I recently listened to The Mindset Mentor’s podcast on procrastination and he offered 5 actionable tips to stop procrastinating. I have incredible discipline when it comes to things I love, like wellness protocols, moving my body, learning new information. But tasks like back-end business paperwork, taxes, scheduling maintenance – not so much. You too? If you need a nudge, here are 5 easy ways to move the needle, tune in to the goal you’re working toward, and make progress to become a ex-procrastinator today:

1. Acknowledge the slack

The first step is to admit that you’ve been procrastinating. But here’s the shift – you aren’t “a procrastinator”, you’ve just had procrastinating tendencies of late. Admit it to yourself, but don’t identify with it. You aren’t a procrastinator, so don’t give yourself that label – instead the shift is – I used to put things off, and now I don’t: I am a person who gets things done!

2. Set a goal, and make it bite-sized

You know those mini candy bars you get around Halloween? They’re dubbed “fun size”. I love that way of looking at our goals. Yes, we’ll set a big goal, but that can feel overwhelming. It can seem too big and too far away. Instead, we’re going to fun-size it and break it down in a way that we can easily tackle bite by bite.

3. Find your why

What is your why behind your goals? When your why is strong enough, your how will reveal itself. Don’t know your true reason behind why you do what you do? Here’s a great tool to peel back the layers of the onion and find out.

4. Eliminate distractions

Set aside a block of time where you’re going to work on the project/ goal/ task at hand, and eliminate all distractions that will take your presence away from your purpose. Put your phone on do not disturb, or better yet, leave it on the charger in another room. Turn off notifications on your computer. Put a sign on the door. Take any steps necessary to ensure your workspace is for just that.

5. Pomodoro technique

Focus on one task and one task only for 25 minutes. No distractions. Set an alarm for 25 minutes and dedicate that time to deep work on what you need to accomplish. Then after the 25 minutes is up, you take a 5 minute break. The purpose of the break is to give your brain a rest from the deep work. So no phone, no talking, no other tasks – think relaxation – a quick trip to the backyard for some sunshine, maybe just closing your eyes and meditating, or stretching your body. Then you go again with the 25 minutes of focused work, followed by 5 minutes of rest. I have tried this when I really have a deadline I need to meet, and it works.

What goals are you working toward this week? I’ll be cheering you on along the way! Leave us a note if you try any of these techniques with success, or if you have your own to share!