23 October 2020|Latest Posts, Psychology
By Selina Johnson. There is nothing worse than unfinished projects, our to-do-lists stacking up, feeling stuck and putting off that unpleasant task at work. But when we procrastinate on a regular basis and its forms a habit, this raises a larger problem. Millions of us struggle to get things done, research by Dr. Joseph Ferrari shows that 20 percent of U.S. men and women are chronic procrastinators.
The definition of procrastination is the action of delaying or postponing something. How do successful people stay focused and achieve results? High achievers are able to fight procrastination because they do the things they fear. They have learnt to leverage long-term vision to endure short-term sacrifice. As Martin Luther King, Jr stated ‘you don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step’.
Are you a procrastinator or doer? Let’s go through the signs of procrastination and how to defeat them.
1. Distractions
If you have set yourself unrealistic goals, you are setting yourself up to fail in the dangerous realm of dragging your feet. The best way to organise your working day is to focus on three main tasks per day, these tasks are going to help move the business forward. Anything else should be delegated or automated. Leaving yourself free to really focus on high leverage tasks. You can also minimise interruptions such as email notifications, social media alerts so that you are not distracted when you are working in genius mode.
2. Lack of self-discipline
It can be a battle at times to do the things we know we should be doing even when we don’t feel like doing them. The strategy here is instead of asking yourself is this possible, can I do it, should I do it. Shift your thinking to say how can I do this, how can achieve this, how would it be possible, what will it take? This is the moment where you transcend all the limitations.
Andy Andrews definition of self-discipline is that self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do something you don’t necessarily want to do, to get a result you would really like to have.
3. Lack of vision
As a Business Support Expert, I often hear people say they lack self-discipline. It may be struggling with weight, sales, finances or keeping on top of day-to-day activities. Often this drills down to a lack of vision rather than lack of self-discipline. If you do not have a clear enough picture of what you want in life, there is no reason to make the sacrifices.
The action here is to spend time clearing and clarifying your vision. Review the questions below and take 10 minutes to reflect and write your answers in as much detail as possible.
Ask yourself: What do you want your life to look like in this quarter, in 1 years’ time and in 5 years’ time?
When you get to the point when you feel like you don’t want to do what you should be doing, think about your vision and this will help you endure the short-term sacrifice. Constantly remind yourself of your why is a key motivator. If you clarify the vision you will activate the discipline.
4. You don’t have any rituals
Rituals help us become fully engaged and highly productive throughout your day. It helps maintain a calm and collective manner to reach your goals and achieve peak performance.
Each morning read your goals and affirmations. Write down all of your weaknesses you have at present and turn them into strengths and keep reading them every morning. It may not sound possible but if you take these steps it will become possible. These are great innovators and a great way of signaling to your brain that everything is as it should be. Rituals relieves anxiety, helping us to be more confident in ourselves and increase productivity, creativity, and happiness.
5. You’re a perfectionist
Are you not making progress because of perfectionism? If you are stuck and not moving forwards on something you do want to finish but just can’t figure out why you can’t complete it. Its very likely that perfectionist is the culprit. It’s better to finish something rather than not to finish it at all.
To escape perfectionist habits, set yourself a reasonable deadline – use this time to focus and centre yourself around completing this task. Having focus and intention to do your best work will help you become a perfectionist about achieving your deadlines. The key here is to consciously change your perspective and narrow your focus (work on fewer projects).
If you form a habit of doing the things you know you should be doing even when they don’t feel like doing them the results will be worth it.
Tony Robbins says ‘If you can’t you must, and if you must you can’. Often, it’s our thinking that holds us back, but a positive belief set us up for success.
Action is imperative for success, it validates our words, eradicates what’s holding us back and eliminates our fears. Action equals winning.
About the author
Author Selina Johnson is a Business Support Expert providing elite Virtual Personal Assistant services to entrepreneurs and businesses with a turnover of 6-7 figures with administrative, technical and creative support. Her clients have seen increased productive hours, revenue growth and KPI’s improved. www.selinajohnson.com
