Suffering From A Bad Case Of Procrastination?

“If our goals are not well aligned with our values or our sense of self, we’re more likely to procrastinate” Timothy A Pychyl

I am a huge procrastinator. And I know most of you reading this probably are or have been at some point in your journey too!

As a sole trader, it can be hard to keep moving ahead with no-one but yourself to answer to. But when I realised my procrastination habits were sabotaging my productivity, I had to find a way to work around it.

I first began to address my own procrastination by trying to understand the “WHY” behind the task I am trying to doing (or put off).

Each time I realised I was falling into this habit, I remind myself to step back and weigh up the importance of the task at hand and check in to ensure it aligns with my values and priorities.

If it doesn’t, why am I doing it?

Do I need to delegate it, postpone it or drop it altogether?

The other part of procrastination we need to overcome is to stop thinking and JUST DO IT! Simply taking that first action step many of us put off for so long.

Especially if you’re a bit of a perfectionist like me.

If I don’t think I know all of the answers and can’t get everything 100% right, I will swing into full on procrastination mode. I will do more research, I will talk to more people, doing whatever I can to buy more time, instead of just jumping into action.

That is the thing that I know I need support with, whether it’s accountability to a deadline from someone else, or to set one for myself (and stick to it).

What works for me, as I continuously navigate through my procrastination, is to book in specific times to do things. Allocating enough time and specifying exactly what needs to be done within that period is so important to staying on track.

Be mindful to not overload yourself and make it impossible to get the tasks done, otherwise guess what? You’ll be right back at square one, procrastinating because you’re feeling too stressed and overwhelmed.

Just as vital as prioritising action is prioritising REST time or recover time, especially during your busy periods. For me, I have to build these into my hectic schedule, to catch up on admin paperwork, note taking and emailing (this is definitely an area I can improve on!).

So. What strategies do you have in place for when you’re procrastination is getting the better of you?

What support have you got to make sure that you just DO IT?

Have you checked in with yourself to ensure that what you are putting off is actually aligned to your purpose?

Or is it something you feel is expected of you, perhaps you’re trying to meet a societal demand that doesn’t actually serve you?

If you need ANY guidance with overcoming your procrastination habits, or getting more aligned to your purpose,