Finally free from Procrastination

Prepare, plan, repeat

How's the preparation going?  How's that passion project coming along?  You know, the one you have been mulling over these last few years.  Ever hear yourself saying....‘One day, when the time's right, I’m going to actually do this’.  

 Got a spreadsheet all set up with projected income and costs?  Done another course on that thing you love? Got another certificate, another qualification?  How’s that working out for you in terms of actually making that real in the world?  

 Not great, I bet.

 Don’t get me wrong - planning, preparation, training are all brilliant.  I am a huge fan of investing some time for personal development, but I realised it's also a way that I tricked myself into thinking I was actually making progress into living the life I wanted without actually committing to anything. Tricking myself without actually taking any action to bring my dream into reality.   

All my planning, those nights brainstorming concepts and ideas, creating vision boards.  So many spreadsheets.  Brainstorming with friends over countless drinks on how, one day, I was going to break away from those corporate chains and actually do this thing (say with loud Power Ranger voice!) - To be my own boss. All of this was my way of feeling productive, feeling like I was making my dream real but actually all I was doing was a massive exercise in procrastination and keeping myself small!  

Really, I was delaying taking any actual action and truly putting myself 'out there'.  Procrastinating instead of standing up and saying, 'This is what I do!'  

Just so you know, we all procrastinate rather than taking that first step. It's totally normal human behaviour. Especially when you are looking at making a massive change like leaving a safe, corporate position with perks, status and salary for the big unknown! I was a massive procrastinator, for sure. 

It's easier to prepare and plan on repeat than take one step and actually do. 

Why's that?  Well, if you actually do something - then you might fail and fail really publicly - and boy does that feel bad.  By procrastinating you're staying in a life you don’t really want, you're choosing to hide your talent, your creativity, your brilliant business idea behind a paywall of preparation (and it gets expensive funding all those courses, certifications and brainstorm drinks believe me!).  You’re not going after that one thing you really want because of fear of what may or may not be real or maybe procrastination is your go-to way of helping you feel safe. 

So, what’s the mindset shift to kick back on procrastination so you can finally start living the life or doing the things you really want? 

Here's the truth: No one else around you actually cares. No one else gives a damn what you do or don't do - apart from maybe your Mum (and she probably doesn't understand it anyways). The whole world is all totally wrapped up in their own lives, their own planning, their own preparation and their own spreadsheets. They're buried waist deep in their own procrastination and busy hiding from their own dreams. 

Imagine now that you have the courage to actually get out there and do that thing - wow!  

You’ve got one life, one opportunity to make this thing you have always dreamed of real.  Seize today, it's time to stop procrastinating and take a step into the arena! Check out this amazing quote on the Man who Dares to Step into the Arena from Theodore Roosevelt.

A clear cut-through way of dealing with procrastination is to just STOP! Oh what! That's clearly the worst bit of advice ever given in the history of mankind. I guarantee you, there is no miracle cure, no tablets to take, no deep psychological profile of your childhood besties needed. JUST STOP IT. It's as simple as that.

Stop thinking about it and actually DO something. One thing. Simply take one step forward. You don't have to figure out the entire story - God knows you have enough plans sketched out if you need them! You only have to know you're first step! You can figure out you're first step, can't you? If you want to be a photographer then maybe it's go and publish your photos on IG. If you want to be a yoga teacher then it's book a friends living room and start a teaching a yoga group to a couple of people. It's honestly as simple as that. Start with something that feels a bit stretch but is not going to send you screaming and sobbing from the window ledges, clasping your precious childhood comfort-blanket to your chest wailing 'I'm SO scared, What if they HATE me, what if NO ONE shows up! (fill in with you're own deep seated insecurities)...

When you're ballsy enough to take that first step then you're already ahead of the game. Then just take another and another and another. Before you know it - you'll be running your own thing and Master of the Universe laughing in the face of The Omnipotent Procrastinator and his minions of planners!

What's one thing you could do today that lines up with your dream, that takes you one step closer towards it?  Decide and commit to taking that one first step NOW.  And let me know - I'm a big fan of cheering you from the side - we all need some side support - especially for those first steps and so please drop me a message to let me know what you're first step is going to be and how loud you'd like me to cheer.

?? I was a prime procrastinator and spent years in certifications, trainings, preparing, planning and spread-sheeting out the design of the kind of life that I thought I wanted. I spent literally years hiding behind my own plans, afraid to take the leap. It was only when I actually took a first step and started claiming my position as Boss of my own Business and my role as a Professional Coach that things changed. I had to BE it first.

I set up my successful business, filled my days working with clients I love AND doing work that inspires me. The best of it (for me) is that I get involved in all kinds of cool things - like client launches as they kick off their own businesses or joining up with fellow entrepreneurs working to support Emerging leaders of the future or merging and acquiring hi-tech businesses to create new opportunities for total world domination (that last one hasn't happened yet, but give it a month or two!)

I also busted all those preconceived ideas about what being an entrepreneur was all about - you do get to earn more than you're corporate job (At last count I was consistently 30% up on my big corporate six figure salary!) I haven't lost a nights sleep to worry about where the rent was going to come from, I get my evenings and weekends to my self (most of the time) and have had a couple of holidays to lovely places.

And, I've learned that the key skill is to stop procrastinating and do it! Whether that be pick up the phone to cold call a prospect or sending out that email when it only feels 80% there or pushing out articles on LinkedIN when I really am not sure how it works! It's 90% about doing it and doing it consistently.

If this article sounds like you and you're thinking 'Hell, Yeah!' and you want some support to finally DO this thing you've been planning for so long then click below. I'm giving away free coaching to support more of us to beat that darned Procrastinator and take that first step towards having the life, or career, you've always dreamed of.

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Click on the link to book a free session with me.   I’ll spill the beans on how I got out of my own way and help you get really clear on what that first step is for you to get what you truly want by finally getting out of your own way! I'm excited to hear from you.