I see you out there.
You have big dreams—dreams that honestly make me excited for you when I think of it! You want to go out there and be your best self, conquer your fears, and have an impact on the world around you.
But you simply can’t get yourself to do anything. No doubt you’ve gone this long without hearing about the naughty ‘p’ word that can creep up when you really don’t want it to…
Talking here about… procrastination.
Procrastination is incredibly common. I know that the internet is filled with people who seem like they’re rocking it, and making every minute of their day productive—but the fact is, they have struggled with this too. All of us have. It’s an incredibly human experience.
But still frustrating, nonetheless, amirite?
I just want to make a few things clear here though. First of all, procrastination doesn’t happen because you’re ‘lazy’. I once had a supervisor at my old counseling job tell me that she didn’t think laziness was a thing. I just looked at her, mouth agape—but the more I thought about it, the more I see the truth in that.
We often procrastinate because we’re exhausted, maybe burnt out—or just overwhelmed at how big our plans are and unsure how to move forward.
These are very human feelings—and you are certainly not broken for having them. But the other thing I want to make abundantly clear here is that procrastination is overcome-able. There are myriad ways to conquer this beast—and here I’ll go through a few very simple, very easy-to-implement, and not overwhelming ways to overcome procrastination and start shamelessly chasing that life you’re after!
The foundation of everything
Hands-down, the single most important element in stopping procrastination is this: self-trust.
Self-trust is so incredibly important in kicking this habit to the curb, as well as just for chasing your dreams in general! And it’s not something that some are just naturally gifted at and others lack. It is a skill that each and every one of us is capable of building.
The fact is, procrastination can both come from a lack of self-trust and cause a lack of self-trust. It is a cycle that can be difficult to break. But remember, it’s not impossible—and also remember to avoid beating yourself up at all costs. Shaming yourself into getting better will never work—instead, gently working with yourself to build up self-trust overtime will do wonders.
Just as you may come to trust a friend less if they say they’ll do something and wont—you may start to trust yourself less when you say you’ll do things that you don’t. And again—this likely comes from a state of fear, overwhelm, or simply having a busy life—so absolutely no shame here!
But working with yourself to make little, sustainable changes overtime will help you begin to trust yourself more. You will start to believe, deep down, that you are capable of making things happen—because you’ve started to see yourself consistently do just that!
Showing up daily, completing the small, sustainable goals you set, and seeing progress will make it really start to sink in.
“I can actually do this!”
So here are some small shifts you can make in your daily life to make that consistency much easier to achieve.
1. Start really small and build from there.
Little wins compound over time—which is why I recommend cutting down your goal into littler, bite-sized pieces 😊
This can be hard for dreamers—you may have a picture in your mind of you in a flow-state for 3 hours every evening, writing with a cup of peppermint tea at your side. Like, total ‘zen’ mode.
But at the end of the day, you may find yourself tired and more apt to plop down in front the TV instead.
But the dream doesn’t go away, right? You still have that vision of 3 hours of writing playing in your mind—and you keep asking yourself, why can’t I just get it together?
But the fact is, people rarely go from 0-60 just like that. If this is a completely new habit (or even just an unpracticed one), it will likely take time to build.
Try instead setting a very reasonable, bite-sized goal. Promise yourself you’ll write for 20 minutes every evening instead—even promising yourself you’ll get to watch your favorite show after. Set a timer so you’ll know exactly when you’ve hit the mark. And over a week or so of consistently showing up, you will start to trust yourself that you can work for 20 minutes at a time uninterrupted. Woo-hoo!
We often procrastinate because the goal just seems too big and unmanageable—but breaking it down makes it seem less like a mountain climb and more like a gentle nature walk. One is definitely easier than the other.
2. Make the boring stuff more fun 😊
One way to beat procrastination is to try to make the thing you don’t want to do into something that you do want to do. This works especially well for neurodivergent minds.
As someone who was blessed with an ADHD brain—making boring tasks fun is often key to getting through them (or even just getting myself to start).
This felt a lot like a ‘cheat code’ when I was in school. I hated doing homework (especially math) for many years, until I discovered that I can actually do one of my favorite things, aka listening to music, at the same time.
And just like that, there were afternoons when I actually felt disappointed that there were no more math problems left to solve…
Changing up your environment can also be a gamechanger here. Maybe get outside with your laptop and soak in some sun rays. Any way you can find to make the task more intrinsically enjoyable will help. You may even start to look forward to it!
And actually wanting to do something because you truly enjoy it (or at least enjoy whatever you choose to pair it with) is an instant procrastination-buster. Because who doesn’t want to have fun?
3. Get yourself an amazing planner (or use checklists)
I’ve mentioned this before, but starting to use the productivity planner has made a huge difference in me being able to write these blogs—and I would highly recommend!
The technique behind it is to split tasks into manageable, 30-minute increments—then set a goal for how many of those you want to complete per day—and then (the most fun part) track whether or not you were able to complete your goal.
When I spoke before about building self-trust, this is an excellent way to do so. You can go back overtime and see physical evidence of you building that habit overtime! And you can feel that hit of dopamine every time you get to write down that you met (or even surpassed) your goal for the day.
Obviously, there are many other planners out there that work excellently. But I would recommend those that have:
- Little checkboxes, or bubbles you can color in—anything that gives you that neat little hit of dopamine for completing the task!
- A place to journal your thoughts for the day—that way you can track what kind of mood you were in, how you feel about your progress, and of course—celebrate little wins
- One that feels more fun and engaging and less like a chore
If anyone out there is motivated by getting to check things off or like the accountability of writing down your progress every day—this tip is definitely for you! The idea of getting to fill in the little bubbles, as insignificant as that may sound, may be a huge motivator for you to get started for the day.
And one big thing to remember—acknowledge to yourself and celebrate your wins!
I can be easy to get caught up in the shuffle of work and lose track of what is actually happening here. You are building self-trust, showing incredible resilience and determination, and making steady progress. And that isn’t nothing!
Building new habits takes mental strength—which you are proving to yourself daily, through the journey itself, that you have in abundance.
And the more you feel good—charged up—and most importantly trusting in your own self—the easiest it will be to kick procrastination in the pants 😊
