How to tackle your procrastination in 5 easy steps, starting today

OR... A year from now you will wish you had started today 

I have been intending to write this post for weeks but as the Ex-Mayor of ProcrastinationVille, it would be completely insensible of me to do so, on time.

Yes, I am a recovering procrastinator and up until a few years back, procrastination was my lifestyle of choice. 

I didn’t pay my bills on time, I didn’t do laundry until it was too late (really, really, late), I was missing opportunities to pursue my personal goals and I was practically putting off any task that scared me.

"I'll get to it next week, I am really busy at work this time of year", "Now? Oh, no, it’s impossible to work in this state of mind, I need to unwind first", "Ok, I’m just checking my emails and I’ll get to it, as soon as I’m done”.

Sounds familiar? 

Don’t worry; all of us procrastinate, at east to some degree.

I was a chronic procrastinator and I didn’t even know it, until I finally realized it wasn’t just the little things I was procrastinating heavily on, it was also the big ones. I was putting off important life decisions for “someday”, I was repeatedly postponing dealing with deep-rooted fears, I was avoiding facing my own reality.

In my case, procrastination did a lot more than sabotaging my day’s work. It was silently sabotaging my whole life. 

And even though I understood, that I was on the right track, by realizing the very fact that procrastination was becoming a problem for me and my development, I still thought there was nothing I could do about it. It felt like an unjust disease from which I could not recover. And so a couple more months passed by and then I had an epiphany. 

Procrastination was not a disease. It was a decision. My decision. And I was the only one that could actually do something about it, by taking small steps every day.

So, here is my favorite action list on bringing the procrastination wall down, once and for all -well, maybe not for all, but close enough...

• Become a Procrastination Detective: Ok, so you have no intention whatsoever to start working on the task at hand. But WHY? Is something holding you back? Is your procrastination covering up your fears or insecurities? Is it the fear of failure or even worse, the fear of success? The fear of letting people down or of looking kinda stupid? Every time you find yourself procrastinating, play detective and try to understand why. Notice the fears fueling your procrastination and free yourself from them. 
• Start Where You Are: And never stop until you get what you want. You don’t have to be perfect at it. You don’t need to be a perfectionist. You just need to be a Doer. Start by doing something small and soon you will find yourself breezing through mini tasks with ease and competence and before you know it the book is written, the house is clean, your new apartment is furnished and the rest is history.
• Plan Ahead & Break it Down: If your task is too big to tackle at once, don’t bury it at the bottom of your list until you get a miraculous 2-year, paid vacation period to work on it. Break it down to small steps. Planning your work and working on completing bite-sized goals, minimizes the intimidation factor. Create milestones and celebrate each one of them! You are already a winner.
• Schedule some Procrastination Time: Yes, you read that one right. Instead of being stranded my indecision, boredom or fear, simply schedule some procrastination time, every now and then, even every day if you feel like it, simply to indulge in the sweet atmosphere of pure laziness. And then get on with your day.
• Celebrate Each Victory: So you woke up this morning in less that 5 minutes your alarm went off. Way to go, you! You don’t have to become the King of supreme efficiency before you pat yourself in the back. Recognize your victories big or small and celebrate them (ideally by procrastinating a little bit!) 
  

So, are you fighting your own battle against procrastination? How do you deal with it? Don't put it off for later... Let me know in the comment section below. 

If you have a question you’d like me to personally answer, email me at nichole@take-ten.com
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Other Post You might Like:
Stay Motivated and Transform Your Life, One Day at a Time 
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Are your "Buts" in the Way of your Dreams? 

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About the Author

Nichole, is a Life Change Architect and a Motivational Speaker, Coaching, Writing and Running Workshops about Personal Growth and Positive Change. 

Connect with Nichole on Facebook or email her at nichole@take-ten.com

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