How to Stop Procrastinating

How to Stop Procrastinating

“Discomfort is the currency to your dreams.” ~Brooke Castillo

Whether you’re zoning out at work or putting off a dream, procrastination is always rooted in fear.

Fear of negative emotions, the unpleasant, uncertainty, confusion, etc.

Procrastination is to avoid discomfort and pain.

Your brain seeks pleasure and wants to escape any action that would cause it discomfort, so naturally, it veers toward procrastination as a coping mechanism.

But you can’t settle for the instant gratification of delaying an unpleasant feeling at the risk of your future.

If you want different results, you have to do something different, even when you don’t feel like doing something.

Here are some tips to help you stop procrastinating.

How to Stop Procrastinating

Ask Yourself This Question

When what you need to do is something you don’t want to do, ask yourself this question:

Is this task proactive in supporting my long-term goals and future?

If it is, do the thing. Now. Even if it’s uncomfortable.

You will never get the results you want if you don’t make it a routine to get uncomfortable and do the things you don’t want to do.

That person who is doing what you want to do, who is successful in that thing you want to do?

They got comfortable being uncomfortable and did it anyway.

It’s part of their daily routine.

You have to get victory privately before you’ll get victory publicly.

That means every single day, you have to commit to doing the things that are uncomfortable.

Related:

Practice the “2-Minute Rule”

“The best way to get something done is to begin.” ~Unknown

James Clear, author of the New York Times best-selling book Atomic Habits, has what he calls the “2-Minute Rule.”

Scale down your tasks to 2 minutes:

Running becomes “tie your shoelaces.”
Folding laundry becomes “fold socks.”
Reading becomes “read one page.”

The takeaway is once you start doing something, you’ll keep going.

When something seems hard, just get started.

Do the very first step in the process and chances are, you won’t back down after you start.

A great example of this is exercise.

It may feel daunting to get on the treadmill, for instance. But by simply putting on your workout gear, tying the laces on your running shoes, and stepping on the treadmill, you’re already halfway there.

Once you start, accomplishing the task your brain had so much resistance against gets so much easier.

Related:

Set Goals with A Deadline

A goal written down with a deadline keeps you accountable and creates a sense of urgency. Some people say they have goals, but it’s really just wishful thinking-vague thoughts they are storing at the back of their minds.

“I want to get out of debt/lose weight/go back to school/save money/take a vacation this year.”

Great, but vague goals produce vague results!

Get a goal-setting planner or at the very least, a piece of paper, and write down specifically what you want to achieve using the S.M.A.R.T. goals formula.

Read my article on goal-setting for help doing this.

When you set goals correctly and review them daily, if you are truly committed to achieving them, you will overcome procrastination because the desire for the results you want to see is stronger than the fear of being uncomfortable.

Related:

How to Set Goals the Right Way
The Best Personal Development Books for 2021
Grow You (my favorite life coaching!)

Break Your Goals Down Into Baby Goals

If you set some lofty goals, chances are you might be overwhelmed by them.

A lot of people avoid achieving their goals because they seem so immense, they just don’t know where to start.

That’s okay-you just need to break those goals down into baby goals with action steps.

Think in terms of what the next step is in achieving that goal, and focus on doing that one thing. I often set baby goals one month at a time when working toward a major goal that could take several months.

If you’re working your way out of $20,000 of debt, for instance, it can be pretty daunting to look at that number and devise a plan to pay it off.

So, start with one month at a time. Set a goal for how much money you’re going to pay off your debt this month, and how you’re going to do it. How much money toward your debt will you pay off this month? Break it down week by week and establish how much money you’ll set aside toward your debt each week.

Do this for whatever your big goals are that seem impossible.

Related:

Before You Go

Conquering procrastination is truly a life skill you must learn to get the results you want in life. On the other side of fear is happiness, freedom, and your dream life.

Don’t let the fear of discomfort and the unknown stop you.

The worst thing you can do is do nothing.

Take action daily.

Once you build momentum, you’ll be unstoppable.

“The really happy people are those who have broken the chains of procrastination, those who find satisfaction in doing the job at hand. They’re full of eagerness, zest, productivity. You can be, too.” ~Norman Vincent Peale

How do you beat procrastination? I love hearing from you, so leave a comment below!

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