What's Holding You Back? 3 Steps To End Procrastination

Have you experienced how little time it takes to do something, compared to how much time it takes when you think about it beforehand?

For example, if you just start a load of laundry, it takes seconds, but if you think about how much you have, how many loads there are, do you have detergent, how much is left, etc? Putting the first load in takes….a loooonnnngggg time.

The same can be applied to tasks we put off in our business.

What are those things? Is it …

  • Providing web content to your web designer

  • Creating an editorial calendar for your blog

  • Writing social media posts

  • Scheduling social media posts

  • Writing blog posts

  • Setting up your newsletters

  • Recording a podcast episode

  • Outsourcing to a virtual assistant

This list could be so much longer, but I’ll stop there and let you fill in the rest.

In order for this year to be different, procrastination must go. Right along with it’s partner, perfection. To get over this need for things to be just right and putting off we must do three things.

I’m not sharing this for you, it’s for both of us, to actually do and not just read. If you’re an avid information hoarder, stop right now, I don’t want to contribute to your habit.

Yes stop reading.

Okay, now that it’s just us 2015 doers,

Why do we procrastinate on the things we say we love, like our business?

– It’s scary

– We don’t want to fail

– We don’t want to be get rejected

Ummmm, interesting? We’re procrastinating to avoid these feelings.

If our business doesn’t get off the ground what happens? Go back to corporate and get a cubical job or some other job that we don’t love?

The result of our procrastinating-

– Back to a job we don’t like… or one we….hate

– Boredom

– Not being recognized for our brilliance

– Feeling underutilized

Being rejected as a result of not being recognized of our brilliance because we are bored and don’t like our jobs. Therefore we’re underutilized because the job doesn’t know what all we’re capable of and you really can’t blame them because you haven’t shown them any of your brilliance.

See how this could go round and round?

Whether we’re working our business or retreat back to corporate, we could still experience the very things we’re afraid of, those things that hold us back from doing what we know we should do in our business.

Procrastination gets you no where.

If you’re waiting for the right time, it doesn’t exist. There’s always something going on…ALWAYS!

To get over procrastination:

  1. Consider what would happen if you don’t do it. Maybe no one will know, however your business will and it will not grow.

  2. Give yourself a deadline. Whether it’s a set date, time or weekly deadline, set one.

  3. Tell someone your deadline. Once someone else knows your deadline, you’ll remember that you told “everyone”. The accountability will spring you into action whether someone ask you about it or not. It’s the fact that you promised and you definitely want to stick to your word, don’t you?

If you collect email addresses from your website, write an email to your list. Share your plans and tell when you plan to do it, release it, launch it, post it, etc. Or post it on your Facebook business page as a way of publicly proclaiming what you’re up to and when you plan to get it done.

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you.

If you don’t have your email list and haven’t setup your Facebook business page yet, post in the comments below and let me know there. I’m excited to cheer you on!!

And if there’s something on your list of task for your business that needs to get done and you realize you can’t do it all, please contact me.

Cheers to getting over procrastination!!

Make it a FABULOUS one!
šŸ™‚ Tiffany

P.S – I used this very tactic a couple of weeks ago when I laid out how the blog would be for 2015 and gave you a start date šŸ˜‰ The strategy works!!

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net, customized by moi!