In this post I’m gonna share my 4 Step Process for eliminating procrastination!

For as long as I remember, I’ve been a procrastinator.  But last week I noticed that I put off some activities and dive right into others.  You’re probably thinking, duh!  Big freaking whoop, Robbie, tell me something I don’t know.

To take it a step further, I realized that I really put off things I don’t know how to get started on.

I remember a few years back when one of my goals was to approach at least 1 beautiful woman a day during my lunch break.

When I first started, I would think of every excuse why not to and I ended up not doing it – procrastination at its finest.

I realized that the biggest excuse I used was “I don’t know what to say.”  The funny thing was that every time I actually did it, something random just spilled out of my mouth and that excuse was total bullshit but it still stopped me in my tracks.

So I decided to eliminate that excuse by doing the same approach to get started everyday.  I would just find a cute girl, walk up and say “hey this is totally random, but I think you are really cute.”

Sometimes I would immediately walk away, sometimes I would stay and talk and sometimes I would puss out and not do it at all, but I realized that eliminating that excuse, eliminated procrastination.

I also noticed myself procrastinating when it comes to work.

There were a couple documents I needed to create last week pertaining to an upcoming workshop I am leading and I kept putting it off.  I realized that I was putting it off because I didn’t know how to get started.

I noticed what I was doing and decided to try something new.  Rather then trying to push against the resistance like usual, I came up with a new solution.  I decided to devote 15 minutes and not a minute longer to the project.  It was just a way to get started that eliminated the feeling of overwhelm.

When I did this, I realized that the task was way easier then I thought and the anxiety and procrastination about doing it went right out the window.  I wanted to keep going but I kept my word about only doing it for 15 minutes, so I took a 2 minute break and then finished it.

I’m not claiming to be an expert on procrastination but if you find yourself dealing with the same sort of thing as me, give my method a try and if it works, PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT IT!

Here is the 4 step process broken down:

1. Notice why you are resisting a certain activity

2. Ask yourself what you need to get started

3. Devote a small period of time to take 1 step toward getting the project started

4. Keep your word

Step 4 is really important. If you follow steps 1-3 and you are still having trouble and feeling like crap, make sure you take a break to avoid burning out and getting more frustrated.  Simply take a break, and start over with steps 1-3.

Cheers,
Robbie Kramer