In this post a few weeks ago I wrote about how important it is to have the right goal, a goal that YOU really want, in order to take action and move forward towards that goal.
Today, I am going to share with you the best tips for overcoming procrastination.
1. Stop multi-tasking
Us women are usually quite proud of being able to multitask and we make fun of the men in our lives who can only focus on one thing at a time. While he cannot listen to us while he is watching the match, it is no problem for us to talk to a friend on the phone while we are doing the dishes and surveying the food gently cooking on the stove.
Well, if we are all over the place most of the time, always being busy and lots of things going on at the same time, guess what? This could turn out to be counterproductive. Lazer focus is a skill that successful people have mastered. And to be honest, although we can do more than one thing at the same time on autopilot, even we cannot really focus on two important things at the same time.
Well, if we are all over the place most of the time, always being busy and lots of things going on at the same time, guess what? This could turn out to be counterproductive. Lazer focus is a skill that successful people have mastered.
And if we are honest, although we can DO more than one thing at the same time on autopilot, even we cannot really focus on two important things at the same time. So, in order to move towards to a set goal, focus on one task at a time and get it done. The following tips will help you with this.
“When walking, walk. When eating, eat.” ~Zen proverb
2. Chunk the elephant into small bites
Question: How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time.
Well, you have certainly heard this before. So let’s say you want to write a book. That’s your elephant and the size of this project might seem so huge and scary that you don’t even get started just because you are so overwhelmed.
It becomes a lot easier if you take a different approach and chunk it down into different steps, into ‘small bites’. So you would perhaps start with brainstorming on the different chapters you want to include in your book and then the various points that need to be included in each chapter and so on.
With this strategy, you’ll get many smaller tasks that you can work on one after the other and the whole project seems more doable all of a sudden, right?
So you would perhaps start with brainstorming about the different chapters you want to include in your book and then the various points that need to be included in each chapter and so on. With this strategy, you’ll get many smaller tasks that you can work on one after the other and the whole project seems more doable all of a sudden, right?
3. Define milestones of success
After chunking down your huge goal, the BHAG (big hairy audacious goal) as Darren Hardy calls it, define some milestones of success, or in other words the mini successes. To stay with the book example, a milestone could be writing the first chapter or defining the table of contents, or the broad structure of the book.
And here comes the important part: CELEBRATE!!! When you reach these milestones, be proud of yourself and celebrate. Define beforehand how you will celebrate or reward yourself for reaching each milestone. This is so motivating and will keep you energized and inspired to carry on.
4. Block time
“I don’t have time” is one of the most common excuses, and yes I am guilty of it, too. However, unsuccessful people have the same 24 hours that successful people do. So, the secret to success must be something else than time. Everybody has time. The question is, how do you spend your time? I mean, think about it. How much time during the day do you waste? Do you spend time or do you invest your time in fulfilling your dreams?
You could cut down on the time you spend on social media or in front of the TV and instead schedule blocks of time for working on your projects. That can be in the morning before work, at night after dinner or at the weekend, depending on your daily/weekly schedule. During this time you will only work on what moves you toward your goal. This tip goes hand in hand with the next tip.
5. Plan ahead keep track of your progress
On Sunday night, take a moment to broadly plan your week that lies ahead and make a detailed plan for Monday. Then every night of the week, check what you have accomplished in this day and plan the following day. Make sure to get the tasks done that move you forward to reach your goal. If you need a planning tool, feel free to download our 1-page productivity planner, that many successful people use.
6. Stop-Doing-List
Like most of us, you will probably have a To-Do-List and you will know best how efficient your list is. How about, again, taking a different approach? Write a Stop-Doing-List instead. On this list, you will jot down all your behavior that is counterproductive for your in reaching your goal.
That could be spending too much time in front of the TV or on social media. That could be eating certain types of food if you want to lose weight, or spending money on trinkets and stuff that you don’t need if you want to save money for a certain goal.
7. Daily Rituals on autopilot
Setting up some kind of daily rituals, like morning and/or evening rituals, is powerful. A morning ritual practiced after waking up if possible, will get you into the right mindset and geared up for the day.
It could be a meditation, visualization of your goals already fulfilled, reading, exercising or whatever suits you to energize and inspire you to have a great and productive day. Before you go to sleep, you can contemplate on the day and write your thoughts in a journal, acknowledging all the good things that happened during the day.
… to be continued