Think about the things you’ve been wanting to do and haven’t. They occur in all areas of life – the business tasks you put off, the calls you mean to make to friends, the budget you keep meaning to set up, the exercise or diet plan you wanted to establish…..…….

There are a few steps to follow.

• Decide why you’re doing it/who you’re doing it for;
• Explore whether someone else can do the task;
• For those tasks you perceive you must do yourself, clear whatever is in the way of taking action.

[1]  Do you really want to do it? Start by questioning this notion. Get curious. Is this something you really want to do or are you doing it for an external reason? For someone else? 

People do all sorts of things to please their parents and teachers. I think of the fabulous Anh Do, who completed a law degree to please his parents, when he really wanted to be an artist.

He’s now been shortlisted for the Archibald portrait prize three times. What a waste it would have been if we didn’t get to see his fabulous show, interviewing celebrities while painting their bold, colourful portraits.

(Although, nothing is ever wasted – I imagine he’s got a firm grasp of the contracts he makes with television studios!)

So, is it for your boss, your parents, your partner…….why do you want to do this thing you’re avoiding?

Sometimes we want to push ourselves to do things we don’t like as a way of proving we can do it, that we’re not weak or lazy. I am certain there have been plenty of times you’ve proved that, so you can let that one go.

When you apply the tools in order to do what really inspires you, you’ll prove to yourself over and over that you’re prepared to do the hard work to achieve what you’d love.

[2]  Ask yourself – Can I let go of it? Can I delegate the task in order to spend time on things more important, more meaningful to me?

If that is a possibility, list the benefits to you of delegating the task to someone else – and list the benefits to them, until you can see that nothing will be lost by having someone else complete the job.

[3] For those tasks which you perceive you can’t let go of, perhaps because there’s a bigger prize or goal at stake, find the ways to help you get the job done.

Write a list of the  benefits to having this completed. The benefits to you mentally, physically, financially.

Keep writing the benefits until you can’t wait to get into the task.

If your procrastination arises out of a fear, like being criticised or rejected,  then that fear will need to be broken down and managed.

When working on procrastination with clients, there is often an element of perfectionism that is getting in the way. A fear of not being capable of completing the task to a high enough standard. Paradoxically, until the task is begun, there can be no criticism of not being good enough. But at the same time, not completing the task creates self-depreciation. This can stifle creativity and drain the energy needed to tackle the challenge.

You will have heard the phrase, oft repeated, that “Practice makes perfect”. Try replacing that one with “Practice makes progress”.

“You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.” Martin Luther King

If you’d like help to clear what’s in the way of doing what you’d love to do in your life, touch base and let’s get started.