Procrastination getting the best of you?
Procrastination is a natural reaction to overwhelm. If you feel like your drowning in tasks to build your health coaching business, this blog is for you.
It’s not uncommon for my clients to be working full-time, studying for some kind of health coaching certification, working on growing their coaching business, trying to balance family/normal life, AND making time for healthy habits because us health coaches gotta “walk the walk.”
I’ve been there! That is why time management is a big part of what I work on with clients. We chip away at the “non-essentials” and focus on the next client-generating step for them.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/kLf4QlMQoJ4
My top 3 tips to beat procrastination
1. WHAT GETS MEASURED IMPROVES.
I recommend using the free app “Toggl” to measure how you’re spending your time. You can set the app timer for each daily activity. Most of us OVERestimate how much we can get done in a day and UNDERestimate how long certain tasks take us.
By tracking your time (just like you’d track your food or workouts), you’ll see where there’s room for improvement, what you could be outsourcing or doing less of, etc. It also makes you think twice about aimlessly scrolling through social media if the timer is running!
2. ASK YOURSELF THESE 3 GOLDEN JOURNAL QUESTIONS.
The 3 journal prompts below will bring your attention to what you can do right NOW to move forward. Not what you need to do next week, next month, next year… NOW. One of the key reasons procrastination occurs is because we get overwhelmed by the idea that we have to get everything done perfectly TODAY. When in reality, all you have to do is ask what you can do to win THIS MOMENT.
Here are the 3 journal questions that will get you focused on the present moment:
- What would it look like to win today?
- What’s the #1 next problem I need to solve, or hole I need to fill to move forward towards my goals?
- What’s the most important step for me to take today to INSERT YOUR TOP GOAL (for example, attract more ideal clients)?
The definition of “winning the day” will be very different depending on what you have going on that day. I recommend checking out Elizabeth Benton’s podcast for more tips to win the day.
3. BREAK THINGS DOWN INTO “SPRINTS.”
Break down big projects into mini-sprints that take less than 30 minutes. Your sprint tasks should be so specific that you could clearly answer if it was accomplished with a yes or no. For example, instead of writing “finish and promote blog” on your to-do list, consider that a project. Break it down into smaller, more manageable “sprints” like these: “Write the 3 tips for the blog,” “Choose a captivating title,” “Make edits so that it’s SEO-friendly,” “Publish & post the blog to my social media channels,” “Write a newsletter that links to the blog.” This way, you’re able to be more realistic about how much time is needed to accomplish the project & plan accordingly.
Checkout the book SCRUM to learn more about this time management method.
Want the time management template I’ve used to stop procrastination, get through working 3 jobs in the past, grow my business, & stay healthy and somewhat sane in the process? I’ll be sharing it with you in my upcoming 5-Day Challenge.
