Be a Doer Essay Example

I believe being a doer is a recipe for success.  I am a procrastinator by nature who continually fights to be a doer.  It is shocking the number of times each day I choose to put something off until later. Simple acts of laziness and self-interest compound to create overwhelming tasks.  By adopting a doer mentality, productivity increases, stress decreases, and personal relationships are strengthened. 

Firstly, doers are successful because they are more productive.  My wife will gladly attest that I am guilty of letting dishes pile up in the sink.  I put one dish in, add another, then we cook, and now I’ve got an overwhelming mess on hand.  I don’t even want to approach the sink—so I don’t, and silently vow to do it later.  Of course, the mess continues to build, the task becomes more daunting, and I’ve wasted time needlessly fretting over it.  A doer would never let that first dish go unaddressed. Commitment to doing and not procrastinating, even if it’s just the dishes, produces a feeling of relief and accomplishment that drives me to be more productive.

In addition to increasing my productivity, adopting a doer mentality makes me more successful because it decreases stress. When I procrastinate, productivity suffers, timelines shrink, to-do lists grow, and stress abounds.  I live with a steady-state of moderate anxiety, so the last thing I need is more stress.  The anxiety is a direct result of my drive for perfection and a desire to please others.  I attribute much of my success to these traits, but procrastination is an unwelcome side-effect.  Expectations for myself are so high I often feel overwhelmed by the prospect of starting a project, so I sit, stare at my phone, and stress about it instead.  When I am able to recognize the urge to procrastinate and consciously shift to a doer mentality, my stress level subsides and I am far more successful.  

Finally, being a doer leads to success because it reduces strain on relationships.  I place tremendous value on both my personal and professional relationships because no matter the skills I bring to the table, I won’t succeed without them.  On countless occasions, I have chosen not to go out with friends or play with my kids because I want to get a head start on a larger, more daunting task. Unfortunately, procrastination often prevails, and the time is wasted.  As a result, my stress levels increase, and I have difficulty engaging with anything or anyone outside the unfinished task.  Of course, letting dirty dishes build in a sink will not have the same impact on relationships as putting off a major work project.  However, procrastination, both big and small, will eventually take a toll. When I commit to being a doer, I improve the quantity and the quality of time spent building relationships.

I am a recovering procrastinator. Whenever I approach a task, it requires some mental gymnastics to allow the doer mentality to prevail. Whether it’s going through the mail before it finds a home on the far corner of my kitchen counter or following through with starting a paper early so I can say yes when my daughters want to play, being a doer pays dividends.  Doers are successful because it is a productivity-enhancing, stress-relieving, and relationship strengthening mindset that leads to success—This I believe.