Procrastination. A business owner’s worst enemy.
In any job interview, I’m sure I could try to spin procrastination to my advantage. If your weakness is procrastination like mine, then I am sure you have found all kinds of ways to convince yourself that it is an amazing superpower. What better way to procrastinate than to convince yourself of things that are not quite true? Ah, the bliss of ignorance.
I will say that if you have made it this far in life, then maybe skirting by procrastinating has not been that terrible. You may have a business, but what is stopping you from taking it to the next level is procrastination.
Tip #1: Do less.
It is not always the particular task that is daunting. Most times, it’s the tasks that all come after the first task that are daunting. Doing hard things typically means that more hard things are to come. That’s okay. You only need to focus on one thing at this moment, right now. A to-do list is still a to-do list if there is only one task on it. Do it.
Give yourself the entire day if necessary, but do it.
RELATED POST: God’s Timing: How to embrace it in a Fast-Paced World
Tip #2: Feed off the momentum of doing other things that you are more excited to do.
This is probably the exact opposite of eating the frog. I get anxious just thinking about the hardest part of my day. I definitely don’t want to start my day with it. If this is you, I suggest doing something you truly have the energy or mindset for to ease you into the procrastinated task.
You may ask, Isn’t this still procrastination? Yes and no. Procrastination is the act of avoiding or delaying. That is more of a mindset than solely the actions. For example, you have to create a presentation for a very important meeting. Procrastination says, I will find other things to do until the day before the presentation is due.
With feeding off momentum, the action instead will be to plan the day of doing the presentation, then plan something fun but low effort ahead of that time. Take a leisurely morning walk, play a board game with your kids, have lunch with your team. The goal here is to flood your brain with all of the feel-good hormones that make you feel like you are having the best day in the world and nothing can stop you.
Tip #3: Pray.
There is no list that is complete without the act of prayer. You can do all of the things in your own strength, but my guess is that has left you frustrated and burnt out. Pray to understand your design. We were all made uniquely, which means we have unique ways of working. The latest trend can tell us to work long and hard all the time, but we simply were not made for that. We were made to have times of rest. We will have times of abundance and times of lack. All of this leads us back to our dependence upon God.
Stop, pray, and ask for the courage you need. Ask for the ideas that you need. Ask for the strength to not give up. Ask if the task is even one that you should be doing! (I believe procrastination can be a sign of doing tasks not meant for our hands, but that’s a blog post for another day.)
If the Lord made you as someone productive in the mornings, then go for it. If you are a night owl, make it work. If you fall somewhere in the middle and the temperature outside dictates when you wake up, then seek the Lord on the time of day that makes the most sense for you in that season. All of these options can and should benefit who God made you to be.
Need help navigating a season of procrastination?
Let’s chat. Book a free discovery call to dive into how to take the next step in your business!
