Do you procrastinate, create endless to-do lists or get easily side-tracked by social media or housework so that you get to put off that important task or project that you’ve been meaning to get done?

Procrastination is one of the biggest blocks to productivity and creativity.

There are many reasons why we put stuff off. Perhaps we feel it’s too much work or we put too much pressure on ourselves to get it done, to do it right and do it perfectly. Perhaps you’ve already got too much on your plate, don’t have enough time and feel you’ll have more time and energy to do it tomorrow.

Often it’s not the task itself that puts us off, but our emotions around the task that creates resistance.

All too often, we imagine obstacles coming up, seeing ourselves failing or we wait for the perfect moment before getting started and hold ourselves back in many limiting ways.

The best way to work through the resistance of procrastination is not to force yourself to do it, but to try to understand your emotions and where the resistance is coming from.

First of all get really specific on the task or project you need to complete and notice how you feel about getting started: what emotions, fears or anxieties come to the surface when you think about it?

• On a scale of 1-10 how uncomfortable do you feel about getting started?

• What are the downsides of completing it?

• What benefits might you be gaining from procrastinating?

Tune into the resistance and acknowledge any feelings of stress and tension and let them go, feeling them release from your body.

Then consider the following:

• What if the task or project wasn’t too hard?

• What if I could take just one step forward? What if I didn’t have to do it all now? Or do it perfectly?

• What if it was fun?

Then take a few moments to visualise yourself accomplishing this task and enjoying it. See yourself doing it easily and notice how good this feels.

Creative visualisation is a powerful tool because the subconscious does not distinguish between what is real and what is imagined. So by envisaging positive mental pictures that evoke positive feelings, you shift states into a more resourceful emotional state and you rewire your brain to believe it’s possible, which moves you from resistance to motivation.

If you would like to move your life or career in a new positive direction and would like one-to-one coaching sessions to help you gain clarity on where you want to be, work through your resistance and create a valuable and inspiring goal and action plan to achieve it, then get in touch. I’d love to hear from you!

 xo