How can a life coach help you beat procrastination?

Many of us procrastinate for years, with no end in sight. We tell ourselves that we'll start working out next week, begin our diet next month, and change careers next year – and the list could go on and on.

Of course, we all procrastinate now and then. It’s challenging to start a task that promises future benefits, as the human brain is hardwired to process concrete rather than abstract things more easily. The immediate struggle is very tangible in comparison to the future benefits that derive from them.

At some point, procrastination takes a lot from us. We miss deadlines and lose opportunities. We allow fear of failure, perfectionism and fear of commitment to deter us from changing our lives for the better. 

If you find yourself unable to fight procrastination and finally get down to work on your goals, life coaching can help. Here’s how:

Life coaching can help identify the root cause of procrastination

One way that life coaching can help with this process is by helping you identify the root cause of your procrastination. If you're used to putting things off for no reason at all other than the sheer fact that you don't feel like doing them today, then maybe it's an issue with your schedule or your daily routine.

If you know that you wait until the last minute to meet deadlines because you're scared of getting bad grades and disappointing your others, the issue may be a tad more delicate and need more work and introspection. Either way, a qualified life coach can help you pinpoint the main triggers. 

Life coaching can help you make an identity shift

Not getting things done on time or efficiently enough in a world that glorifies productivity and efficiency can have an impact on anyone’s self-esteem. If you've ever thought of yourself as a lazy person because of your procrastination, life coaching can help you turn your situation around. 

It can reveal to you the ways in which you are actually hardworking and productive, but might have just taken on the wrong self-image. Changing who you are in your head is no easy task. But if there's one thing life coaches are good at, it's providing the right push at the right time and helping people shift their perspective so they can see themselves in a new light—and when that happens, sometimes even the hardest tasks become doable.

Life coaching can help you visualise the end goal

The best way to get past procrastination is to visualise where you want to be and the steps you need to take to get there. Life coaches are trained in visualisation techniques that help you break down your goals into manageable pieces and give you a clear picture of what your ideal future looks like.

The goal isn't simply to see your way through the tasks you have to do now, but to understand why they're important and how they fit in with the rest of your life. The more clearly you can see your future self and all the things he or she will be able to do because you stuck it out, the more motivated you'll be to start right away.

The bottom line

What is the best way to beat procrastination? The simple answer to that question is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Everyone procrastinates in different ways, but all of us can use life coaching to overcome the issue. Life coaches help identify personal situations that play a part in our procrastination and find unique solutions tailored specifically to them.

Contact Stuart to arrange your free phone/Zoom consultation to discuss how coaching can address your procrastination issues.