Top 8 Ways to Stop Procrastinating and make your Dreams a Reality
Procrastination is the demon in us all. Almost all of us have that “I’ll just do it later” mentality. It’s extremely important though to completely get rid of that mentality and replace your vision with reality. Procrastinating keeps us from our goals. It kept me from a few of my goals initially but I learned to deal with them and “just go for it”.
There could be a ton of things holding you back such as fear, anxiety or simply not believing you’re good enough. It could also be pure laziness. What holds you back depends on what you’re going after or the type of person you are.
I decided to help cope with procrastination by following my own steps as well as having serious discipline in whatever my task or goal is.
Many of these steps could be as simple as taking out the garbage, to writing a novel.
Number 1
FIND A MOTIVATION THAT WORKS. Have discipline, or figure out where to achieve this if you don’t have any or are lacking it. Number one may seem very obvious but this is number one for a reason and needs some explanation. To achieve the right amount of MOTIVATION you need to do some digging for yourself. You need to look deep down and find where you’re lacking the proper motivation. I found mine through a variety of means. I look at celebrities such as Kanye West or Casey Neistat and I became inspired by their true work ethic. Get up in the morning, get it done. That’s what I took away from Casey. In one of his videos he claimed to edit videos at 4:30 or 5 in the morning. I wouldn’t go that far… at least not yet. But the work ethic is extremely inspirational to me and my life. Kanye is a musician, a businessman, a father, a designer among others. He doesn’t let anyone put him in a box. Most of all he’s motivated. Say what you want about Kanye but his work ethic is second to none. He’s the definition of that famous quote: hard work pays off. So I asked why? Why do these things? You need to reach deep within yourself to find your motivation.
“If not now, when?”
I don’t know who said this first but man. This is the one quote I live by. This is the one quote I hang up in my office because whenever I think of doing something and shrug it off, I look at it and it takes me right to that task or goal and I try and reach it whenever I can. If I can’t do something on that day, I’ll write it down on my planner and I’ll find a window to get whatever it is going. I always accomplish this by just having that simple quote in my head.
Number 2
USE INCENTIVES. This is so key. If you have a chocolate bar for instance, try and think about that the next time you are trying to do something. Think like this: “OK. If I get this done, I can have that chocolate bar in the refrigerator on the other side of this task.” Anything that incites you to get things done is a win in my book… anything that doesn’t harm yourself or others of course. This goes with motivation sure but I’m talking about smaller goals here. Small incentives to get you past to the next goal and so on. These things add up.
Number 3
GET THE MOST DIFFICULT THINGS FINISHED FIRST. It’s almost always important to me to get those annoying tasks or goals done first. Once you get the difficult or tedious ones out of the way the smaller ones feel more obtainable.
Number 4
CHILL AND EXERCISE. You have to relax. If you need to take a 5 minute break, DO IT. If you need to watch a quick Youtube video or read a blog, go for it. But just do this for a few minutes or so and get back at it. Don’t watch a whole movie on Netflix though. Don’t fall into bad habits. You’re better than that.
Exercise is so key. Working out gets the juices flowing to get things done. If you need to run on the treadmill DO IT. If you need to lift, GO FOR IT! Think about those goals and keep the reasons you’re doing them in mind!
NUMBER 5
DON’T FALL INTO BAD HABITS It’s so easy to go down the road you were just on. It’s important to ignore the temptations or watching to much TV, or going out and wasting the day away by shopping for things you don’t need. You want this goal. Now go get it! Don’t let anything stand in the way of you and your dream. You have a vision so it’s up to you to get it done.
Number Six
SET AN ALARM
Alarm clocks aren’t just used for waking up. Set a timer to stay on target for 30–50 minutes and take a break and so on. This is so key for the dream you’re going after or the simple errand you need to accomplish.
Number 7
USE A PLANNER
It’s can be easy to forget your vision or simple dreams you may have. To accomplish these things you can use a planner to write down the simple things you can do throughout the day that you’ll stick with. They may not seem so alarming if they’re written out in that form.
Number 8
HAVE CONFIDENCE
There are goals and dreams that may seem unobtainable. No one can make it happen but you, so you need to find that confidence deep within yourself. You can get it done! Believing in yourself is so big nowadays. If you believe you can do it there’s nothing that can stop you.
So go ahead, get out there and make your dream a reality. Remember this quote: “If not now, When?”
