Myo Life

Transcript

Hey, I'm Carmen, and welcome to Myo Life. That's short for My Outrageous Life, which is exactly the kind of life I get to live since I found the courage to ditch dental hygiene and build a life I'm bonkers about as a myofunctional therapist and entrepreneur. Here you will find all things myo business and how to build a life that you, too, are bonkers about. I'm very happy you're here. Shall we dive in?
Well, hey there, myo friend, and welcome back to the podcast. I am so excited that you're here today because we're diving into a topic that happens to all of us. I'm also hoping that my voice holds out. Sounds like I'm trying to lose my voice, so we're going to try and get through this.
So we're talking about procrastination. You know that moment when you are supposed to be working on something important, but instead, you find yourself doing something completely unrelated? Well, that was me recently, which was actually the impetus for this episode.
It was a Monday, which is typically a very busy day around here at Carmen Marie Companies HQ because it's metrics and marketing day. So there's lots of moving parts, lots of numbers. It's a very busy day. But anyhow, on this day, after I had been out to hike with the dogs, normally what I do is hike, come back in, brew coffee, and head to my office to start work. But on this day, without even thinking, I found myself deep in the cupboards organizing my tea stash—of all things.
I was supposed to be recording my sales funnel conversion numbers for the prior week, but here I was trying to decide if I really needed three kinds of chamomile tea. Cracks me up just even talking about it because it seems so silly. Procrastination, my friend, is a sneaky little gremlin that disguises itself as productive tasks. It happens to me, it happens to my students. So today, I'm going to break down why we procrastinate, how to escape the cycle, and I'll give you my five-step system that I use when I find myself procrastinating.
Why Do We Procrastinate?
It's not laziness, so let's just bust that myth right now. It's typically one of these culprits.
It might be fear of failure, or it could be fear of success. Sometimes we avoid starting something because, deep down, we're afraid of messing it up. Or, on the flip side, we're scared of doing really well and then having to keep that momentum up.
Maybe it's because of overwhelm—too many tasks, and so you freeze. You might look at your to-do list and suddenly feel like, "Oh my God, I need a nap." Does that sound familiar? I call it like having a plate with peas and carrots falling off because you're trying to do too much. We only have so many minutes in the day. Maybe you're saying yes to everything, maybe you're failing to set boundaries. When your brain sees too many options, it just shuts down. It's like a toddler: "Nope, not going to do it."
Maybe it's perfectionism—waiting for the perfect time or waiting for the perfect plan. Spoiler alert, my friend, there is no perfect time. The longer you wait for the stars to align, the longer you're going to stay stuck.
And if you're a dental hygienist, you are probably very intimately familiar with perfectionism and people-pleasing. People-pleasing is a whole other conversation, but I think it's kind of in the fabric of our being to be perfectionists. Many of you have been dental hygienists for years, so you're good at that. It's scary to start doing something that you don't know much about. So it's easier to just stay safe and keep doing what you're good at.
But I want you to turn that on its head and say, "I have proof. I have evidence that I can figure things out. I can do hard things. I just have to get going."
And maybe it’s lack of clarity. If you don't know what your next step is, you're just not going to do it. If your next move isn't crystal clear, your brain is going to say, "Hey, let's just hang out and watch cat videos instead."
The truth is, you don’t need more time—you need more focus. And that’s what we’re going to talk about. I'm going to show you exactly how I fix it when I am procrastinating.
My Five-Step System to Kill Procrastination
Step 1: Identify It
Call yourself out. Catch yourself in the act and ask, "Is this actually productive, or am I just dodging the real work?" If the thing you're doing feels productive but doesn't actually move the needle, then it's just fancy procrastination.
If you're starting a myofunctional therapy business, it requires work and consistency. Inside the Ditch Hygiene Academy, I teach the difference between massive and passive action. Massive action produces revenue for your business. It is measurable. It might be writing content for your website, creating marketing materials, sending emails to your list, or making offers to clients.
Passive action, on the other hand, feels good but doesn’t move the needle. It’s things like researching more, taking another course, reading another book, listening to another podcast—more learning, but no action. You need to be taking massive action and then rewarding yourself with passive action.
Step 2: Reset Your Brain With a Hard Stop
Drop what you're doing. Literally stand up, shake it off, and snap out of it. The goal is to interrupt the autopilot mode.
Step 3: Identify the Real Task You're Avoiding
Ask yourself, "What's the one thing I'm dodging that would actually move my business forward?"
The thing you're avoiding the most is usually the thing that will change the game the fastest. If you only did this one thing today, would it make a difference? If yes, then that's your priority.
Inside my Total Calendar Control lesson, I teach you how to set essential priorities. Every 90 days, you define three essential priorities based on your annual goals. These then break down into monthly, weekly, and daily goals. This way, you always know what to focus on.
Step 4: Set a 10-Minute Timer and Just Start
No overthinking. No perfectionism. No "I'll do this tomorrow." Just start. The 10-minute rule works because we all know that once we start, we’ll likely keep going. But even if you only get in 10 minutes, it’s better than zero.
Step 5: Reward Yourself Like a Toddler Who Just Used the Potty
We’re all big kids at the end of the day, and our brains love rewards. Dopamine is powerful. If you train your brain to associate completing tasks with rewards, you’ll start craving productivity instead of dreading it.
This is where passive action comes in. I reward myself with things like reading a business book or listening to a marketing podcast—but only after I’ve done the real work.
Final Thoughts
When you find yourself procrastinating, bring attention to it. Stop what you're doing—even if you're in the middle of organizing your pantry. Figure out what you should be doing, refer to your calendar if needed, and then just start.
Getting started is the hard part. Your brain might tell you it’s scary, but hear it, acknowledge it, and move on anyway.
And finally, reward yourself. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about taking action—because action beats avoidance every single time.
If you're stuck in analysis paralysis and need help with your calendar or essential priorities, come work with me inside my Grow coaching program. This is my one-on-one program. If you want to see if you're a good fit, book a call. There will be resources wherever you're watching this.
And that, my friend, is a wrap.
Now, stop procrastinating and go make some moves so you can build a life you're bonkers about too. I will see you soon.