7 ways to stop procrastinating and get started

"Why put off till tomorrow that which can be achieved today?" Our parents were wise to give us such advice - but in our usual rebellious fashion, "Why should we listen to our parents?"

How many of you have occasionally (or frequently) been dealt the card of procrastination, or even sometimes used it to your advantage - “sorry, I can’t do that today, I’m washing my hair"; "I’m just too busy"; "it will have to wait till tomorrow”.

Yet tomorrow never comes. Sometimes a task may feel unclear, overwhelming, uncomfortable or simply less urgent than the other demands on our time. So why do we sometimes keep putting things off, even when we know they need our attention?

Procrastination may occur regularly among clients seeking coaching, often disguised as “I just haven’t got round to it yet”. One way to explore procrastination is to consider what motivates you and whether the task connects with something that matters to you.

In a coaching conversation, you can look at your values, or what is most important for you to be happy in your life - e.g. creativity, inspiration, love, success. Connecting a goal with something that genuinely matters to you may make it easier to understand why the task is worth doing.

Towards and away-from motivation

Within NLP, one way of describing motivation is in terms of moving ‘towards’ something we want or ‘away from’ something we don't want.

Towards motivation

Here we emphasise or focus more on the benefits of doing something - the feelings or values which appeal to us in this context and which we want to ‘move towards’.

We are paying attention to the things we may experience as a result of taking action, such as achievement, success or enjoyment.

For example, Client A is motivated to get a piece of work done because it means he will be able to enjoy the weekend with his family.

Away-from motivation

Here we emphasise or focus more on the consequences of not doing something which needs doing. We are paying attention to what may happen if we do not take action and what we would like to ‘move away from’.

For example, Client B is motivated to get a piece of work done because if he doesn’t, he won’t be able to spend the weekend with his children as planned.

It is important to note that neither of the above is necessarily better or worse. At different times, you may notice that you're more motivated by one or the other.

For some tasks, thinking about what you could gain from taking action may help. For others, recognising the consequences of continuing to put something off may provide more motivation.

7 ways to stop procrastinating

1. Notice what you're putting off

Identify whether you are putting things off unnecessarily and what it is you are avoiding.

2. Consider what matters to you

Look at your values and what is truly important to you. Does the task connect with something you genuinely care about or want to achieve?

3. Decide whether the task actually matters

Using the above, decide if the things you are putting off actually need to be dealt with and, if so, by when.

4. Notice what motivates you

Consider whether you're more motivated by what you'll gain from taking action or what you'd like to avoid by not leaving the task undone.

5. Reframe your goal

Consider the goal from both perspectives:

• What benefits could taking action bring?
• What might happen if I continue putting it off?

6. Get support

Enlist help with your goals if you need it. You might ask someone to help you stay on track, check in on your progress or simply provide encouragement.

7. Identify the smallest first step

Identify the first, smallest step you can take towards achieving your goal.

You don't necessarily need to feel completely motivated before you begin. Sometimes taking one manageable step can make the next one feel easier.