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5 Ways to conquer procrastination
Before I created and first pressed the “publish” button on movebreatherdream.com I spent months, no years thinking, contemplating and doubting myself. I knew I wanted to create an online space where I could share my knowledge and experience that could be useful for other people because that is the type of content I enjoy the most but I wasn’t sure how.
Instead of getting started I was over thinking it. In my head it had to be amazing from the start, it had to be perfect. So I waited… waited for the perfect time. A time when I would know exactly what to do, what to write and what to say. However somehow that time never seemed to come, so the months and years ticked on and I did very little to move forward with my dream.
Most of us have been guilty of letting procrastination stop us in our tracks at one point or another. Whether it is in relation to our personal dreams, fitness goals or work tasks.
Below you will find some tips that been really useful for me in moving forward with my personal goals because you see that is where I struggle the most. Maybe it’s because I’m so invested in the outcome, maybe it’s because I’m too hard on myself, who knows? Most likely it’s the combination. Whatever your area of procrastination is I hope the 5 tips below can assist you in moving from a place of procrastination and frustration to a place of achievement.
1. Get clarity
I sometimes get so excited to get started on a project or working towards a goal that I forget to take the time to visualize or clarify the end goal. While excitement is great I learnt that if the end goal is unclear it’s really hard to make meaningful progress and it’s is easy for the dream or goal to be filed away in the “too hard basket” or on the “to do list for later”.
I believe that getting clarity is not the same thing as knowing exactly what the end goal will look like, it’s about having an idea at that point in time of what we want to create or end up. This will most likely change along the way but to get started I find having a rough idea of the destination makes it easier to get going.
2. 10 min rule
I read that the founder of IKEA Ingvar Kamprad used to divide his hours into 10 min units and aim to waste as few as possible on meaningless activity. I like to use this technique to get started with things and I have found it very useful in most areas of my life in particular in those moments when I lack the energy to do something that I know would do me good or make me feel better afterward, like exercising. Yep you heard me right, some days I can’t be bothered or I’m too tired, but if I push myself, 9 times out of 10 I feel so much more energized and better afterward. By using the 10 min rule I tell myself I’ll do it for at least 10 min and if I still feel the same after 10 min I can skip it.
I also use this rule get really boring tasks out of the way such as cleaning. The secret to the “10 min rule” is simplification and momentum. By telling myself that I only will spend 10 min on something that I’m not looking forward to instantly makes it easier to get started as it no longer feels that hard if I only need to commit to 10 min. Once I started the task or are exercising, momentum takes over. I realize that it seems much harder thinking about it that it is actually doing it, so I normally continue and finish what I set out to do.
Another benefit with the 10 min rule is that if you only allow yourself 10 min to do something you tend to do it quicker that you normally would, meaning your efficiency becomes greater.
“90% of success is showing up”
-Woody Allen
3. Hype yourself up
I’m a great believer in routines and habits but if our routines and habits mean that we keep on doing the same thing all the time it can actually become counteractive and de-motivating.
Sometimes I find that I need some excitement, reward or delayed gratification to keep me going or to get started with projects. For example, a new gym outfit, new exercise or a completely new workout can increase my excitement for exercising.
I also like to use small rewards for small accomplishments, like when I finish this blog post I will go and get myself a coffee, or I will take a relaxing break in the sunshine with a good book.
If I feel bored of my healthy food for the week I tell myself that I can get my favorite takeaway on Friday if I stick to my food plan up until Thursday.
4. How do you eat an elephant?
My partner is one of those people that is super efficient with his time. Not only does he work full time he is also doing an MBA and writing a book along with a lot of other side projects. I always have been amazed of how he manages it all. To me, it seems like he rarely, if ever procrastinates, he just gets things done. When I asked him how he does it all he said that he just does it bit by bit. He breaks down what needs to be done into small manageable pieces and then comes back to continue work on it, fine tune and revise.
Across a day he might work on 4-5 different projects but not aim to finish any of them.
This strategy obviously requires you to start with things well before the due date to give yourself enough time to finish it.
I find this strategy very useful for getting things done on my weekends. Instead of trying to get all tasks done in one day or in a couple of hours to later enjoy my weekend I break that tasks up over the weekend and allow for breaks in between. I also use it when I write blog posts or do online courses and studies.
This also applies to my exercise routine. Instead of trying to achieve my goal in a short timeframe I break the goal into sub-goals and make sure to celebrate along the way.
To complete something in one go puts a great amount of pressure on myself to get it right which naturally leads to procrastination.
By making small steps of progression I found that I am able to add greater depth and meaning to the things that I’m doing, as there is time to reflect and tweak things. The whole experience also becomes more pleasurable.
“Success is not a big step in the future it is a small step taken every day”-Unknown
5. Sharing is caring (tell another people about your goals)
So after spending years thinking about MoveBretheDream, I started to talk about it. I told friends what I wanted to do, the timeframe and how (the more details the better).
Talking about it did two things:
It made it more real and it also made it feel more achievable. No longer was the thoughts just stuck in my head.
I also started to feel more accountable as I knew that there would be follow-up questions about the progress.
Even though it put a bit of pressure on me it was the right amount of pressure that I needed to move forward in the direction that I wanted for so long but been too scared to do.
Are there any particular areas you struggle with at the moment? By applying one or more of the above techniques could it assist you moving forward?
Whenever you feel de-motivated to continue, tell yourself; I will at least commit to 10 minutes. Add in healthy rewards for achieving subgoals.
Good luck!
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