Procrastination. It is defined in the dictionary as “the action of delaying or postponing something.”. It is a time-waster, money waster, bad idea. Many of us experience some level of procrastination on a regular if not consistent basis. In some instances, we are very good at procrastinating meaning that procrastination is harming us or our business.
So what can you do to help overcome procrastination?
Lets first look at why we procrastinate. There are many reasons, some of the more common ones are:
- Fear of Failure
- Fear of Success
- Laziness
- Not liking hard work
- Not knowing how or when to start
And quite a few more.
Knowing why you procrastinate can help you overcome your procrastination. If you can’t quite nail down why you are procrastinating do this. When you realize you are procrastinating (you can’t lie to yourself, you’ll know) ask yourself a simple question – why. Evaluate your feelings, your emotional state at the time. Are you happy, sad, angry, stressed, etc? Do this for several weeks or even a month or two. Every time you procrastinate write down why and how you were feeling. These will be the reasons you procrastinate. You may have one; you may have several. You may need help in identifying you’re why (this is in part what Business Coaches like me are for) Once you’ve identified the reason you can begin to work on removing those reasons from your life and behaviors.
When you work on eliminating procrastination from your life, there are several common steps you can take. Some of these are:
- Organize yourself through planning
- Ensure you’ve set goals that can be accomplished.
- Tell others about your goal to help you with accountability
- Create a time table for your goals.
These are just a few things that can be done to help you overcome your procrastination. It takes time and effort. Change doesn’t come easy but the reward can be tremendous. So don’t procrastinate, act now.