• Blog
  • Archives
  • Bio
  • Awards
  • Speaking
  • Book
  • Contact

Worse than procrastination

Published: Wednesday, 03 April 2013

One of the biggest muscles to exercise shouldn't be getting yourself motivated to not procrasinate.  Sure, procrastination is a big issue, and eventually, the days turn into weeks, turn into months, turn into years, and you still haven't done anything.

But I find that procrastination really isn't that much of a deterrent to people.  When push comes to shove, people submit their homework assignments, get their forms in, and make sure they organise their priorities to spend time with friends.

Hence I think the muscle that needs exercising is always giving up the thought of, "what are other people thinking about me?"

Will they think I'm a loser because I want to start this company?

Will they think I've gone crazy if I tell them I'm not going to apply to grad jobs?

Will they think I'm stupid if I don't finish my assignment completely?

Will they laugh at me if I fail?

Will they think I have too much time on my hands because I do this?

Will they say, "oh John's not serious.  He's never been serious about anything in his life."?

Will they mock and tease me?

Will they talk about me behind my back, while shaking their heads?

Because doing homework, submitting forms and spending time with friends are all the norm.  But you going out there and writing your books, starting your cupcake business or inventing a time-saving device are not.  Stop worrying about what other people think about you and you will procrastinate less on the things that matter.

About Me

Marita ChengForbes named me a world's top 50 woman in tech & 30 Under 30. I founded Robogals and Aipoly and was Young Australian of the Year 2012. Currently working on robotics company Aubot. I'm the youngest Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and I give speeches around the world.

I tweet @maritacheng and I'm on Facebook.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Random Articles

  • Aubot Instagram

    Aubot has created an instagram page with fun photos of Teleport!  Check them out here!...

  • The Year of a Young Australian of the Year

    In 2008, I founded Robogals as a response to there being hardly any other women in my engineering classes. Our organisation is run by university...

  • Worse than procrastination

    One of the biggest muscles to exercise shouldn't be getting yourself motivated to not procrasinate.  Sure, procrastination is a big issue, and...

  • TEDx Aipoly

    Alberto and I gave a speech about Aipoly at TEDxMelbourne, where we showcased Aipoly Vision being used via glasses.  Aipoly has now been downloaded...

  • Shell Eco-marathon Asia Wrap-up

    It was a whirlwind of a week in Malaysia at Shell Eco-marathon Asia. The air was constantly buzzing with intense excitement and anticipation, mixed...

  • Singularity University Reunion

    Great to go back to San Francisco in August for our Singularity University’s Graduate Studies Program Reunion. So proud of my classmates, their...

  • 10 Years Young Australian of the Year

    On this day, 10 years ago, I was named the "Young Australian of the Year", by the Prime Minister of Australia, in front of Parliament House, on...

  • BigSpeak Top 10 Female Speaker

    BigSpeak named me one of top 10 female keynote speakers and one of their top 10 technology keynote speakers! I am utterly delighted! I only...

  • Reasons

    Why, excuses, rationale, justifications, explanations, verbal diarrhoea, reasons, etc. In the end, the myriad and infinite possibility of reasons...

  • Tech Schools Ambassador

    I've been named the ambassador for a Victorian Government education initiative called Tech Schools! Tech Schools are shared learning centres...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top