Procrastination isn’t weakness. Here’s what it really means.

Behind the scenes:

One of my clients was once told she “wasn’t a culture fit.”
The words were delivered flatly, like a verdict. 💔

Needless to say, she left that firm. She rebuilt herself and her career, piece by piece. Now, five years later, she’s a rising associate in BigLaw who is being told: it’s time to grow a book of business.

She's excited, and yet, she’s also procrastinating. Why?

Lesson:

From the outside, procrastination looks like resistance or laziness. But for women, especially those who’ve been wounded by bias, procrastination often masks protection.

It’s the nervous system saying: If 'sticking out' got me hurt before, I'll hide to stay safe.

These patterns aren’t flaws. They’re her body wisdom—misapplied to a moment that's behind her.

Is this you? How to shift your mindset:

💡 Call it as you see it. “Culture fit” isn’t feedback; it’s coded bias and proof you worked in a broken environment. Naming it frees you from the internal shame and self-blame.

💡 Procrastination is protection, not weakness. When you see that your hesitation is your nervous system trying to protect you, you gain awareness and motivation to start healing it. We use a variety of techniques in the Inner Circle.

💡 Build systems, don’t rely on willpower. Allies, scripts, and boundaries reduce the emotional weight of outreach — and so do practical systems like spreadsheets and time blocking to make outreach consistent. 

What looks like procrastination is often your wounded parts trying to protect you from further harm.

With compassion—and systems—you can guide them differently.

If you’d like more direct guidance on how to interrupt this pattern in your own practice, let's talk.

xo,

Rachel

P.S. Join me Thursday, September 25 at 1pm ET for Reframing Sales: From Procrastinating to Rainmaking.

👉 Register here

Bonus for all registrants: You’ll get The BigLaw Women’s Sales Reframe Tool — a practical guide to:
🔹 Shift from “salesperson” to “connector”
🔹 Use emotional intelligence questions to unblock procrastination
🔹 Align sales behavior with your brand, so influence and origination follow