Your true enemy of progress is procrastination. Your ability to stop procrastinating is directly related to your mindset.
Failing to act over and over again can make you feel small and defeated.
Fear, our own vices, and our negative internal conversations often keep us in bondage.
Nonetheless, we all want to feel fulfilled and walk in our truth that we are indeed the architects of our lives.
First, let’s take a quick look at procrastination.
Procrastination is . . . .
- The vain desire for perfectionism
- Fear of the unknown
- The fear of failing
- Lack of focus
- The lack of accountability to meet goals and complete tasks
- Lack of motivation
- The lack of true passion and vitality in your life
Ever wonder how “The Greats” can continually execute? Think about your favorite artists, athletes, and actors.
Now imagine yourself with that same level of success and fulfillment all by getting out of your own way.
Behavior tends to have a ripple effect. Just think about how easy habits are to form and how hard they are to break.
Ultimately, this is why mastering how to stop putting things off is so important.
Your time is your number one resource that when misused, can literally cost you your life.
Without a doubt, your character is on the line here. So is your independence and your freedom.
“The secret to getting ahead is getting started.”
Mark Twain
I’m here to genuinely help you become more productive, and more effective with the following tips so you can live an intentional and fulfilling life.
The ability to properly manage your time and be productive will ultimately shape your life and the future of your family.
Kiss procrastination goodbye and start fulfilling your destiny today.
1. Get Out of Your Feelings
So let’s start here. We can all agree that emotions are fickle. Your feelings are unreliable, sometimes erratic, and should not be the foundation of your decisions.
The most consistent emotion you will have when faced with procrastination is “I don’t feel like [insert activity here].”
Your reaction or feeling was precipitated by a thought. That thought ultimately leads you to a decision, which is usually to put the task off or not complete the task completely.
As a result, in order to get out of your feelings, you need to substitute the more natural and oh-so-comforting thought that how you feel about a task is more important than actually completing the task.
Despite, our natural urge for comfort, don’t let this be your definition of normal.
Procrastination gives us a false sense of security because we are choosing to delay said task.
But in reality, we are not in control.
2. Switch Up Your Inner Conversation
This kinda plays right along with #1. Your whole thought process and mentality need to be focused on being an executor.
Stop giving yourself a pass when you fail to keep your commitments. Stop using your intelligence to drum up justifications for your deliberate behavior and lack of action.
Equally, the lack of discipline even in one area of your life spreads like roaches in an abandoned building in New York City.
It is not okay.
Start requiring only the best of yourself. Start telling yourself “It’s not okay to fold on my commitments.”
It’s not okay to . . .
- Feel unfulfilled
- Settle for less than your best
- Just do nothing when faced with adversity
- Misuse the greatest gift life has to offer – Time
- Respect other people’s opinions so much it leaves you in fear
And let’s be clear, the only reason why it’s not okay is that you are capable of so much more, and deep down I believe you know that.
3. Consult the #1 MVP
Who’s the #1 MVP you may ask?
The Creator.
What consulting (i.e. praying) The Creator does is allow you to have an Accountability Partner.
Straight no chaser. There’s no getting over on Him.
Undoubtedly, you have the spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. The Creator knows your abilities and your limitations.
Your time, and the ability for you to complete tasks and meet obligations and commitments is a gift from God, simply put.
Equally, what you do with that time, and your ability to follow through on your word can be considered a way of saying thank you for receiving another 24 hours on this earth which many don’t receive.
4. Time Block
Make deliberate efforts to set up time blocks to meet each individual task, obligation, and meeting.
Don’t allow yourself to gain an inch because history shows you will take a mile. I’m assuming that’s why you’re reading this post in the first place. You’ve gotten away with a lot.
By failing to properly plan and block off time for your tasks you leave yourself open to the use of your feelings.
As a result, instead of having and utilizing structure for your activities and tasks you now do them when you feel like it.
Time blocking eliminates the need to feel or even give a second thought to what needs to be done.
Your success lies in what you do every day, your routine. For a starter guide to a morning routine that is sure to stimulate success read 6 Ways to Start Your Morning Off Right.
5. Get Comfortable With Delayed Gratification
Learn to find comfort in the uncomfortable. I’m sure if completing one of the tasks you would love to put off instantly granted you a million dollars or a free tropical vacation to FIJI it would be a different story.
Alternatively, you would do that task with enthusiasm and joy in the expectancy of your reward.
But it’s not completing one task that usually gets us this type of reward. It’s our consistency. It’s our ability to do what we have to do now so we can later do what we want to do.
This is delayed gratification. All your tasks, all your duties are put in place to ultimately achieve something greater.
You have to focus on the ends and not necessarily the means, which leads to #6.
6. Envision the End Goal
Envisioning the end result looks something like this . . .
- This is just another day of working out vs I’m investing in my health. I refuse to rely on western medications and a broken healthcare system.
- It’s just another school assignment vs This degree or certification will open doors and give me opportunities to make a greater impact.
- Here’s another annoying relative calling vs This is a great opportunity to interact and invest time in my family while they’re still above ground and living.
- It’s just another stupid idea that people will reject vs This idea could change the world. I’m not giving too much energy into what others may think.
Every decision we make in regard to how we use our time is pushing our lives in a certain direction.
You’re either pressing forward, staying stagnant, or regressing.
The result of your failure to act and procrastination is from your lack of focus on the end goal.
Don’t let distractions of everyday life steal your mental focus and attention on what’s truly important to you.
On the other hand, get passionate about what you’re doing in life but most importantly bring passion and commitment to your why, your motivating factor.
7. Stop Playing With the Hands of Time
The most dangerous thing someone can do is waste time.
Why is it that death, tragedy, and sickness opens our eyes to how short our time really is? To the true uncertainties of life.
Time is the most valuable commodity you have. It’s the one thing you can never get back. Once it’s gone it’s gone. With that being said . . . .
Stop . . .
- Overthinking
- Putting things off
- Waiting for the perfect time/conditions
- Fearing how people will react/what they will think
- Ignoring the bigger picture- your impact, your ability to change lives and change circumstances by utilizing your time wisely.
- Living as if you’re stamped with an expiration date
Time is a gift from The Creator. You are important because what you have to offer the world is important. We all have something to contribute to make our planet better and you have to believe that.
In particular, how you show up, how you show out, how you live, and how you spend your time is very very important.
For simple ways on how to master your time and defeat procrastination read The 6 Easy Ways to Stop Wasting Your Time.
In Summary
1. Decide with your mind what needs to be done and do it. Avoid considering your feelings about decisions you’ve already planned and committed to.
2. Watch out for that inner conversation that will tell you your comfort and that your feelings are more important than what you have to get done.
3. Consult your Accountability Partner daily – The Creator. Focus on meeting His standards while gaining a fresh perspective on your life and how to attack what needs to be done.
4. Always plan your days and time block in order to successfully complete tasks without guessing and feelings getting involved.
5. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable. Don’t live your life on impulse with the lie you have everything under control. Discipline is true control, and that’s what leads to true freedom.
6. Maintain your focus and attention on your ultimate agenda, your ultimate plan. Let this be your motivation, envision it.
7. Respect your time as your most valuable resource. Don’t let death, tragedy, or sickness be your wake-up call to live fully. Take hold of life today.
“Thinking too much leads to paralysis by analysis. It’s important to think things through, but many use thinking as a means of avoiding action.”
Robert Herjavec
The best healthcare is self-care. Take back your power.
Until Next Time With Love,
