Procrastination is a fancy word used to describe “LATER“.

If you are avoiding things which require your attention the most and doing which demand the least, then you are procrastinating.

Up until now you were not so consciously aware about it, but now, you want to get rid of this habit asap.

So here’s how you can start beating procrastination,

Step 1. One thing at a time

“The shortest way to do many things is to do only one thing at a time”

– Mozart

Says Ferrari. An APS Fellow and a psychology Professor at DePaul University.

The problem really starts from needing to do things rather than wanting to do things. Needing and Wanting create a different effect, more on this later in the post.

What I would suggest to you is, that plan one thing at a time, do one thing at a time. Do not sketch out elaborate grand plans of how you will dominate the world. Plan something consciously and act on it immediately, what you can do today and not in the grand scheme of things. 

First you must know what do you really want to do, if not precisely “THE THING” then at-least somewhat in it’s direction. You know of a feeling deep within you which makes you dream of a certain kind of life. Contemplate on that feeling, understand what things it holds, what world does it show, do you like what you see and if yes! are you willing to be an active participant.

Where do you want to lead your life should be the central question.

From thereon take the first active step in that direction. It could be learning, it could be practicing and it could be being disciplined.

Decide and act. Initially it will be difficult, you would still want to try avoiding it, but commit and do it nonetheless. Once it becomes a habit, it will become a part of your lifestyle. It will feel as natural and easy to do as eating. 

So from all those thousand things you ever want to do or need to do, one is already happening. It’s automated like your current procrastination.

Decide to loose your comfort zone and actively just do this. Before you know, your life would have changed.  

Don’t romanticize just act. Take that first step. Take it one thing at a time.

Step 2. Every Goal is important

“I think a simple rule of business is, if you do the things that are easier first, then you can actually make a lot of progress.”

– Mark Zuckerberg

Making money and staying healthy should hold equal amount of importance. As you learn about making money, so should you learn about staying fit and healthy. So do not hold off one thing for the other. Because one fuels the other. Loosing sight of what makes all this possible could be a big problem.

So therefore, if you want to get fit, stay healthy and do more in your life, then instead of procrastinating about it, start working on it immediately and do not wait for your finances to match your expectations.

Your health and body are too precious for them to wait for you to reach that point in life. No goal is more important than the other. There isn’t a necessity to do something in a particular order. Start with the first and the easiest thing to do. Something which is in your active control, like if you exercise, you are going to get fit. But you cannot say so about making money, you cannot always be sure.

Experience some certain and sustainable growth, don’t get trapped in your comfort zone but allow yourself to see the result of your work. Taking care of little things like your health, can boost your performance, you would naturally want to work more, create more.

Think of it as a synergy, every drop fills the ocean. Therefore keep this in mind, start with the change which you can immediately began.

Fitness and money were just an example. But you get my point right. If you notice, you do remember cancelling one thing for another, creating co-dependent goals and finding time to delay what needs to be done. More like finding an escape route in one form or the other.

Do as many things as possible independently, reach at least a certain stage of dependency which you practically observe. Then start working out a solution from there. Never stop, always keep looking for the solution. Don’t find excuses to not work but find reasons to work. Staying out of your inherent comfort zone is the first conscious thing you have to do.

Do not bury yourself in an endless to do list. Start checking off as many as you can everyday. Building momentum will help you lift off the fog of uncertainty from your mind.  

Do not push yourself for the sake of doing it, but educate yourself, don’t drown yourself in information overload but rather, make educated changes to your routine whenever you face a plateau. Initially action is king but education should definitely follow.

Step 3. What you eat and drink matters

“Eat to fuel your body, not to feed your emotions”

– The Internet

Did you know that vitamin C and D deficiency can cause anxiety and depression? This deficiency hinders your body’s ability to respond to stress and in return, your body secretes cortisol which is a “stress” hormone. Cortisol triggers the Flight or fight response of your body or prolonged exposure causes depression.

Especially for men, vitamin C aids in the production of testosterone. Low testosterone levels can make you feel depressed and anxious. Low testosterone levels kill your drive and motivation. In return your confidence is affected.

In an article on Psychology today I found some interesting information to look at, it says

On the other hand, a research team led by Texas Christian University psychologist Sarah Hill, in a series of experiments discovered that

Therefore if you are consuming junk food, soda, and other similar unhealthy foods on a regular basis, instead of drinking plenty of water, eating fruits and vegetables which are abundant in a lot of nutrients, including vitamin C and D, then you are priming yourself for disturbed hormones, mood, low drive and low energy.

Instant gratification is also part responsible for this and internet is fanning it’s flame. If you would like to read my take on the click bait monster of the internet, then go read there <—.

