Do you procrastinate?
Research shows that people who procrastinate most are those who have a lot on their plate.
Rather then forcing yourself to do things, stop for a moment and ask yourself what you are stressed about. Yes, think about what’s causing you most stress at the moment. The situation that’s causing you stress is most likely always on your mind. It’s depleting you of your mental and physical willpower.
And when it comes to doing something productive, the prefrontal cortex (a part of your brain) is shouting ‘I have been so busy figuring the thing out that is causing you stress. I’m tired, give me a brake!’ 2 hours later you catch yourself watching silly videos on YouTube…
4 steps that will change everything
If the above sounds painfully familiar, being aware of the below 4 steps – yet better applying them – will change how you look at procrastination. More importantly, you to develop new habits and will start making empowering choices which will change everything!
Step #1 – Think about what’s stressing you out most – take your time doing this & be honest with yourself!
Step #2 – Think about what role you play in this situation and FORGIVE yourself! Yes, you need to apply the F-word – truly and honestly. The act of true forgiveness relaxes us & frees up headspace.
So forgive yourself about having thoughts about yourself and others which don’t serve you. Forgive yourself about looking at the world negatively – disregarding the things that are good in your life. Forgive yourself about being hard on yourself and feeling stressed, anxious, down as a result.
You may even want to give yourself a hug!
Step #3 – Thinking of your task, apply The 5-Second Rule: Quickly count down from 5 to 1 with the intention to immediately start with the task as soon as you reach 1 and ONLY for 5 minutes! The counting down distracts the brain from having procrastinating thoughts. Plus, research shows that 80 percent of you will keep going after the 5 minutes!
Step #4 – Apply the above 3 steps consistently over the next 30 days! By doing so, you will gradually create new & empowering habits. Also, you will create new neurological pathways, which will make it so much easier for you to look at the world as a better place.
This process in incredibly powerful – especially when we realize that the lives we lead are the direct result of the thoughts and behaviours we practice most!
Click here to find out more about The 5-Seconds Rule.
Sonja Kirschner is an accredited expert coach and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioner. She is passionate about helping different groups of people to unlock their true potential, increase their confidence and motivation so that their own performance in life, at work and in business feels great to them! Corporate clients include Raytheon, University of East Anglia, LPA Group Plc, Cobb, Springer Nature Digital and Joanne Webb Studio.
APower 3 – Confidence Coaching, Resilience Building & Mind Freedom®
