Procrastination is a trap that many of us fall into. I’m a procrastinator and I’m sure you have procrastinated on something in the past.
The key to learning how to overcome procrastination is to understand why you procrastinate and to focus on ways to use that procrastination to help you achieve your goals.
Do you sometimes feel stuck and paralysed?
Are there times when you have no energy, no focus and no motivation to tackle the task at hand?
This is what procrastination feels like and it can really impact on your performance and achievement.
Why we procrastinate?
Procrastination happens to most entrepreneurs and business leaders at some point.
Sometimes it’s an occasional feeling but for many others procrastination feels never ending with no light at the end of the tunnel.
I’ve found the best way to overcome procrastination is to reflect on and understand the reason you’re procrastinating in the first place.
There are many reasons people get stuck and start procrastinating along the way.
What is procrastination?
Procrastination means putting off something we know we should do but, for some reason, can’t motivate ourselves to do.
We procrastinate when we know we have to move forward with something specific and important, but there’s something missing in the situation that keeps us from taking action.
The fact that we procrastinate is often an indicator that something isn’t quite right.
We know that there’s something missing, there’s a deficiency, or something has to be added before we feel we have the capability and confidence to move forward.
This is a perfectly intelligent reason to pause and think it through.
How to overcome procrastination
Firstly, it’s important to know there are strategies you can undertake to overcome procrastination.
People often procrastinate when they’re challenged to grow, personally and professionally.
They want to develop new capabilities, gain new knowledge, strengthen teamwork and achieve bigger goals.
Every time you’re challenged to grow, it can scares you and excite you at the same time.
Bigger goals can make you procrastinate
If you want to grow to the next level, the stakes become higher and the goals get bigger which can cause you to worry about whether you can actually achieve those bigger results.
You begin to procrastinate.
To feel paralysed and trapped.
Rather than taking action on the activity you spend hours or even days doing something easier and distracting.
How to stop procrastinating
If you’re currently procrastinating on something and want to stop procrastinating, these 5 simple strategies will help.
1. Get clarity around your goals
Goals that lack total commitment, the courage needed to achieve them and clarity of focus simply become mere wishes.
I hear goals such as “I’d like to build a seven figure business” or “I want to be earning £30,000 per month”. Well, wouldn’t we all.
It’s far better to commit to achieving ambitious but realistic goals in a specific time frame with tangible ways to reach it.
This gives you something that excites you, motivates you and has a clear path and direction for achieving the goals.
How to beat procrastination
To stop procrastinating on your goals, start small to build up momentum and gain confidence.
If you’re not clear on your target audience a goal could be “Identify my target audience and write my sales copy in the next 30 days” or “Increase my sales by 10% in the next 90 days by speaking to at least five new prospects every day”
These are specific goals with tangible outcomes that will get you into action rather than procrastinate.
We all know that if we don’t have a clear destination in mind, how do we know when we reach it, and how do we keep building momentum every day.
If you want to overcome procrastination, start small and make progress every day.
2. Work out why you’re procrastinating
Motivation and confidence matter, otherwise it’s easy to procrastinate.
There are plenty of ways out there to increase your productivity.
Unless you are emotionally connected to the why of what you’re doing it’s pretty easy to fall off the productivity wagon and procrastinate.
So, when you’re procrastinating on something, step back, reflect and ask yourself:
“Why am I doing what I’m doing?”
“Why do I want to reach this goal again?”
“What is the result I want to achieve?”
These simple questions will help you learn how to overcome procrastination and get in motion.
Think about how you are feeling now and how you want to feel.
Find the what and why of the procrastination
Find your reasons for doing what you’re doing.
Is it about more freedom, having more time to do the things you love, a better work-life balance, making a real difference, making more money, having a sense of accomplishment?
Whatever your key motivations and desires are, when you find yourself procrastinating, stop to remind yourself why you wanted to do a specific activity in the first place.
Reconnecting with and reflecting on your why will always help you overcome procrastination.
3. Break goals down into exciting activities
Bigger goals are big things that are going to take a lot of energy and effort over time to accomplish.
If you don’t have a clear end in mind or the goal, it can feel so far out of reach that procrastination sets in.
To help you overcome procrastination, focus on the steps you need to take and give yourself a pat on the back for accomplishing every step.
Sometimes step by step is the best way to stay focused, energised and motivated.
We all need that extra bit of courage to take that next step towards achieving our goals and cutting the work into specific outcomes and smaller pieces can be hugely beneficial.
To help stay focused towards achieving your goals the key is to simplify and plan your day more effectively. To help you do this, download my FREE Daily Productivity Planner. It will help you become more focused and productive DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE PRODUCTIVITY PLANNER
4. Recognise when you’re procrastinating
When we set bigger goals, the first question we ask ourselves is “how am I going to do that?”.
If you’ve set a big goal and you don’t know how to take that first step, procrastination will set in.
To learn how to overcome procrastination focus only on the actions that you’re really good at and find other people to help with the areas you struggle in,
That simple action will ensure you stop procrastinating and move forward with confidence.
Look at the other activities that are distracting you from taking action on your bigger goal and ask yourself “What can be cut, automated, delegated or outsourced?”
Then ask yourself “What 2 or 3 things can I focus on right now that will make a huge difference?”
5. Use accountability to overcome procrastination
For many entrepreneurs working alone true accountability is hard to achieve.
You have so many things you think you should do, or people have suggested you should do, which makes it easy to go down rabbit holes that take you further away from your goals.
Having someone to hold you accountable, cheer you on, motivate you and inspire you is key to goal success.
They will also help you overcome procrastination.
It’s beneficial to have someone as an accountability partner, whether it be a coach, mentor or close friend, who will hold you accountable without succumbing to your excuses.
Their purpose is to give you clarity and focus on the road you’re travelling on.
They can help you learn how to overcome procrastination and take action on the things that are truly important.
What’s the best tip you’ve used to help you overcome procrastination?
This article was originally published on Lucemi Consulting. For further articles on procrastination and perfectionism visit my blog.
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To get out of procrastination and into action, simplify the number of things on your to-do list. Use my Productivity Planner to help you do less and achieve more each day.