Pls help me get started... Procrastination pain 😔

[Pointtothedoor]

Tomorrow afternoon I need to give a presentation. Despite having spent four days thinking about little else, I feel paralyzed and unable to start concrete prep.

1. I really care about the topic personally and professionally
2. I have plenty of (maybe too many and somewhat vague) ideas and knowledge
3. I'm scared I'm sabotaging myself by leaving it so late but the longer I wait the worse I feel
4. I am prone to overthinking and attempting to over perfect work tasks.
5. This pattern has been the same since I was a child and I'm in my mid 40s.
6. I feel stupid, embarrassed and ashamed. Frustrated that I am likely again going to underachieve and get really stressed in the process and I'm ultimately responsible because I'm supposed to be in charge of myself.

I really want to show what I know and take step forward professionally.

Any tips sincerely welcomed. Thanks for reading. It has helped to at least get this out.

I can procrastinate for Britain - in saying that I’m also able to pull things out of the bag at the 11th hour.

Its something you’re passionate about personally and professionally so presumably you’re working from a decent knowledge base. Start by thinking about what you want to say - if they left knowing two/three things, what would you want them to remember. Build your presentation around that - write a basic structure: introduction, main points, summary. Keep your slides (if using them) simple, don’t fill with lots of text, have 3/4 points per slide and fill in the gaps.

Try not to stress, if you’re someone who needs to process things and then write embrace that part of your personality. You’ve been doing the prep in your head, you just need to build structure around it.

Ive been procrastinating all day over some work due in tomorrow.

Start with bullet points and expand. Ive got about 5k of words to write, teabags, kettle and a packet of munchies.

I'm with you.

Just do a first draft. The only job of a 1st draft is to exist. It is expected to be Not Good Enough. That's the point. Just get the first shit draft done. That is enough. Then you can refine.

Also, you can choose the feelings of discomfort now as you knuckle down, or you can feel the feelings of discomfort later, whenever you actually start it. It won't feel less uncomfortable at 11pm if you wait to start then.

Tell yourself you will spend 10 minutes on it, and then you can stop if you like.

All that terror and preparation means that you're not just going to nail it but probably be good enough to make your bosses feel nervous about their jobs.
Think about how happy and proud of yourself you're going to feel when this is over. You're ready for this. Breathe. Stop thinking and just do it.

Thank you all. These are helpful ideas. I'm going to start with the drafting just the key points and what I want them to take away.

It's true I have plenty of knowledge. I think chosing key areas is going to help a lot. It's true they will only remember a few things so better to do those well than overload with too much. ll share a progress update later. Good luck @mogtheexcellent
It's can focus now or at 11pm and then get no sleep too.
and I can surely do ten mins.

ive set up the laptop

well Ive finished one section by copying and pasting from another document. I'll be here at midnight I reckon. My consolation is my boss is also working (I can tell from the online cloud) and technically he finished for christmas last week.

Okay I've done a bit of planning and started saying ideas out loud. Catching myself waffling has been informative. I'm taking a quick break and now my concentration has gone a bit haywire. I really appreciate the support. I have realized that lack of self belief is part of my struggle with just getting on with stuff to a Good Enough level.

Honestly, most people struggle with preparing and delivering good presentations, even those who are experienced. It's understandable that you would put off prepping. Personally, I dread public speaking and find prepping extremely unpleasant and tiring. But unlike you I tend to start really early and over-prepare...

Hope your presentation went well! Report finally done so I'm watching cheesy hallmark film.

@mogtheexcellent Well deserved! I'm in bed a bar of chocolate myself.

It went okay! I was really overthinking it and actually just talking about stuff I know is all that was needed. We (and your boss!) can wind down until Christmas now... Thanks for the solidarity last night and everyone who wrote kind words and advice.