Procrastination, we’ve all done it at one time or another, but is it holding you back from achieving the life of your dreams?

We put off our exercise routine until tomorrow, we wait until the last possible moment for a deadline, and we start a million diets. My personal favourite is procrasticleaning.

Procrastination can stop you in your tracks from achieving your dreams, goals and ambitions.

Here are some tips to help you stop procrastinating and stay focused.  

Adjust the environment

The environment can be one of the biggest factors in either delaying or advancing our goals. It can be a cluttered desk, a noisy next door neighbour or notifications going off on your phone. Have a look around you.

• Are there objects around that can easily distract you?
• Do you work best in quiet, or do you need noise to invigorate you?
• Is your desk cluttered or clean?

These can be easily changed, for example, putting your devices away, reducing loud noises and even playing music. It’s all about the environment that works for you.

Create a timeline

Multitasking has become very popular, however for most people having multiple tasks to attend to, can be quite overwhelming. Overwhelm is a common struggle that many women go through, if this is you, go to one of my recent blogs, 5 tips to avoid overwhelm.

A way to combat this is to first prioritise. Decide which task is the most important or highest priority and do it first.

Jump right in

If you are struggling to get started on anything, as simple as it sounds; just jump right in. This can be even a 5 minute task like cleaning up your mess. Starting a task can help you feel motivated. Beginning a task that you see is difficult or time consuming can often show it is easier than you think.

Chunk it down

When you break things down into smaller steps, it becomes more manageable.

For example, someone who wanted to get their fitness levels up. On the first day, they walk to the end of their street and back. The next day to the end of the next street. Then they keep building on it, before long they will be running that marathon that they had always dreamt of.

You can apply this chunking down idea, to any of your dreams and make them achievable.

Does it really need to be done?

Your time is valuable. If you’re constantly putting something off, have a think about why. Maybe you’ll find a reason you’ve been avoiding it.

• Does it need to be done?
• Is this task your priority or is it someone else’s?
• Learn to say no.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help, or even delegate to someone who may have more of an understanding of the task at hand.

These tips might take some practice, but using them can help you achieve your dreams and put procrastination in its place.

Get in touch and see if coaching is the right fit for you.