I know I’m late to the party, but watching Stranger Things has me turning down dates to Starbucks and procrastinating on my blog writing (two things I love to do), so you can imagine the battle that exists when it comes to pulling weeds and making dinner!! Seems to me that this is a good time to review some valuable strategies that will help us all battle procrastination!

Start with These Important Reflections:

Nancy Ratey, in her book “The Disorganized Mind” reminds us that even though there are many good strategies to deal with procrastination, It’s up to us to discover strategies that will WORK based on our situation and preferences. To do this start by reflecting on these questions, she encourages:

What is the issue?
What can I do about it?
What strategies that are effective “there” can I use ‘here”?
How can I maintain progress?
How can I set up accountability?

What Takes You Off Course? Identify Barriers…

Either the night before or at the beginning of the day write down a primary goal. Then, according to Ratey, before bed, make a list of what you did that day and mark the ones that pertained to the day’s goal. This simple reflection will offer a clear picture of the relationship of your goals to your actions, while pointing to what pulls you off you course.

Strategies to Fight Procrastination:

Chunking: Breaking down a large task into smaller ones and setting goals for smaller tasks fights procrastination. By setting reasonable goals, we will feel less overwhelmed, and will be able to celebrate multiple manageable accomplishment. Making “set up” its own small task will have a huge impact on building momentum!
Creating Accountability Partners: Accountability is key to successful habit building! This is where a coach can be a game changer. In addition to working with a coach think about who in your life might want to be focused on the same changes and how you can support each other. Make sure they are truly wanting to make this change, so that they don’t end up becoming an accomplice! There might be multiple people on your team., for example, someone at work and someone socially.
Engineering the Environment: By using screen-savers, post-it notes, whiteboards, visual timers, calendars etc. you will be able to encourage and prod yourself. List your goals, what you want to and have accomplished, encouraging quotes, pictures of what you are working toward….any visual that will help keep your focus in the forefront. In addition, create a space that encourages focus. This may mean that when you really need to concentrate you go to a local coffee shop or the library. Think about what you need in your environment to accomplish the task!
Piggy Backing Your “Want To” with Your “Already Do”: Think about what you already do faithfully (i.e. go to work, eat breakfast, go to the coffee shop), and attach what you want to do to what you already do. When I go/do _______ I will also_______.
Establishing the Minimal Goal: Define the smallest possible goal that will accomplish something meaningful. Many times when there is something I need to do, but I really don’t want to do it, I will create a task that goes something like, “I will spend 5 minute ________.” Inevitably, I get started and have found enough momentum to work on the undesirable task for 30 minutes or more!

For more ideas that can help with task completion check out these blogs:

Wendy Dellis is a certified wellness coach. She joins years of training and work in the area of behavior change, experience as a fitness instructor and run club coordinator with a passion for adventure and people. She lives in Minnesota with her husband, Jay, and two sons.

The information contained on this page is for general information purposes only. Nothing here should be construed as medical or healthcare advice, but only topics for discussion. No physician-patient relationship exists; please consult your physician before making changes in diet or lifestyle.