Are We a Procrastination Nation?

He's off again... Ben's away this week, so he called on Womanthology's Fiona Tatton to take the reins and teach us a thing or two about making positive changes to our working lives.

The long and winding road

I read a quote from Jessica Hische this week that said, "The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life." And I have to say I think she's right.

More and more of us are determined to ditch our regular roles and find something better and more satisfying but, to paraphrase the Beatles, this making life changes lark is a bit of a long and winding road.

It starts off a bit of a whimsical idea that's all dreamy and soft focus around the edges - it usually comes to you when you're in the middle of some work related drudgery. The idea could strike anywhere at any time, or it might be something that has been brewing for years.

A secret longing

You might be working in totally different career or field, but there is a secret longing inside you (we're sticking with healthy and admirable work related longings for the purposes of this blog). A soundtrack of Freddie Mercury singing 'I want to break free' is randomly springing to mind at this point.

So, for instance, you're a property investor, but during your free time (which is, let's face it, probably rather limited) you're a frustrated Mary Berry. As your mind wanders during the day, it wanders away from how to buy at the bottom of the market to soggy bottoms (of the baking kind, of course).

Or, you've always had a way with animals and you love the outdoors, but you're trapped in a job you hate, sat behind a desk from 9-5 every day. You want to be 'yawn free' by being more 'born free.' Or you have an incredible talent for salsa and merengue. Patrick Swayze defiantly exclaiming, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner!" had a profound effect on you as a teenager (or was that just me..?) but you're now stuck in a life infinitely more ordinary than you'd imagined.

Are you making the most of it?

The point is, for fortunate people, the rest of your life is hopefully going to be a mighty long time and you need to guarantee you're making the most of it. As we all get older, our priorities shift when we begin to realise that we don't have infinite time, and there comes a point where you have to face up to the problem.

We find ourselves realising that if we have to spend another day in back to back meetings talking about dull things that don't inspire us, this is another day of our lives that we're never going to get back.

Spend your time wisely

The things we spend our time doing for a living remind us of the temporary and transient nature of our existence. When the alarm goes off in the morning and you wake up, this is a real test of how you truly feel about your life.

If it's bleary eye opening and then, "Ah, I'm awake now and I can't wait for the coming day at work that's filled with XYZ as it will surely enhance my career," then brilliant, you've hit the jackpot.

But if it's alarm, followed by bleary eye opening and then, "Oh no, I've got to go there and do XYZ job again," then Houston, we have a problem.

Grabbing life with both hands

One of my favourite terms for the idea of getting the most out of life came from a life coach, who talked about "living the **** out of your life." [Insert mildly offensive word]

Whilst this terminology wasn't for the faint hearted, it did kind of convey the immediacy of the need to grab life with both hands and make it work for you.

Obstacles to overcome

Yes, there will be obstacles in your way; everyone has family or financial commitments to take care of. I can't think of many people who don't. Whilst it would be lovely to be able to say "adios" to the drudgery of the real world and live the dream, whether it's as Mary Berry or David Attenborough or Anton Du Beke or whoever, the reality is that it's hard to work out how to make a change.

But the next time you're procrastinating at work, take time out to notice the career-related things you find yourself doing in case they are a wake-up call nudging you in the direction your career is meant to take.

Fiona Tatton, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Womanthology

Womanthology is a unique new digital magazine and web-based community for working women, which encourages them to challenge the stereotypes of what it means to be a 'successful' woman today. Follow them on Twitter @WomanthologyUK.