Harnessing the Power of Productivity: Overcoming Procrastination

2024-02-16 ~ adminlife

In the pursuit of professional and personal excellence, time management stands as a critical component of success. Procrastination, the stealthy thief of time, often undermines our best intentions and efforts. It erodes the very fabric of productivity and leaves a trail of missed opportunities and unmet goals. Yet, by implementing strategic measures, one can reclaim the lost territory from the clutches of this pervasive adversary.

Before you can start to plan your success goals, there are many things that you need to understand before you can be sure that the goals you set are really the ones you want.

One of those things is to determine if there are any Limiting Beliefs that can stop you from actually achieving those goals.

I have a self-study Limiting Belief Program that you can go through to determine what your Limiting Beliefs are and how you can remove them.

You can read more and register for the program at Limiting Beliefs Program on my Confidence and Life Coaching website.

Start your journey on your path to success by identifying and removing your Limiting Beliefs so that you make the journey a lot easier.

Strategies to Confront and Conquer Procrastination

The following methods have been curated to assist individuals in their quest to defeat procrastination and enhance their effectiveness in all endeavors.

Immediate Action: The Antidote to Delay

Embrace the Philosophy of Promptness
- The moment an idea or task arises, spring into action. This immediate response circumvents the brain’s tendency to build resistance. Like a sprinter bursting from the blocks, you have a narrow window to launch forward before hesitation sets in.

Structured Time Blocks: The Framework for Focus

Employ the Power of Finite Scheduling
- Allocate specific durations to tasks, creating a sense of urgency and a deadline-driven environment. This approach can transform an overwhelming project into manageable segments.
- Utilize a timer to heighten concentration and spur a race against time, often leading to increased productivity and a surprising willingness to extend beyond the initial time frame.

Incremental Progress: The Journey of a Thousand Miles

Adopt the Principle of Small Beginnings
- Overcome the inertia of inaction by committing to a minimal, non-intimidating portion of the task at hand. Whether it is a sentence or a paragraph, the act of starting can unleash a wave of continued effort.

Prioritizing Major Tasks: The First Strike

Confront the Giants Early
- Tackle the most substantial and challenging tasks at the day’s inception. By doing so, you create a cascade of relief and motivation that carries you through the remainder of the day’s lighter duties.

Strategic Distraction Management: The Art of Delayed Gratification

Transform Distractions into Incentives
- Identify the current sources of diversion and postpone them as a form of reward. This tactic not only preserves focus but also enhances the enjoyment of leisure activities, as they become well-deserved respites following productive work sessions.

Reflections on Procrastination’s Impact

Consider the extent to which procrastination permeates your life. How does it distort your potential and dilute your accomplishments? Envision the heights you could reach if procrastination’s grip were loosened.

Personalizing Your Procrastination Strategy

Experimentation Leads to Customization
- Not all strategies resonate with everyone. It is crucial to experiment with various techniques and observe which ones align with your personal rhythm and preferences. The key lies in discovering the unique combination that catalyzes your productivity.

In conclusion, the battle against procrastination is not won through a singular approach but through a tailored, multifaceted strategy that evolves with your needs and circumstances. By integrating these methods into your routine, you can forge a path toward heightened efficiency and a more fulfilling, accomplished life.

To talk about any aspect of success or working with a Life Coach to help you to achieve success, you can book a 45-minute call by clicking on the blue button below.Don’t try to do all of this by yourself, ask and receive the guidance that can get you moving towards your own success.

Nothing happens until action is taken.

To your success.

Michael

P.S if you want to find out more about my programs just check out the site Confidence and Life Coaching

P.P.S. I am offering a free, no obligation Wheel of Life consulting and exercise session for three people each day. You can book the session at https://calendly.com/michael-coach/focused-program-45-minute

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Triggers to Your Procrastination

2022-09-21 ~ adminlife

According to Teddy Roosevelt, unless what you are doing involves effort, pain and difficulty, it isn’t worth doing. Do you think that way? You may respond that all of that is just “hogwash” if you have ever experienced the following.

