How To Stop Procrastinating

Time is our most important asset. We think it is money, but money goes, and you can get more of it.

With time, when it’s over, it’s over. You don’t get more. You don’t get yesterday back. It’s precious. It’s fleeing. 

How you spend your time is important. And one of the most important habits we need to change in using our time in the way we want is procrastination.

Taking Responsibility For Your Thoughts

But the great thing about it is that we can undo our habits and create different ones that will give us the change we want. Whatever it is that you’re procrastinating right now, that dream or goal, you have it for a reason. It’s your responsibility to go after it and get it.

When it comes to procrastination, I want you to know, first and foremost, that there is nothing wrong with you. There's nothing broken and needs fixing when it comes to why you’re not doing the things you believe you want to do.

Really the number one thing is that we need to take more responsibility for managing our emotions. When I talk about managing our mind, it is because our thoughts create our emotions.

Your mental health and what you’re choosing to think about directly create your emotional health. We need to take more responsibility for what we think and feel because that is directly affecting whether we procrastinate or not. 

The more you manage your mind and emotions, the more you recognize that you are the one creating your emotion, and the less you’ll use them as an excuse not to go out and do the thing you want to do.

Letting Go Of Perfectionism And Embracing B- Work

When I identified as a perfectionist, I used to procrastinate a lot! I was scared of failing. I was afraid of what other people would think. I was scared of not being perfect. 

So I was staying small and not doing the things I really wanted to do because of this emotion of fear. I was really delaying my work in the world and stopping myself from helping others because it didn’t feel “perfect” yet.

So what is the solution to this? 

I’m a big believer in the concept of B- work. You could be doing things today, but you’re stopping yourself from doing it because you think you must do it in a certain way, or it has to meet a specific guideline.

But what if, instead of reaching for an A grade, you performed well enough for a B-? If it would get a B- that’s okay. It’s kind of done. It’s kind of together. That is good enough because at least you have created something, and you’ve done something to move towards it instead of procrastinating where you don’t get anything done.

I know it feels like you aren’t giving it your all or doing your best, but completing B- work is better than not completing anything at all. Done is better than perfect.

How To Raise Your Emotional Vibration To Improve Productivity

What are you putting off? What are you procrastinating? Are you feeling afraid, lazy, or overwhelmed when you think about doing the things you aren’t doing? 

When you feel these negative emotions, they don’t fuel the action you need to take care of what you want to get done. 

So to tackle the tasks we want to complete, we need to raise our emotional vibrations. To keep giving to others, we have to pay attention to our needs and self-care. You must fill yourself up so full it will overflow. Those positive emotions will help you overcome procrastination.

Understanding The Motivational Triad

Your brain has what’s called the Motivational Triad. This is how your brain prioritizes the things on your plate and helps you decide what to do. This can be helpful to understand when you’re trying to overcome procrastination.

Avoid Pain

The first part of this triad is that your brain wants you to avoid pain. 

It doesn’t you to get up and do the dishes, or the laundry, or that hard project for work. That will be painful for you. You’ll have to make decisions. It will be hard physically. It will take up a lot of your time. You will have to do things and feel things you don’t want to do. 

Our brain wants us to avoid pain, and so it tells us to put off doing these things. But, what if you changed the way you thought about these tasks? What if you stopped telling yourself the stories that make them feel hard and painful and instead chose thoughts that help motivate you to check these things off your list?

Seek Pleasure

The second part of the triad is that your brain wants to seek pleasure. 

It says, “Oh, I don’t want to do the hard thing, the uncomfortable thing, the painful thing. I just want to stay here, eat this yummy food, and watch this entertaining show.”

Of course, your brain wants you to stay with what is easy and fun. This makes total sense. However, sometimes accomplishing our goals or getting where we want to be in life isn’t pleasurable along the way. 

So ask yourself how you can reframe your thoughts about these tasks to make them more fun and enjoyable? When you do this, you’ll find your brain cooperating with you to make things happen.

Sometimes we can’t make the thing we need to do fun. That’s when it’s time to accept that everything we do doesn’t have to be pleasurable. Accept that there will be some resistance and discomfort along the way and do it anyway.

Energy Efficiency 

The third part of the motivational triad is your brain’s desire to be energy efficient.

It doesn’t want you to exude too much effort, so instead, it invites you just to do nothing. Keep things as is. Save your energy. Relax. Don’t do that thing you want to get done. That is what your brain is telling you.

Again, we choose how we think about our energy, time, and ourselves. Choose a thought that keeps your tasks light and easy. Don’t let yourself fall into the story that things are hard and exhausting. The more you can keep your brain on your side, the more you’ll accomplish.

So you can see how it can be so easy to fall into procrastination when you understand what your brain is telling you subconsciously.

But, this is also comforting. It’s proof that nothing is wrong with you. Nothing is broken. If you’re sitting there wondering why can’t you just do that thing? Why do I always quit? This is why.

Take Action!

We must stop thinking thoughts that have us feeling fearful, lazy, overwhelmed, and unmotivated, and we need to tap into the thoughts that help us feel driven, committed, and compelled.

We need to start taking messy, massive action by having the right thought and feeling combination to back us up.

I Can Help

This kind of thought work is invaluable on your journey to what’s possible. If you’re ready to get started and..

If the idea of having a Catholic or faith-based life coach appeals to you, I’d love for you to join me on a free 45-minute Back to Balance Strategy Call. I can get to know you, offer coaching tools, and tell you about working with me to reach your life goals and help you make improvements.

>>Schedule your call here.

by Danielle Thienel @daniellethienelcoaching

Danielle is a wife, mom, member of the Catholic faith, certified life coach, host of The Peaceful Mind Podcast, and author of The Cyclone Mom Method. She is dedicated to helping moms live with more peace, balance, and joy and stepping into their God-given potential.