I used to be a HUGE procrastinator! Queen of procrastination in fact!
Problem is I wasn’t moving forward in any shape or form, just chasing my tail around in circles. Procrastination was doing nothing but steal my time, keep me from what I wanted, and putting those obstacles and barriers in the way so I could make up some more lousy excuses!
So I had to develop some strategies to work through to get me out of it, to get me out of treading water year in and year out.
Now my life is looking a whole lot different so I wanted to share how I was able to stop procrastination because it may just work for you too.
1. Make a decision
The first step I took was I made the decision. I made a decision that I wasn’t going to procrastinate anymore, that I was going to get in there and just DO IT! I stopped to look at what I was doing and realized that what I was doing simply wasn’t working for me. Einstien’s definition of insanity is ‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’!
So I decided I wasn’t going to do the same thing over and over again but work out ways to do things differently. Making a decision means making a commitment, but being so sick and tired of going around in circles I was ready to make permanent changes in my life in all different areas.
Does that mean I still wouldn’t slip up? No.
Does it mean I still wouldn’t procrastinate at times? No.
Like anything else in life it was bound to be a learning curve but I made the decision and that was enough to inspire me to work out a way through the maze.
2. Realising everything is a process
I’m the kind of person that goes a million miles an hour butting my head against the gate, typical Aries! Just like many I wanted everything NOW, without realising that everything in life is a process. That I too am bound by the universal law of delayed gratification!
Nothing in this world happens overnight so one day I actually had a revelation about this and realised that all the things I do will take time to come to fruition. I could change the face of my life, but it wasn’t going to happen today, and it wasn’t going to happen without doing something.
Okay patience and perserverance were going to be the key!
3. You won’t want to do things
Realisation number 3 was that I won’t always want to do things. I’d clearly spent a large portion of my life thinking I could have things without actually doing anything to get them. Lazy, lazy…BUT successful people do what has to be done even when they don’t want to do it.
Developing a success mindset became high on the agenda!
If I let my ‘feelings’ rule my life like I had been previously then clearly I was not going to move forward anytime fast. I mean…when I wake up in the morning I often don’t ‘feel’ like exercising but when I just do it, it gets done and I feel better and enjoy it. Often I would ‘feel’ like eating junk instead of healthy foods. But these ‘feelings’ were not in my best interest so I had to stop letting them rule the roost, realise I wouldn’t always want to do things but know I had to do what had to be done even when I didn’t want to do it!
4. Work out the important priority tasks
Making a list each day of the things that have to be done has helped a treat, in fact I always do it the day before. I sit down in the evening and work out a plan for tomorrow. When I can do my exercise, what am I going to do, how much time have I got to do it, what’s on the menu, what tasks I must do to improve my finances, or to reach other goals in my life.
All of the factors and facets get factored in. I then work out the details…will I need to get up early to prepare meals or exercise? Will I need to stay in the kitchen longer than I’d like after work because I won’t have time in the morning? Do I need to make important phone calls? Work out my home budget? Etc, etc!
I’m telling you…now I get a whole lot more done than I used to and each day I’m moving closer and closer to my end goals.
I simply prioritise and DO.
5. DO IT
Probably the most important part of this process to stop procrastination is to get off your butt and DO IT! Constant, small, consistent steps is what produces great results.
It’s not as hard as you think when you tackle small things every day. All you have to do each day is do what needs to be done, those priority tasks. Then do that day in and day out. And before you know it, the shape of your life starts to change.
And another important thing is to go easy on yourself. I’ve stopped beating myself up and beating myself down. Now I allow the process to happen and gently encourage myself to keep learning and moving forward.
What about you? Are you a procrastinator? Have you used methods to stop procrastination?
I’d love to hear about your experience with procrastination so please leave me a comment below
Talk soon
Jedha
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