The agony experienced by trying to compress a whole semester of studying into one night
The suffering you face when you scramble at the last minute to meet any work deadlines
The agony of having a large pile of dirty clothes because you continually put off doing your laundry.

We can assign these activities to procrastinators who may say this. Procrastination isn’t worthwhile yet it does involve the aspects of pain, difficulty and effort.

If you would like to listen to these types of articles, you can visit my podcasts at

These are short, usually under 5 minutes but they can enable you to listen to confidence and motivation advice and tips while driving or relaxing.

If procrastination is so painful, why is it done by so many people? You may have wondered this if you know a procrastinator or admit that you are a procrastinator.

Why do people procrastinate? Psychology can help look into the minds of procrastinators.

Procrastination Psychological Factors

There are various factors that can cause procrastination. While procrastinators know their behaviour, they just can’t change.

Little structure. It is a skill to be able to organize your tasks while taking your habits and your behaviours into consideration. This is a skill that procrastinators usually lack. If you can keep order of your past, present and future, you can usually manage your time well.

A person who cannot do this cannot plan what actions they need to dedicate time to. They can’t put in the time necessary to complete an activity.
They cannot focus and delay the tasks they must complete. You become a procrastinator when you build a habit of delaying tasks.

Fear and anxiety. When you can’t see the top of the clothes mountain, the task can seem challenging. When you confess this to yourself you feel uneasy.

You can be paralyzed by the fear of the results of your work or what is necessary to achieve your task. This results in your inability to complete a task and the result is procrastination.

No motivation. Motivation has been called by some people, the driving force behind getting what needs to be done and finished. Motivation can be either internal or external. A crucial psychological factor is internal motivation.

Motivation helps you decide whether you can complete a task. We all want fulfillment and pleasure in our life. If your task benefits you this way, you will want to do it.
You will not want to do a task if the work does not provide you with any rewards. You will lack motivation if you dislike a task. You will defer working on a task when you feel this way.

Perfectionism. Trying to hold up a heavy object isn’t easy. It is even difficult to move the object because of the pressure exerted. This strain is also what perfectionism puts on you if you suffer from it.

You have a high expectation of yourself if you are a perfectionist. You may not be able to complete a task to your high standards though.
A perfectionist won’t settle for their best. You may not want to fail in meeting your own high expectations. To make sure that you don’t fail at the task, you may postpone any work on that task
You may spend time thinking on how to finish the task to be able to meet your high standard. For people who procrastinate, perfectionism is a very relevant and proven psychological factor.

These are some of the whys of procrastination. You can start to overcome this self-defeating habit when you gain knowledge of the factors. You will be a lot happier when you can live a life of less effort, pain a difficulty.

To work together to help you get moving in the right direction in your life, click on the blue button below to book a 15-minute, no obligation “Get to know you” call.

Going alone on creating a better life is difficult. Find out how working with a Life Coach to remove your pain points, can make the journey to success and a better life easier.

Book the call now.

To your success

Michael

P.S. you know that living a life that is in balance is important. When you can balance your work, family, health, relationships, fitness and money, you feel better and can achieve your goals. You have the support of your family and friends which makes life worth living.

Check out my programs at Confidence and Life Coaching by clicking on the logo below:

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Reducing Procrastination

2022-05-18 ~ adminlife

Procrastination develops over time and can lead to other conditions in your life. It isn’t only a symptom of things it is a condition. If you are a procrastinator, you should stop and ask yourself what you are putting off and if it is even worth doing.

You can deal with the habit of procrastination if you accept that it is more than an annoyance and learn and develop more effective time management skills.

To defeat procrastination, you have to realize that you are doing it and why.

You should ask yourself why you procrastinate. For some, it is a method they use to make themselves feel that they are actually accomplishing something. Others use it as a method to cope and a way to divert their attention from an unpleasant or painful task.

Here are some tips that you can use to reduce your procrastination and start to regain control of your time.