How are you supposed to take necessary action if your body is in flight mode and low on energy? The only thing it wants to do is run away, hide and go to sleep.

Start with drinking an adequate amount of water everyday, at least 8 glasses a day. Also introducing this small new action in your routine will make you feel like that you have started the process of change, which will motivate you further, in continuing on your path.

It’s like a snowball effect, you roll it once in the right direction and it will start mounting in scale. One healthy change is all it takes to start changing your life. 

We are a living organism everything we do, consume, may it be media or food, think, affects all our areas of life. You never know where the root cause of your disinterest is rooted in. Because of which I always say, think of life as a whole and make sound changes to it which support your growth.

Step 4. Choose your words carefully

“You make your world with words”

– ME

Your internal dialogue with yourself is very important, what you say to yourself becomes your reality. Until and unless some external force really shakes up your world upside down.

Earlier in the blog I mentioned that I will elaborate on the word “Need” later because I wanted to give a good explanation about how words affect our well-being.

Words can create an internal conflict which you won’t even notice, this conflict will stop you from being proactive and derail you to a passive state where things happen to you rather than you making things happen. When you say “I have to do this” or “I need to do this”, what you are really saying is “I am not even a bit interested in doing it but I have to or need to because everybody says it’s important or will do me good.”

HAVE and NEED create a sense of compulsion, a sense of bondage and what do you think, did slaves ever liked working for their masters? So how can we do something against our will?

Those words do hold meaning no doubt about it, we need to work for our wellbeing and we have to hustle to succeed in life, however, those words have a wrong implication psychologically.

They generate a negative response in you of bondage and danger. If you don’t believe me I have just found the perfect reference for you in an article Published on Psychology today which says,

Therefore replace those words with “want”, always say “I want to do this”, I want to get fit, I want to study more, I want to do more every day.

You know when you want something, you want it right away, you cannot wait even for a moment to get it. Understand this small example and understand how important words are in shaping your life.

Over the following course of days after reading this post, make sure to start slowly replacing negative vocabulary from your use with positive words. Choose Proactive words rather than passive words. Remember you make the world through words, make your world the way you want it by using the words you want yourself to be associated with.

Step 5. Socialize and Solitude

“Both are important”

First let me ask you this question, “Do you socialize too much? Or you are a complete loner? You can comment your answer below but here are my 2 cents regarding that.

If you are a Pro Procrastinator then either of the situations is not beneficial. I mean everyone procrastinates a little, though in this regard especially I am asking the Pros.

So why isn’t it beneficial?

The answer is pretty simple “calm waters are deep” and “flowing water is fresh and energetic.” Alright, a little too vague?

What I am trying to convey here is, If you socialize too much then you don’t have time to contemplate on your life, trust me contemplation is a big thing. It lets you ask the important questions in life, like “what do I want to do in my life?” this is a very important question to ask if you really “want” to do things.

Always being surrounded by people does not allow you to think and ponder over important life decisions or allow you to completely channel all your energy into doing something that’s important.

In today’s internet driven world, it’s ever more difficult now, however to the social animal reading this, my suggestion would be to find that lone time for yourself to think about the direction of your life.

Now if you are a loner, definitely you had your down time to yourself and contemplated on a range of issues about yourself, however, remember this, that stagnant water is muddy. If water keeps playing around in the same puddle it becomes murky and infected with parasites that sap your energy.

By just talking to yourself all the time you won’t find any new ways of doing something or being something. Eventually, your thoughts will spin webs of mystery and leave you clueless of what to do next.

Meeting with new waters, People as we are humans, will input that new fresh energy and perspective in your life, sure some people might be annoying but hey! common you will get tons of energetic vibes coming your way. You will get in motion and like a river, you will start flowing towards the ocean.

Balance is the key.

Conclusion

Finally the most important take away that I will like you to have is, everything in life requires patience, you know right? “Rome was not built in a day.”

Have patience, take small actionable steps, and don’t plan too far ahead.

One day at a time, one thing at a time. Perfection is a myth, start abruptly, and start immediately.

Second most important thing is, stop judging yourself and stop letting the judgment passed by others affect you. Do what you must, to get what you want, fail thousand times, do not feel ashamed or any less because you failed but be gregariously proud that you are trying to build the life of your dreams every single day. 

Stop conserving the image of you, which you have about yourself, let action shatter it, let it reveal the truth to you and let it be a bad sight to behold, but whatever that which will sprout later on will be far greater than you ever imagined.

Start as small as drinking the right amount of Water every day, changing your routine is important, adding something new to it is important and when you succeed in doing little things like this, it will create a positive feeling within you. Emotions are a chain reaction, one positive affirmation will lead to another and you will stay motivated to keep going and soon you will overcome procrastination.