Chronic Procrastination & The Road To Freedom

There are two kinds of procrastination.

Task-based: You need to reply back to this person's email or Voicemail and you just keep putting it off. The specific task has defined parameters and an end format.

General Procrastination: You need to post more on social media for your business but just aren't yet. The task is large, undefined, and doesn't have defined parameters for success or an end format.

Both formats result in you not getting stuff done that you want to do....

I was a thriving procrastinator in college. That translated well into being a procrastinator in my business. I almost always let the pressure of a specific deadline be the force that produced my action.

But then stuff piles up. pressures are greater and instead of getting a bad grade. Money is left on the table, or a customer who deserves my best service was left with an inadequate experience.

As the business grew, my approach toward productivity, task management, and procrastination became the #1 restriction for business growth. I honestly never enjoyed the cycle of procrastination being the driving force for my growth, but it was the only way I knew how to get stuff done...

So over a multi-year process, I targeted this quality of mine that was causing a lot of pain and anxiety.

Here are seven key things that helped me slowly grow out of being a chronic procrastinator.

#1 I stopped treating it like it was a part of my identity.

Procrastinator was who I was... and what I did. I had to constantly remind myself that I wasn't a procrastinator but that I built a habit of procrastination. It's a lot easier to change a habit than it is to change your entire identity...

#2 I had to realize that procrastination no longer served a purpose.

Procrastination was actively causing pain and loss in other areas of my life. Staying up late to get that thing done. That I could have, and should have done last week. Cost me sleep, cost me time and presence with my family the next morning and more.

#3 I started doing less...

This was one of the most important ones. I just was trying to do too much. I realized time, energy and creative output don't always line up. If I have 5 hours in my day and I plan 5 plus hours of work to get done. But I only have 3 hours of emotional energy or creative output before I run out of juice. I certainly won't be productive and I'll let the rest of the time slide.

#4 I listened to the procrastination.

If it was a specific task i was ignoring, I dug into the Why - Was I scared? did I feel vulnerable? Was I just out of energy? Something else? If there was no good reason. then regardless of feeling. I just needed to get it done. This was growing in the muscle of discipline. Do what I want to do when i say I'm going to do it by.

But if it was General procrastination. I learned that it might be a reflection that it just wasn't that important... If it was, I'd probably be doing something about it. Social Media probably isn't the most important thing for the business. If it was. I'd probably be doing it.....

#5 I defined the outcomes I actually wanted to see.

General Do's, Are never helpful... If social media is something I should be doing. WHAT I should be doing needs to be specific, with defined parameters and a measurable end process. I need to know when the task ends... otherwise, why would I start a never-ending task? I'm exhausted just thinking about that.

#6 Imperfect Action

A couple of weeks ago I was procrastinating on a time slot on my calendar that said "networking" This 30-minute block is my designated time to find someone I want to connect with that could help grow my business. I sat at my computer for 20 minutes. Finally pulled up the person I wanted to message, sorta worked it out, and then didn't send anything. Why? I was stuck in my head. What if this person doesn't respond? What if they don't want to work together? How can I make this message better so it guarantees a good response? This was holding me back from feeling good about my action... but I don't control this person's response. Only my ability to send the message. So on Monday I wrote the message, told myself that imperfect and done - is better than perfect and never... By the way, they replied almost immediately and the collab is on...

#7 I started making goals for my average self instead of my best self.

I had a nasty habit of creating my goal list and to-do list for the best version of me... there are certainly those days I have peak energy, focus, and flow. I get a ton of stuff done. But setting goals for that person.... overestimating the state you'll be able to show up in... really quick way to shoot yourself in the foot and not have the capacity to reach your set outcome... Average and even below average me still gets a lot of stuff done... by not trying to push my limits to that max, every week or month. That freed me up to more consistently accomplish the goals I did set.

Do more by doing less...

If I could teach anything to someone struggling to accomplish their list of to-do's... Do more by doing less... I can't tell you how many times where the weight of what I needed to accomplish was so heavy that it totally shut me down and I got nothing done. I wish I learned much sooner, that things that matter, the goals that move your business forward aren't the ones on the to-do list. but are the ones I cross off that list. If that means my list needs to be smaller so I actually get my stuff done. That's great!

Growing out of procrastination is often paired with better working and productivity habits. The Practice by Seth Godin and The Productivity Project By Chris Bailey are my two favorite books that helped replace bad habits with good ones!

Reduce the friction, don't fight yourself, and use that even playing field to grow in capacity rather than forced productivity. If there is a lot on my plate that I'm putting off and not getting done. It's usually a sign that I'm doing too much. In business, hustle culture is one of the primary tools a lot of people teach to accomplish goals. There is a time and place to hustle but if you're like me, you'll find more success through simple small daily execution that adds up over time. Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast!