Is Procrastination stopping you from moving forward?

Quite often with Coaching clients (and humans!) there isn’t a shortage of ideas and desire for change, but there is a barrier to change which comes in the form of procrastination and overwhelm.

We may well be mentally committed to launching our event, changing our role, creating our new website and so on but often we feel stuck and not able to take the physical action to brings our ideas to life.

We can quite easily get fixated on the detail, the many steps that we need to take, the not knowing where to start and an awareness that we might not actually have all the answers can make us feel a bit overwhelmed by everything.… so, it feels safer to stay put, where we do know what we’re doing and wait a bit longer before taking the first step.

So, instead of focusing on step one which we aren’t really clear on, take some time to focus on the end vision/ result. Begin at the end so to speak.

I know it sounds counterintuitive, but it helps shift our perspective out of the detail and allows the steps to fall into a logical order as we work backwards. Another important element is to feel connected with where we’re going. To feel purposeful about our actions, rather than transactional.

What do I mean? How does this work in practice?

For example, if we have an event that we want to invite people to in a few months we need to consider who, what, when, how, invites, costs, advertising, venues and the list goes on, and we feel overwhelmed and stuck. Too many questions. Where do we even start.

Instead, focus and visualise on the event itself, picture how the day will look and how people will feel being there. Imagine how you will feel (proud, accomplished etc ) as you realise that, it did in fact all come together, and it isn’t still just an idea waiting to happen.

Make a mental note of this feeling and begin to map out, in reverse order, the steps that you have taken to get there. Notice where there are pressure points and consider who/ what could help at these points. Notice where you have a gap in knowledge, how can you learn or seek input and notice where there are particularly busy times in the action timeline and factor in time to rest and review progress.

Be specific. Be realistic. Be kind to yourself. Ask for support.

Now you have the timeline, and supporting actions, start with one step, note the progress, note the sense of achievement and keep going.

We all experience procrastination at some point in life, especially as we embark on something new.

If you would appreciate some more in-depth support to shift your ideas into reality then let me know, I’d love to help!