Identify that you have this habit. When you re-prioritize your workload you may find that this is part of the habit. If you do delay an essential task for a good reason, you are not engaging in procrastination.

If you never get back to these tasks to complete them, or you keep busy focusing on other less important tasks, them procrastination is the issue.
Some of the following indicate that you are procrastinating: your day is filled with non-urgent tasks, you read the same emails throughout the day but don’t act on them.
You are also procrastinating if you start a task but then go to get a coffee. If you never return to the task, you are procrastinating.

If you would like to listen to these types of articles, you can visit my podcasts at

These are short, usually under 5 minutes but they can enable you to listen to confidence and motivation advice and tips while driving or relaxing.

Start to work. You are procrastinating if you spend time deciding to take action. Stop deciding and take the action to get the work finished. If you let it slide, you will regret it.

This is a practical tip because it helps you take the first step which is usually the hardest. After that the rest becomes more straightforward.
As an example, starting to push a car is the most challenging. It becomes more manageable once you get it started moving. You need to apply this to your work.
Even a small first step is good. The step may not be the most significant that you have ever taken, but it gets you moving and you will gain momentum.

Willpower is not the answer. You procrastinate, not only from what comes from within you, but also as a result of your environment. If you don’t feel supported in your environment, you won’t feel welcomed.

You don’t realize all of your intentions if you are in that type of environment. You need to ask yourself what do you need to enable you to achieve your goals? When you know that, make a list of the steps needed to achieve those goals.

When the steps are known then you need to get started on those steps, one at a time. You will soon be moving towards your goals one step after another. Some people believe that willpower is all that they need.
Willpower is only one type of motivation. Willpower can only be used until you feel wiped out.
It is challenging to get your motivation to start up again once your willpower runs out. This is why you need to think about your goals, plan the steps needed to achieve those goals.
After that planning is done, take those steps and don’t focus on any of the unpleasant aspects.

Procrastination is linked to a lack of motivation. You will be less like to engage in procrastination if you become more preoccupied with your goals. That is a good reason to set motivational goals.

Planning is also a good idea as this will reduce the need for lots of willpower. Using willpower to complete a task is challenging so planning can make things a lot easier. You need to remove procrastination to be more productive as many factors contribute to your overall success.

You can ask for help, since many people procrastinate as they don’t want to ask for help. If you need help, you can talk to friends, your family or your colleagues to get the help you need to complete your tasks.

To work together to help you get moving in the right direction in your life, click on the blue button below to book a 15-minute, no obligation “Get to know you” call.

Going alone on creating a better life is difficult. Find out how working with a Life Coach can make the journey to success and a better life easier.

Book the call now.

To your success

Michael

Check out my programs at Confidence and Life Coaching by clicking on the logo below:

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Why You Procrastinate and How to Overcome It

2021-12-01 ~ adminlife

You procrastinate because the thought of taking a certain action makes you feel bad. There are lots of actions that give us that “Ugh” feeling when we even think about doing them. The unpleasant action could be going to the gym, doing your taxes, making an unpleasant phone call, or scrubbing the toilet.

So, procrastination isn’t really an issue of laziness. It’s an emotional issue. Your brain predicts that you’re going to experience a negative emotion and does its best to help you avoid it.

However, you don’t have to allow your emotions to guide you. They’re merely suggestions you can choose to follow or reject. It’s not easy to take an action that feels uncomfortable, but it can be done.

Even if you procrastinate, you’ll eventually feel even worse about not taking the appropriate action! Why not save yourself some time and drama and just do it now?

Sometimes it’s okay to procrastinate, but there are other times that it would be best to take action immediately.

So, what can you do to mitigate procrastination?

