Why Do I Procrastinate Anyway?

Have you ever asked yourself this question? The four following clues may surprise you!

Missing Milestones
It's easy to give up and procrastinate if you start randomly trying to list what you've been putting off until “next time.” Much of this comes from not knowing where you are in the first place, or being able to look back and see progress. You could create or get a lot of fancy tracking tools, but my most favorite tool is handwritten and homemade: a categorized journal. Using tabs from the office store, divide a notebook into categories and you've instantly created a catalog of your progress. Make a new one every quarter or every few months. Suggested categories for personal development might be Spiritual, Career, Fitness, Community, Family, etc. Business categories might be Finances,  Projects, Ideas, Marketing, Social Media, etc.

Mistaken Methods
You may be spinning your wheels and talking about what you “should” do without realizing that you simply need to try doing  it differently as opposed to “trying harder.” Do you really have to clean the counters before mopping the floor, or is it taboo to clean a room a day instead of cleaning the whole house on the same day each week? Should you REALLY attend every networking event possible, or could you try being fully present and active at ONE? Does it make sense to use up all your energy to present every single product and service you offer at every presentation you make? Who can you barter services/products with, and will you spend gas money to go do something yourself, or might you hire someone to get it done for you?

Mediocre Mindset
You may be struggling with expecting too much to be done at once and therefore getting overwhelmed at everything which needs to be done. It's easy to mistake a need to prioritize for procrastination tendencies. If you find yourself thinking, “I have a thousand things to do,” you may need to play what I call “focus tic-tac-toe.” Choose what will have the biggest impact financially, health-wise, and in the long term, and fill it into a handwritten tic-tac-toe grid. Then try to get three in a row! For BIG results, what you may need is a coach or buddy to help you let go of the non-essentials and really crush it!

More Motivation
 So, you have great systems, a way a of tracking your progress, and you know of something which you are still not moving on that truly is a priority for you. What gives? You may simply need a little accountability to help you give you a little kickstart. For example, I am so focused on some growth in my business lately that I haven't been choosing to take my exercise program up a notch. It's high priority for me, so rather than staying stuck there, I called someone close who uses the same program, and asked her to be  accountable with me by text. We check in with each other to see if we have worked out that day yet!