5 Ways to Stop Procrastinating (You DON'T Work Best Under Pressure)
There’s this… thing you want to do.
It’s been on your to do list for a while now, and on your mind for even longer.
It’s going to be huge, epic, world-changing, paradigm-shifting!
If you could only get started…
Sound familiar?
If so, you’re not alone. There are plenty of smart, high achieving people out there who struggle with procrastination — even when it comes to things they think and say they desperately want!
And this is especially true if you also suffer from the Imposter Complex. (Around here we say Imposter Complex instead of imposter syndrome, and here’s why.)
Because procrastinating is one of the six behaviours of the Imposter Complex — that AWFUL feeling that we dread experiencing… being found out... The other shoe dropping... Being unmasked... We know better than everyone around us that WE ARE THE Imposter. We are CERTAIN of it. And it’s just a matter of time before “THEY” find out.
The Imposter Complex wants to keep us out of action (because that keeps us safe). Except: when you stay out of action, you deprive us of the gift you are. The gifts that you’ve been given. You deprive of us the YOU that we need.
If you’re a coach, service provider, or entrepreneur, this is especially dreadful for you, because it means you’re avoiding the very things that would help you grow your business, serve more people, and create your Impeccable Impact.
Lie number seven of the Imposter Complex — “you’re not ready yet” — is intimately associated with procrastination, it tends to show up right after you’ve decided to do the thing, and it is a seductive and tricky beast because it seems so rational.
It suggests that you MAY be ready ONE day… that day's just not today. Yup. It's giving you slack, all right.
Just enough slack in the rope to tangle yourself into the loop of inspiration -> preparation -> frustration -> procrastination -> inspiration…
It disguises itself as the oh-so-logical argument that you just need a little more — experience, education, time, whatever.
I say you’re ready enough.
And?
No one was ever fully ready. For anything.
Don’t let that stop you.
5 Ways to stop procrastinating now
Of course, if you’re out here Googling “how to stop procrastinating” you want some tangible tips...
A caveat first: I don’t believe in hustling or “hustle culture”. I don’t believe in just jamming things through for the sake of ticking off the box on your to do list.
I think that procrastination can also look like deep discernment. Thoughtfulness. Judiciousness. Care. Not rushing in and causing damage.
So the type of procrastination we’re discussing here is the type that’s popping up because somewhere deep down you don’t believe you can do the thing — not the type that might stem from being burned out, out of alignment with the work, or being a cog in a capitalist machine that values productivity over people, m’kay?
Cool. As long as we’ve got that cleared up, here are some suggestions to help you stop procrastinating:
Remind yourself of everything you’ve already done. If you suspect your procrastination does stem from Imposter Complex, from a fear that you’re not really ready to do the thing, then the best remedy is to remind yourself of all the things you’ve already done. As you sit down to make the call or write the book or step up to the mic to deliver the talk that will change EVERYTHING, think about how everything you have ever made, delivered, sold, created, drafted, crafted, survived, healed, and done is coming together. Right here and now. For this very purpose. For this very moment. Whew! It’s a lot! Good job. And? It proves that you absolutely can do this. Because you have.
Call on your supporting cast. Some people are what author Gretchin Rubin calls “obligers” — they will move mountains to fulfil a commitment they’ve made to someone else, but when they’re just making a commitment to themselves… meh. If that sounds like you — or you just like the feeling of outside accountability — then call in someone from your supporting cast to hold you to your word. Tell a bestie, a coach, a partner, or a teammate that you plan to do the thing by a particular deadline, and then ask them to hold you accountable. It can work wonders!
Break it down into tiny steps. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time, as the old saying goes. If the end goal feels overwhelming (giving a TED talk, writing a book, starting a business, etc.), then start by breaking that goal down into its smallest component parts. What’s the smallest step you can take that will constitute progress on this today? Researcher and author B.J. Fogg suggests that tiny habits are the key to success, so break that goal down as small as you can possibly go.
Instead of committing to writing a page a day, for example, what if you committed to just writing one sentence? If you do more than that, you’re winning! But even if all you get is one sentence written, that’s one more than you had yesterday. Bonus: The Imposter Complex has a harder time arguing that you’re not ready enough to write one sentence, so this might help quiet those doubts long enough to get started.Go deep. If you continue to struggle with procrastination, we need to explore why. Everybody has days when they don’t feel like working — but if your procrastination days outnumber your productive days, there’s a reason. Your tendency to procrastinate may come from an excellent place. Maybe your fabulous values of temperance and analysis simply want to make sure that you’re doing your work at your best. Maybe it’s true that you are in the 0.1% of the population who actually DO work best under pressure. Maybe the task at hand is just not tapping into your creative genius. I totally get it.
There are two kinds of procrastination: active and passive. If you’re an active procrastinator, this just may, in fact, be your style. But can we agree that it causes you undue stress and anxiety nonetheless? And if you’re a passive procrastinator, it may be a function of being paralyzed by the enormity of the work ahead. In either case, understanding your tendencies and that procrastination is a place we hide out in when we are having a hard time coping with the Imposter Complex will help you overcome it.Eliminate your distractors. Now, don’t let that “going deep” introspection derail you even more! When it’s time to get to work, be honest with yourself and eliminate your preferred procrastination distractions: hide your phone, turn off email alerts, log out of Facebook, disable your Netflix account — whatever it takes! Then remind yourself that you can go back and do all those things once you’re finished with the task at hand. It just might be the carrot and stick you need to get going.
All good suggestions, right? And… perhaps easier said than done.
But when the litany of reasons you can’t do the thing start piling up…
You’re not smart enough.
Wise enough.
Brave enough.
Charismatic enough.
Gorgeous enough.
Spiritual enough.
Wealthy enough…
Just remember this: You’re ready enough to take the first step.
And it could be that the first step is enough to propel you forward toward your dreams.
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Five ICONIC shifts leaders use to overcome Imposter Complex.