Stop Procrastinating NOW!

Read time: 3 minutes

Since the dawn of time, us humans have been procrastinators… we want to take the path of least resistance.

We want the most out of life with the least amount of effort… and we want it fast too!

There are MANY reasons we end up procrastinating.

Here are a few:

• Fear of criticism or failure
• Difficulty defining goals
• Lack of confidence
• Lack of energy
• Perfectionism
• Depression
• Avoidance

One of my clients recently was so locked up. He would wake up in the morning with the best intentions of getting his impossible to-do-list done, but then within a short time, he was stuck and found himself scrolling on TikTok or YouTube watching blooper videos…

Or pictures on Facebook of what his friends had for dinner last night.

I’m sure none of you can relate to this at all…

Well, he is a professional presentation designer. He designs high-powered Powerpoint presentations for Enterprise level companies that convert into sales.

To do this type of job, you really need to be detail oriented and focused, which he is. He is a master at his trade.

But, what we realized after about 2 months of doing different types of psychological work was that he is TOO detail oriented.

We realized that his problem wasn’t procrastination, it was perfectionism. He would get so locked up on a tiny little detail that only HE could see, that he would shoot himself right out of productivity right into procrastination.

Then, he would end up doing things like:

• Getting angry at his wife or kids
• Eating when he wasn’t hungry
• Watching the news
• Mindless scrolling
• Watching porn

It was affecting every area of his life… body, mind and spirit.

So we had to do some work to release his kung fu grip he had on everything in his life so he could “let go” of a lot of control and power.

He has since become WAY more productive and conscious of when he is hangig on too tightly.

Here is the 4-STEP FRAMEWORK we did:

• Writing – Some people call it “journaling”… whatever you call it, it is very intentional and specific.

Most people don’t know how to “journal”… they aren’t sure what to write, so they end up writing about the weather and a nice conversation they had with a friend.

Writing is very specific…

Here is an example of real “journaling”

This is what happened.

This is how it made me feel.

This is what I can do differently next time.

• Reading – Again, we need to be specific to what our challenges are.

In this case, we read Atomic Habits by James Clear

This is, in my opinion, the most masterful book ever written on the topic of habits and human behavior… including, how to build healthy habits and smash procrastination.

• Meditation – If we are not focused and centered, we are UNfocused and UNcentered.

Meditation is a word that scares a lot of people, but really doesn’t need to. It is simply a way to sit in stillness.

The idea of meditation is NOT to control your thinking, it is to NOT let your THINKING control you.

We were not built to be “on” 24/7, which is why we get tired, are addicted to caffeine, become unproductive, get angry, or turn to distractions like drinking, smoking, emotional eating, or whatever your ‘distraction’ is.

We MUST take breaks or we crap out!

• Take Action – I know, this sounds counterintuitive to what I was just saying about taking breaks and being still.

But, taking action means: Taking the RIGHT action at the right time, and taking just the right AMOUNT of action.

All the overthinking and overanalyzing in the world will not get the job done, only specific action in the right direction will create your desired outcome.

To be a solopreneur or entrepreneur, we need to be focused and clear with our intentions and attention.

When we are, we end up very productive and successful.

When we struggle, we end up wondering why.