Can Having a Niche Nix Procrastination?

If somebody were to look up the word procrastination in the dictionary, that person would find my picture next to the word, in bold, bright colors! I looked up the definition in several online dictionaries and I believe the clearest explanation that I found was at the Webster’s Online Dictionary site:

Procrastination: “To postpone doing what one should be doing.”
Yup – that’s me. I found the synonyms – dillydally, drag one’s feet, and shilly-shally, especially near and dear to my heart. However, the question I most often ask myself is why. Why do I dillydally? If I just did what I was suppose to do, I would be much further along, wouldn’t I? When comes to marketing my freelance writing business, I definitely shilly-shally. And once again, I ask myself why?
Having a flourishing home-based business is something I have dreamed of doing for years. My children are grown; I don’t have a controlling husband that wants my fullest attention. So what’s stopping me?
Fear of failure? Fear of Success? Fear of making a fool of myself?
Having my share of failures and successes in the corporate world and, of course, after making a fool of myself on a fairly regular basis, I should be long past those anxieties by now.

I think this a quote sums it all up.

Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried. Author Unknown
Isn’t that a great quote? I wish the author would step forward and announce his name; I would like to shake his hand. Unless, of course, he is in the grave.

In 2001, I found a disk that had traveled with me during my move from upstate New York to South Florida. On the disk was a rough draft of a novel that I had written in May of 1999. 1999! I had forgotten that I had it. Since I joined a writing group a year ago, it’s been on the back of my mind to dig it out. Gee – I guess that means I have procrastinated for on that one a while.

In the same box, I found the business plan I had developed in October 2002 for a freelance writing business. As I read it, memories of my hopes and dreams of having my own business came flooding back. I had some good ideas back then. In fact, I could implement these ideas right now if I would only stop�procrastinating.

Brian Tracy in his book Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time says, “Before you begin scrambling up the ladder of success, make sure that it is leaning against the right building.”
That’s something to think about. Do I have my ladder leaning against the right building? If not, that would be a very good reason for procrastinating.

As a freelance writer, I have written articles relating to health, sexual issues, bird watching, and business. I don’t consider these articles connected in any way. I suppose that means I don’t have a niche. Is it possible that having a niche could possibly end the procrastination? Let’s think about it.

What is a niche?

If we go back to Webster’s Online Dictionary, the first definition is the following:
Niche: A position particularly well suited to the person who occupies it; “he found his niche in the academic world”.
Let’s think about niches:

One type of niche would be to concentrate on a certain or favorite area of expertise. For instance, with my 30-year background in administrative assistance my niche might be writing articles related to office politics, commuting to work, or technical issues in an office environment; although, I love digging into health or relationship issues, especially if involves mid-life women; however, I am an avid bird-watcher so I may want to stick with birding issues or writing about wildlife.
When I began writing this article, it was supposed to be about dealing with procrastination. Suddenly, we’re talking about niches. Could there be a connection? In whatever business you are in, if you had a niche, wouldn’t you feel more passion about what you were doing and, therefore, have no reason to procrastinate?

While we’re thinking about niches, let’s look up the word “passion” and see if there’s any correlation:
Passion: Great enthusiasm for a certain activity, subject, etc.

Now we’re getting somewhere. To be more successful with your business you need to be enthusiastic about what you do or you won’t want to do it at all, thus, bringing on procrastination. Therefore, having a niche may be essential for feeling the passion you need to run a successful business.

This may not be everybody’s reason for procrastinating, but it’s a theory worth thinking about next time the ol’ procrastination bug appears from the shadows. I’m definitely going start, very soon, thinking about discovering a niche that I’m passionate about. Oops, wait a minuteâÂ?¦I’m going to think about it right now!