How to Conquer Procrastination Forever

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8 years ago

When Procrastination Strikes

Does this scene sound familiar?: Suddenly you have a brilliant idea and you have sort of analyzed all the sides to it and even have designed a quick plan in your mind on how to put it into practice. (Procrastination will come a bit later)

Day 1: With all the excitement possible, you begin writing, planning, sketching and forecasting incredible sales.

By Day 4 you have lost all interest and you find yourself just siting there thinking about this idea and how it might work. You postpone all action for another day.

Then, You begin to doubt yourself and making excuses for not doing what you are supposed to be doing to make this great idea work. This is where procrastination strikes.

On Day 5 you begin to think that you are crazy or that you are not good enough for any business at all. And depression starts to conquer your world.

Stop!!

There is nothing wrong with you, procrastination happens to all of us at a certain point during difficult tasks. This happens even to very successful people.

What does Procrastination Mean?

So, in order to understand and fight procrastination, we must know what does it mean right?

Procrastination is simply knowing the right thing to do, but never being able to do it.

For example.

For someone that drinks a lot of alcohol, procrastination might be trying to become sober, but never being able to.

For an accountant, it might be, not being able to maintain their account.

For a blogger, it might be the failure to do the background task and keeping their weekly blog updated.

Consider someone who’s trying to stop an addictive behavior, but has never been able to do it with time.

If he’s to do it efficiently and change the behavior, he will need more than just time.

If you are struggling to stop procrastinating, it’s not because you need to use your time efficiently. It’s also not that there’s something wrong with you, or you don’t have enough willpower; it’s just that you’re not mentally prepared enough for the task you’ve created for yourself.

The Solution

The solution to fight procrastination is to strengthen your mind.

Here are 4 simple steps on how to conquer procrastination forever:

1. Recognize your pain and pleasure

Here’s the deal.

You see, the secret of ending procrastination is to recognize your pain and pleasure in whatever you’re trying to get done.

Most people are overwhelmed because of the pain during the process of working on an individual task and will often end up ignoring the task because they lack the long-term vision that excites them and carries them through the tough times.

They concentrate too much on the pain and forget the pleasure.

To reach your goals quickly, start by setting a task and then highlight the reward that follows the task.

For example,

The reward of keeping your weekly blog up to date will be quickly building an engaging audience that is always ready to listen to you and buy from you.

Maybe your goal is to change a habit or work hard on your project; always set a reward that will motivate you through to completing the project and keep you engaged while working on that particular task.

Think, what will I achieve if I get this done right now? Go for it, remember the time is now.

2. Stay True To Your Decision

“It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” – Tony Robbins

The best way to train your mind for success and to get things done is to make a decision and stay with it through to the end.

Think about it. How many decisions have you made and stayed true to?

Chances are, you have made a decision to achieve a certain milestone, but soon enough you lose your vigor and your attention drifts in and out of the inane dialogue in your head.

But the ugly truth is……

Successful people do have something valuable that quickly paves the road to their success, and that’s staying true to their decision.

Perhaps it’s time to activate this drive in your life. Start by making a single decision that could enhance your life every day and stay true to it.

Little by little you will be learning to thrive without forcing yourself.

Okay! You’ve got it! Now, let’s talk about creating awareness.

3. Create Awareness

“I must work the works of him that sent me while it is the day: the night cometh when no man can work.” – Jesus Christ

Start by finding some quiet time and reflect on the reasons why you procrastinate, what are the habits and thought processes that lead you to procrastinate? Write them down, then list only what you can commit to and complete.

Once you write it down, always follow through no matter what; by doing that you will be rebuilding the trust in yourself and you will start getting things done with results that will make you feel proud again.

4. Believe In Yourself

Be confident in yourself and believe you’re doing the right thing and keep moving forward even if you’re not seeing any meaningful reward right now.

Think of the bamboo tree, it grows under the soil for a long time, you can’t see any results happening in nearly a year.

But the plant’s definitely not dead or even dormant. A whole lot has happened under the surface. It’s building its root structure far below the ground. Then, one day, all the underground work is done.

Suddenly the shoot pops up, a full-width stalk, and the tree starts growing at an insane rate of several inches to as much as a foot a day.

This should be similar to the kind of growth you will experience; you might have months or even years, where it feels like nothing is happening.

Then suddenly, you’ll take off, as if it’s an explosion!

So you can’t let yourself get stuck, you must believe you can power through it.

Success breeds success.

Once you start experiencing the small wins every day you’ll be hooked, you’ll want more.

To end procrastination, recognize your pain and pleasure, stay true to your decisions, be aware of things that slow you down, and believe in yourself.

Then you’ll be making progress every day and finally living your dream.

So get started today. Your future is waiting for you.