Try these tips to overcome procrastination:

Focus on the physical sensation. When you think about doing the thing you don’t want to do, it creates a feeling in your body. Notice where you feel that negative sensation. How would you describe it?
- Focus on the area of your body where you feel the sensation and see what happens to that physical sensation. See how long that feeling lasts.
- Once you see how this feeling dissipates in a short time, it will be easier to handle it or even disregard it in the future.
Find an easier way to do the task. Maybe there’s a better or easier way to do what needs to be done. Some tasks are just so big they’re intimidating to even consider.
- Can you do a little each day until it’s done?
- Is there a special tool you can rent?
- Rent a dumpster?
- Hire someone else to do it?
Promise yourself a reward after the task is complete. Maybe all you need is an ice cream cone, a massage, or a new book to inspire you to get busy and take action. A reward can be a powerful motivator.
Think of how great you’ll feel after completing the task. There are few feelings better than completing a dreaded task. It’s such a relief to put it behind you.
- Instead of focusing on how awful it will be to do it, focus on how awesome you’ll feel when it’s done.
Start small. Plan to work on it for just five minutes. Promise yourself that’s all you have to do and then you’ll give yourself a break. You might find that it’s easy to continue after you get started.
- Getting started can be the most challenging part of accomplishing just about anything.
Get help. Do you know someone that can help you? Having some company can make unpleasant tasks more tolerable. Find a friend to help, and you’ll get done twice as fast. Better yet, find five friends and make a party out of it! Unpleasant tasks are less miserable when you have company.
Be tough. There are some tasks that simply have to be done even if you don’t want to do them. Summon your inner gladiator and overcome your resistance. Just get it done.

Everyone has the urge to procrastinate. One thing that separates successful people from the masses is the ability to overcome this urge.

We procrastinate because the thought of doing the task is unpleasant. There are ways to minimize the discomfort of performing a task. Seek out these ways.

Focus on the benefits of taking action, get your work done, and give yourself a little reward. You’ll feel great when it’s over.

You can book your 15-minute “Get to know you” call by clicking on the blue button below

and we can talk about how we can work together

To your success

Michael

Check out my programs at Confidence and Life Coaching by clicking on the logo below:

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How Does Avoidance and Procrastination Hurt Us?

2021-05-16 ~ adminlife

You know that you should do that one thing you’ve meant to do for a while, but getting up off the couch is just so, well, challenging. Believe it or not, even though you may think you are simply leaving a task uncompleted, what you are doing is procrastination, and it may be hurting you.

You’re Wasting Time

Anytime you leave a task uncompleted and spend time lounging around instead (or doing something meaningless), you are wasting time that you will never get back. And although you may think it’s just a few hours, once you are in this dangerous thought pattern, you will find yourself putting activities off more and more frequently, and next thing you know, you’ve wasted years of your life.

Ruining Opportunities

Maybe you saw an excellent job posting, and you meant to apply. You did, but you got home and found your resume wasn’t updated. And you never got around to updating it or submitting it. Now you will never know what sort of opportunity you had missed. And even if the job hadn’t panned out, maybe you would’ve made valuable connections that could’ve taken you far in life.

Damaging Your Reputation

A late assignment once is one thing, but the minute you are known as habitually late or that your turn in work incomplete—this can start to damage your reputation. And a reputation is essential in the work world, especially when it comes to furthering your career and establishing connections that positively impact your life. This can also affect your personal life, such as meeting the person of your dreams, but your reputation as someone who never accomplishes anything precedes you. The individual of your dreams finds themselves not wanting to take a chance on you.

Health Risks

You meant to make a doctor’s appointment to get that lump checked out, but you just kept putting it off. And in doing so, you may have put yourself at a serious health risk. This is because many medical conditions if caught early, can be treated quickly and easily. If left to escalate, several conditions can turn into something worse, which may be challenging to treat and subsequently risk your life.

Although putting off that one small thing may seem like the thing to do at the time, procrastination is never the answer. This is because when you avoid a particular task, you are wasting time, opportunities and causing possible damage to your future.

We all procrastinate at some time in our lives and sometimes around certain tasks that we know we need to do. However, as pointed out, avoiding or procrastinating can lead to lost opportunities and possible health issues.

Book a “Get to know you” call now

and we can start to work on how you can stop procrastinating and get control over your life and move forward to living the best year of your life now.

To your success

Michael

Image by John Hain from Pixabay