We’ve all done it at some time or other.. Maybe some more than others, but full transparency, I most definitely have been found to fall victim to procrastination.. And it still gets me
sometimes. Granted, there are more things at play, such as neurodiversity where I lose interest once I lose dopamine, but let’s be honest, sometimes, I just have fear like everyone else. Sometimes, I just don’t feel like it like everyone else. I’m not shy about putting myself on blast, and it really means nothing when someone speaks from a place that is less than authentic. So before I give you these effective methods to help you slay the procrastination monster, I’m going to first own up and say, I have to put these things in to practice often. Which is actually why I know they work!
If you’ve been to one of my workshops, or heard one of my trainings, you will know I put off starting my business for a loooong time! I found some pretty big reasons.. (ahem…excuses) to support the delayed start. But once I got started, my whole life changed, however, procrastination still finds me and has the potential to hold me captive if I allow it because when you run your own business, a lot of the time you are doing big things for the first time without a road map and that can be scary sometimes!
So, in order to stop procrastination and fear from fully take hold of me, I had to find some coping strategies and being a certified Feel the fear and do it anyway, licensed coach and trainer, well let’s just say, I’ve learned a lot along the way! Rather than being stopped in your tracks, these methods are simple strategies and mindset hacks can make an immediate difference to your life. So let’s get into it!
1. Be like Nike and Just Do It!
Yes, it kind of feels like your mom just telling you to wash the dishes now and not after your favourite show ? or was that just me! Thing is, if you do like Brian Tracy says and eat that frog immediately, or you 5,4,3,2,1 like Mel Robbins, then trust me, you will get it done.
I will say, as much as I enjoyed reading the book and found immense value in it, the 5 Second rule by Mel Robbins was definitely my jam. I still implore that now. But if you find it a tad bit cheesy or don’t want to do the whole county thing, the simple but effective and totally FREE ‘Be Like Nike’ method is going to kick start your action. Here goes:
Hold your breath and dive into it!
Yep, that’s the whole method. You might have been expecting some convoluted strategy, but do you really need that? You know the added complexity is going to just create more resistance!
At the end of the day. Putting things off until the last minute is a habit, and a bad habit at that. Like all habits, it is ingrained in our subconscious mind and can be really hard to break. But if you make up in your mind that you don’t need to feel like doing something to do it, and take a mind over matter (or mind over body) approach, you will realise how much more you can get done, and how quickly you can actually start to feel better about yourself.
Try it, tell me how you get on! It might feel weird at first, to complete a task immediately, it may feel forced, but when it’s done, it will just feel great!
So, here’s mindset hack number deux!
2. Small steps = Success
Sometimes we procrastinate because the task can feel so big, it intimidates us. This is the type of task that makes me procrastinate. I found all sorts of methods to help me break 
things down to the smallest possible action. When something is so big in our minds and we can’t find a possible place to start, we just don’t start. So, what do you do… well, you just take one small step at a time, and that’s totally ok. Say you are preparing a business plan and for the 5th time this week, you’ve turned on your laptop and looked at the blank screen. You may have been able to master putting your name or the date on the sheet and not much more. Then, you suddenly remember you need to do more research before you do your business plan. Or, you get distracted by the business name and start brainstorming new names or googling ideas. Yes, fear, nerves, it does that. It causes us to find distractions instead of taking action on things that will progress us. In your mind you picture a business plan to be a huge in depth document that has all of the answers and right now, you feel unprepared with very little answers so you simply cannot start. Or maybe it’s the other way and your head is filled with so many answers you don’t even know where to begin! Look at the task at hand and break it down to the smallest possible milestone. If it is a business plan, take it one section at a time. Then break the section down into just writing the first paragraph and seeing where you an go from there. All you need to do is start small. Break down the project or task into smaller pieces and tackle each part separately making each task an individual project in itself, and after completion of each one take a second to pat yourself on the back. Have a celebratory dance or something that acknowledges your achievement.
I’m a sucker for a good old fashion air punch. What’s an air punch did you say? … an act of thrusting one’s clenched fist up into the air as a gesture of triumph.
Ok, so let’s get to number three.
3. Return to sender
So listen, often when we’re dragging or feet about doing something for an extended amount of time, it is because we really don’t want to do it, and there probably isn’t anything in it for you. Wait, that doesn’t make sense, you might be thinking. Here me out. Think about what it is that you’ve been putting off for the longest time. Let’s get your self-coaching hat on a second as you ask yourself a series of questions JJ Style…
- What is the reason you need to complete this task?
- Was it a self-appointed task to benefit you?
