Picture the scene, you sit down with good intentions to do a job, and then you pick up your phone, have a quick scroll, make your tenth cup of coffee, clean your desk, scroll again, do a bit of research, make another coffee, phone a friend and then before you know it, the opportunity has gone. In fact, you are even reading this blog as a form of procrastination. You are not alone, in fact a 2020 google survey claimed that a whopping 84% of us struggle with procrastination.
Sound like you? Read on.
My top tips
Here’s my 5-procrastination busting top tips.
1. Work out why
Have a think about the task, the action that you are procrastinating over. What’s truly stopping you from not doing it?
If it’s a task that bores the pants off of you or feels completely overwhelming. Can you bring in some fun, humour or structure? I used to procrastinate terribly over doing my essays for my counselling course. I found the subject matter really interesting but the thought of writing over 5000 words, was a complete – shoot me now, kinda moment.
Things to try, can be:
- Break the task down into the smallest of chunks, so it doesn’t seem so daunting. Add only one chunk to your day and then the next chunk to the next day and continue until done.
- Schedule to carry out that task at your most productive time of day.
- Remove all known distractions far from reach.
- Ask someone to chase you and encourage you. I found the transition from corporate to working for myself really challenging at first as there were just no deadlines. Now I have accountability buddies who chase me, and I chase them.
- Reward yourself at every milestone.
- Writing outside in the sunshine (weather permitting).
- Playing your top tunes, as long as it’s not a distractor for you.
- Sitting down with your favourite cup of coffee.
- Keep your eyes on the prize – what benefit will this bring to you and your business when done?
- What would be the consequences if this doesn’t get done?
2. If it’s fear of success or being seen by others –
then remind yourself of why this action is important to you. Forget about everyone else just for a moment and think about you and your business. Deep down, I’m pretty sure you will just know that this is the right action for you to take. If other people judge you, then they are not your people. The ones you are trying to attract will be attracted to you, but if no one can see or hear you, then let’s face it your business will just not grow.
Have a go at visualising yourself wearing a suit of armour or a thick Teflon coat. See yourself in your mind’s eye, walking around in this coat when you feel you need some added protection. If someone does judge you or even criticises your work, allow those comments to deflect right off your coat. In fact, if you want to have some fun with this, you could see the comments rebound and hitting the person full on in the face (metaphorically speaking, I obviously do not condone violence)
3. Are you a perfectionist?
Are you just full of the self-talk that says, “I can’t do something unless I know before I even begin that it will be absolutely perfect?” The expectation and the pressure you are putting on yourself is massive and actually completely unachievable. You are setting yourself up for failure before you have even begun. Now, I’m not saying, do crap work, I’m just saying lessen the pressure to 80% and see what that looks and feels like. No one anywhere can guarantee before they begin something that it will be perfect, so why do you have that expectation of yourself?
Try these mantras to get you moving:
Done is better than not done
I strive for progress not perfection
Nobody is perfect
I embrace imperfection over stagnation
I learn from my mistakes
4. Do you have to do it?
I’m a great believer in outsourcing anything that brings you pain or steals your joy. I know for some of you this will come down to finances. But surely its better to get it done than not at all. I hate cleaning and am a complete technophobe, so I now have wonderful people who I pay to support me with these tasks. In fact, my fear of technology was so great that it held me back in my business for years. It wasn’t until I got help with this, that things really started growing in my business.
Does this task need to be done at all? Why is this task on your list? What’s the purpose? What income will it bring to your business? If the answer is nothing or not a lot, then just bin it. Is this task on your list because you think you “SHOULD” be doing it or because other people are doing it? Then ask yourself, why should I be doing it? Again, what benefit will this bring to your business? If you cannot come up with any suitable answers then bin it!
5. Are you just a lastminute.com person?
It’s okay to be last minute if you actually get it done. Some people work much better if they are under high pressure and produce their best work. If this is you, accept it and be okay with it. Stop beating yourself up about it and take a different perspective. “Okay, I embrace this way of doing things, everything gets done and everything gets done really well, happy days.”
Once you stop trying to force yourself to do it at other times and actually schedule it in for the day before, you will find you’ve got a load more time back and hopefully you will feel much lighter too.
Don’t forget to practice and establish healthy ways of working. Transitioning from a procrastinator to a doer will take time and effort, don’t give up at the first hurdle. Try again, try something different and believe in yourself.
If you are still struggling with understanding your procrastination and overcoming it, book a free discovery call with me today.
I utilise the power of coaching, counselling and hypnotherapy to help business owners get out of their own way and achieve success.
