Resource | Business Growth Pathways

Six solutions to procrastination

When you think about potentially delaying, making an excuse or putting off action until ‘the perfect conditions present themselves, remember one thing:

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Solution one: Have an attitude of action

So what can you do right now to combat the Ebbinghaus Effect and delete procrastination from your vocabulary, ensuring it’s not subconsciously embedded in your behaviour? I have the following six solutions. As demonstrated in the examples throughout this book, one trait that differentiates successful individuals from all the rest is their attitude toward action. They will have a clear goal of what they want to achieve; they will have placed a ‘stake in the ground’ in determining timescales, and, yes, they will have a plan of how they will get there. But it doesn’t have to be the perfect plan; most of the time, it’s not.

Successful people don’t waste time reviewing, tweaking and perfecting their plan or analysing it from all angles. They don’t have paralysis by analysis. They have an attitude of action. For the individual with a mindset and attitude of action, it is more Ready–fire–aim than the traditional approach of
Ready – Aim – Fire.

Successful people maintain a positive focus no matter what happens around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than past failures on the next action steps, which get them closer to their goals rather than the distractions that could derail them. When it’s apparent that a goal cannot be reached, they don’t automatically adjust the plan; they first adjust the action steps required to get it.

If you face challenges, find a route to get around them. If there are hurdles, jump over them. If people repeatedly refuse your request, view a ‘no’ as a delayed ‘yes’. Work out how you can influence them to change their perspective to embrace your vision and your goal.

Simply getting on with changing and turning a situation to your advantage is a compelling trait to possess. Combine that with passion and persistence, and you have three powerful forces working for you.

Solution two: Recognise and prepare for your ‘ability blip’

The ability to blip is an essential challenge of which to be aware. It’s the downturn in performance you’ll experience while adopting a new skill, approach or way of thinking intended to produce improved results. Recognise and look out for it from now on, and be prepared to hold your nerve and work through it. The rewards are worth it on the other side of your ability blip.

Unfortunately, many teachers, trainers and coaches do not call out the ability blip, which creates one of the biggest frustrations in doing something new or differently – and why most people give up too early.

Solution three: Practice makes perfect – or does it?

Repetition is the master of developing skills. There are enormous benefits to be gained through repetition. But a word of caution: the saying: Practice makes perfect is not always true. Practice makes permanent!

Solution four: Focus on one thing

Do you happen to be familiar with the word: entelechy? It means turning theory into practice. Entelechy is achieved through three key ideas:

Do one thing at a time. Focus is the process of zoning in on something and giving it the energy it needs to get it right. Practice doesn’t make perfect; practice makes permanent. And there’s another word that should be added: The RIGHT practice makes PERMANENT

Decide to focus on three things at once: What do you think will happen? You won’t do any of them very well. Try doing one thing, get it right, and move on to the next. Each time you master one, you get closer to your overall goal, and the practice you put in makes it easier and easier to get it right.

Could you do it over and over? This goes straight to the heart of the ability blip, where you do something and are so bad at it that you feel like giving up. The difference between people who achieve mastery in anything is simply that they don’t quit just because they’re not good at it. They know the journey always starts at novice status, but the expert status will be within their grasp if they continue to improve.

Aim to do it many times rather than doing it well. This sounds counter-intuitive, but if you’ve got the previous two ideas locked in your head, you’ll see sense, too. We improve by becoming comfortable with things and getting used to them so that they become second nature. You can achieve that only by doing something again and again. You're in for a long haul if you’re playing golf and insist on getting your grip right before hitting a ball. If you try first, you’ll have a better idea of what to improve.

Solution five: Track your progress

This section has many actionable, momentum-building parts, tools to use and actions to complete. Use these to give you the framework for being your performance coach, ensuring that you keep the Ebbinghaus Effect at bay by constantly refreshing your mind with regular, scheduled actions and activities,

Solution six: Find an accountability buddy

Consider having an accountability buddy; not only will you get more intimate with the material you have learned, you achieve better results, but you will also hold each other accountable for action

take action; achieve more

By implementing the six solutions above, you’ll have built your bridge to transition you from success disciplines to success habits
We now know that today's world is conducive to procrastinating, and learning how to overcome it is one of the most important skills you can understand. Being aware of it is an important step
The time we spend on Earth is both limited and finite. In light of these facts, time is your most valuable commodity. It’s not money; unlike time, you can borrow money, save, or earn more. You can’t do that with time. Every single second you waste is gone forever.

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