- Or a self-appointed task to benefit someone else that you agreed to do because you want to be liked, or want to seem nice (basically, were you people pleasing)?
- Does someone want you to do this even though you made it clear you didn’t want to?
- Is the end result going to benefit you?
- Is it on your agenda or someone else’s?
Think about it. Even if you’re procrastinating on going to the gym… what is underneath that, are you going to the gym because you feel uncomfortable due to self-comparison? You want to ‘fit in’, you want to find a partner or please a partner? What is your motivation?
A lot of the time, if you find yourself procrastinating for extended periods of time, you need to think about the true motivation behind the task and decide if you ACTUALLY want to do this thing for you. If you really don’t want to do it and it doesn’t serve you, drop it. Be honest with yourself and step into your courage and return to sender. Stop feeling bad about something you don’t want to do and then feeling worse about yourself because you’re delaying it. Return the task, you might feel crappy for a moment, but you will feel heaps better when it’s off your plate. And if it is for you, if you are the sole or main beneficiary, then dig deep and connect with the deep layer of motivation then proceed with hack one or two. You will feel better once you have done it, but if it truly isn’t important enough for you to apply yourself, then cross it off your list and move on!
The final method I want to share with you today is often challenging. But when we’re able to drop our ego, it can really be transformative. I know, I know, you don’t have an ego, you’re humble… well, keep reading.
4. Please and thanks
Hand on heart, are you putting off the task because it’s too big for you to manage on your own and you don’t like asking for help so you’re creating the delay? Remember, I said, hand on heart! Yep, I knew it, you hate asking for help. Me too. But listen to this mindset reset i’m about to drop on you.
First of all. You are so not alone, so many of us hate asking for help. In fact, as a Black woman I can even be as bold as to say, it’s our achilles heel. We get so caught up with being the ‘strong woman’, that when we need help we’re so not used to asking for it that we seal our own fate and sabotage ourselves. Let me give you another way to understand what it means to ask for help. When I got to understand this, it transformed my life, and it might just do the same for you. Here goes:
➡️ Asking for help is also a way to understand your blessings and exercise gratitude. You have people around you who can and want to help! All you have to do is find those people, and ask. And then to recognize that this is an important, wonderful part of your life… And that in turn, you too can help someone else.
➡️ Asking for help is a way to show others that it’s OK to ask for help. Lead by example. Asking for help is a way to gain and practice empathy. Knowing what vulnerability feels like, what needing someone else looks like, and what it feels like to be helped will give you the opportunity to better understand people who also need help.
➡️ Asking for help is NOT just about you, other people can benefit when you ask for help. When you ask for help you give others around you permission and knowledge that it’s ok to ask for help.
➡️ Asking for help is not a weakness, it takes courage and strength, and it makes everyone stronger. By stepping into your courage and asking for help, you can show yourself that you have the strength to be vulnerable, and the strength to overcome a challenge by interdependently working someone else to achieve your goal. 
There are many resources out there that can provide you with all you need to carry out your job. If you’re a solopreneur and you put off answering emails, then don’t answer them yourself. Hire a VA for a couple of hours a week. My first social media support was my 16 year old cousin. I gave her a job and paid her well over minimum wage to do a few hours of posting on social media for me back in the day when I was still getting to grips with what instagram was LOL.
At The End of the day, you don’t have to do everything on your own.
That is also a habit you need to kick to the curb.
There’s an African Proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together”.
In order to ‘go together’ you need to be able to ask for help and recognise the power that you have and your ability to empower others, just by asking them for help.
So, now you know my secret weapons when it comes to procrastinating on procrastination, you have the key to the answers you need. You have the power to transform your life.
You have two options
- You can procrastinate on yourself, or,
- You can procrastinate on procrastination.
What are you going to decide?
…It’s not rhetorical and just so you know, there is a right and wrong answer…
My message today is to choose YOU. You deserve to have the life of your dreams and procrastination will steal it away from you if you allow it.
What is one task you have been procrastinating on for the longest time but you know it will propel you forward? … Make a start on that task today and let me know when you’ve done it and how it feels knowing it is done.
If you found this valuable, I’m excited to say, there is so much more value to gain by joining my exclusive community, The Purpose-Driven Coach Collective where you not only get to be part of a community of supportive and likeminded coaches in the same position as you, but also you can take advantage of The Academy, the learning platform where you get to be mentored by me to help you grow your coaching business and support you, and you can watch all of the past mentoring sessions in your own private platform – off social media. And, you don’t have to pay a dime so there is zero risk!
Join us, and transform your life by building a coaching business of your dreams and unlock purpose, passion and profit with a purpose-driven life.