Getting over procrastination takes action. Of course that’s easier said than done!
Today I’m going to share a simple three-step process with you that will help you get off your butt and get more done than you ever thought possible!
Step 1
It all starts with a goal. You have to know what it is you want to accomplish. If you don’t know what your goal is, it’s hard to know what you should be doing first or what you should be doing right now to move in the right direction. So what do we do instead? Anything other than the work we know needs to get done.
Putting your goal down in words is the best place to start. A good goal has defined parameters and a set deadline. That doesn’t have to be complicated.
Here’s a simple goal we all strive to accomplish. We have to file our taxes by a certain date. You have a pretty good idea of what paperwork you need, what forms you need to fill out and where you need to turn them in. You also know what your deadline is. In other words, you have a well-defined goal when it comes to filing your income taxes. And yes, I realize most of us still procrastinate when it comes to this particular task. That’s why the remaining steps are just as important as the first one.
For now, I want you to think about one thing you need to get done and turn it into a goal.
Write it down. Use your favourite notebook or type a note to yourself on your phone. The important part is that you put your goal into writing. This does two things.
- It helps you clarify what your goal is. You have to get pretty specific when you try to put what you want or need to do into words.
- Writing it down gives you something to look back on. It serves as a reminder and as a tool that you can use when you are tempted to procrastinate.
There are thousands of possibilities of what your goals are. Here are just a few examples:
- Decorate your bedroom
- Be able to run 5K
- Lose 20 pounds
- Kick the 9-5 and work from home
- Get married
- Get a job you enjoy
Step 2
Some goals are small, some are big but whatever size they are they are best achieved by breaking the goal down into bite-sized doable targets.
Getting married is a MAJOR goal and you can see why you would need to break this down: book the venue, find a caterer, book caterer, order wedding cake, get the dress…… oh and so much more!
Take the goal you wrote down in step 3 and write down the various tasks needed to achieve that goal. This could be a long job depending on the size of your goal and it doesn’t have to be perfect but get the major points written down.
Perhaps you don’t know exactly what to do to achieve the goal – well that could involve a target to find out more about something so you can write down what is needed. It’s still a valid action that needs to be taken to move towards achieving your goal.
You can always go back and tweak your list, add some things, expand on some things if they need to be broken down into even more bite-sized pieces.
Step 3
Now it’s time to get started.
That’s often the hardest part, isn’t it? You’re tempted to skip your workout until you lace up your shoes and get started. Once you’re off and running, it’s much easier to keep going.
Once you have your goal written down and you’ve written down the steps you need to achieve it, take something from the list that you can do right now to move you in the right direction. Go do that.