“When there is a hill to climb, don’t think that waiting will make it smaller.” Author Unknown
Procrastination is the biggest hurdle that I had to overcome in pursuing my vision. I prayed about it, talked about it, listened to encouraging messages for inspiration and received wise counsel from mentors, but I continued to struggle with procrastination.
I had great ideas of things I wanted to do. I wrote them down. I shared them 
with my wife and everyone that would listen.
I remember telling my wife about a project I wanted to do. When I finished telling her my detailed vision, she looked at me and said in her southern vernacular, “You are always “fittin” to do something.” I shrugged it off at first, but as I thought about what she said, it hit me, she was right.
I sat down and began to write everything I said I was going to do or projects that I had started, but never finished. After I finished, I had eight things on my list.
I was embarrassed and ashamed. I had allowed the habit of procrastination squander precious time and delayed what I needed to do. The saying, “What you focus on the longest become the strongest” was true in my life concerning procrastination. It was a major stronghold.
When you procrastinate, you put your vision, desires and dreams on hold. You put things off under the illusion that you will get to them another day or when you have more time. You make layers of excuses. You constantly postpone taking action. You end up always waiting for tomorrow.
Have you missed opportunities because of procrastination? Do you have feelings of guilt over lost time? Do you feel stuck? Have you lost faith in your ability to follow through?
Please be encouraged, you can overcome the hindering grip of procrastination. It will take a concentrated effort and an uncompromising commitment to transform from a procrastinator to a person of action.
Here are ten steps you can take to overcome procrastination.
- Document your reasons for procrastinating. Write a list of things you have desired to do, but never did because you procrastinated. List the reasons “why” you procrastinated. This exercise will make your procrastination more real.
- Change what you speak. Instead of saying, “I can do this tomorrow” say, “I am going to do this today.” or “I am not a procrastinator because I do everything in a timely manner.” Create a list of positive affirmations that speaks against procrastination. Read your list daily.
- Create a goals list. Start off with no more than two or three goals. Break your larger goals into smaller manageable action steps.
- Do one task at a time. Stay focused on one task until it is complete. Do not try to multi-task.
- Knock out the hardest goals first. This will give you the greatest since of progress and your confidence to succeed will be strengthened.
- Know what you can handle. Don’t overwhelm yourself with too many goals. Two to three goals spread over several areas of life is a good start. If that is too many, one major goal will work.
- Enlist the help from others. Find a couple of individuals that you can trust to share your struggles. You will need the honesty, encouragement and support from these trusted individuals to help you continually conquer procrastination.
- Eliminate distractions. Get rid of anything or anyone that will distract you from breaking through the bonds of procrastination. Do not hold on to them because they make you feel secure. Release them and move on.
- Reward yourself. No matter how small a victory maybe, reward yourself and get back to work.
- Don’t give up. No matter how difficult it gets, stay committed to overcoming the stronghold of procrastination. It may get tougher, but don’t give in or give up. Stay the course of the fight because in the end, you will be glad you did.
If you want to live your vision to the fullest, you must refuse to allow procrastination to have any power in your life.
Question: What do you need to stop procrastinating about and take immediate action? Leave a comment.
