A weekly mental‑health conversation with Linda Kelly from Kelly Mental Health
Procrastination. We all do it, we all feel guilty about it, and most of us swear we’ll “start Monday.” This week on the show, I sat down with Linda Kelly from Kelly Mental Health to dig into why we put things off — and why it’s not the character flaw we think it is.
The Deck Story: A Classic Case of “I’ll Get to It”
I kicked things off with a confession:
I finally stained my deck last week… a job I’ve been promising to do for seven years.
Seven. Years.
And once I actually did it? It took about six and a half hours total. Not nothing — but not exactly a life‑ruining task either. Linda wasn’t surprised. She reminded me that most of us already have our daylight hours spoken for: groceries, laundry, family, work, life. So when a big, detailed job shows up, our brains go, “Nope. Not today.”
And honestly? That’s normal.
Avoidance Isn’t Laziness
Linda explained that procrastination is rarely about laziness. In fact, she hates that word. Calling someone “lazy,” she said, is a character attack, not an explanation.
What’s really happening is this:
- The task feels too big
- Our energy is too low
- We’re mentally juggling too many steps
- We’re anxious about the mess, the prep, or doing it wrong
- Our executive functioning is overloaded
Even a “30‑second job” isn’t really 30 seconds. It’s:
Find the tools. Prep the space. Make a mess. Clean the mess. Hope nothing drips on the dog.
No wonder we avoid it.
Why We Wait for Monday
We also talked about the classic “I’ll start Monday” mentality. Linda compared it to New Year’s resolutions:
We imagine Future Us will magically have more energy, more discipline, more motivation. But Monday You is the same You as Friday You — just with a different calendar page. It’s not a moral failing. It’s just human nature.
A Win Worth Celebrating
One of my favourite parts of the whole deck‑staining saga? My son helped me. Last summer he said, “Dad, if we do this, I want to help.”
This year, we finally did it together — and that made the whole thing worth it. Sometimes procrastination delays the task… but it doesn’t delay the moment that matters.
Final Thoughts
Procrastination isn’t a flaw. It’s a signal. A signal that you’re tired, overwhelmed, stretched thin, or just human. As Linda said, the best thing we can do is go easier on ourselves. Plan realistically. Break tasks down. And remember: motivation often shows up after you start, not before.
https://www.kellymentalhealth.com
