industry by creating happier, more successful dancers.

I'm Dr. Chelsea and keep sharing your passion for dance with the world.