5 Insights That Will Help You Defeat Procrastination

It’s tax season as I write this, and there is an item on my to-do list entitled “Do Taxes.”

It’s been there for a few weeks now.

I suppose you could say that I’ve been procrastinating on this task. But this type of procrastination isn’t too interesting to me, and it’s not what I want to talk about.

Why?

Because in 30 years, there is absolutely no way that I will look back on my life and wish that I had completed my 2021 taxes a few days sooner.

The procrastination I do want to talk about is the kind that has the potential to cause the sting of regret.

The kind where you possibly could look back on your life and wish that you had done that thing sooner, or had done it at all.

This procrastination is devastating; it can cost us our potential and the life of our dreams.

I hate to say it, but I’ve been struggling with this procrastination for several years now. There are a few things that I have perpetually been putting off until tomorrow, next week, or next quarter.

Writing has been one of them...

I’ve been reflecting on this, and I want to try to shed some light on the causes and potential solutions to this problem of damaging procrastination in the hopes that it can be of service to a fellow procrastinator.

Be Honest About Your Fear

We procrastinate on things because they’re scary.

They’re often things that threaten to challenge our identity or send us head-first into the great unknown.

They require us to put ourselves out there and be vulnerable.

These situations ARE scary, and you shouldn’t neglect to confront this by only focusing on positive thinking.

If you do that, you won’t be mentally prepared to deal with the challenges and roadblocks that will inevitably come up.

It’s more effective to honestly articulate your fears, and think of solutions for them. Brace for them.

Imagine that what you’re afraid of will happen, and imagine dealing with it.

Your journey is not going to be smooth sailing, and you know this.

It’s why you’re procrastinating.

Be honest with yourself and face the fear head-on. Be specific about what the worst outcome is and prepare for it.

An Honest Effort Can’t Fail

The plan, business, idea, concept, career change — or whatever it is that you’re procrastinating on — well, it may just not work.

There could be an infinite number of reasons for this. The timing may not be right. Maybe it’s not a great business for you. Perhaps the idea isn’t all that awesome…

But if you have honestly failed at it (by giving it an honest effort for a significant amount of time ) then you’ve really just learned something about yourself.

You’ve learned about something that doesn’t work for you, and you’re one step closer to finding something that does.

If you can observe what went wrong, you can potentially learn a wealth of information and be much better off for your future endeavors.

If you have honestly tried, it’s not a failure — you’re just one step closer to finding something that works for you.

You’re Not Locked In

Gary Vaynerchuk is a business leader and one of the most popular faces of entrepreneurship. His content is largely focused on career growth and success while remaining happy. This message is the core of his personal brand.

Now here's a fact that nobody really cares about:

Gary Vaynerchuk started his career talking about wine.

His first interaction with the world was with a show called Wine Library TV. He was the ‘wine guy’.

But that's in the past, and it's not what he's known for anymore.

He has rebranded, and only the hardcore fans think of wine when they think Gary Vee.

Gary is just one example of rebranding — people do it all the time.

We trap ourselves by imagining that we have to have everything perfectly figured out to start.

And then we don’t start until we have the perfect vision — the perfect website, niche, logo, business idea, or whatever it may be.

This becomes a huge problem because we’ll probably never have all these things perfectly figured out.

Not having a perfect idea of where you’re going is no reason not to start.

Start that blog, YouTube channel, business, side-hustle, or whatever the hell you’re thinking of. You can iterate on it later — you can even do a complete 180 on your brand if you have to.

You’re not locked in.

If you wait to have it all figured out, you’ll never start.

You’ve Never Done Anything Tomorrow

We, procrastinators, have invented this magical place called The Future.

In The Future, everything is nice and shiny and everyone is happy.

Most importantly, in The Future, we are incredibly motivated!

What a glorious place this is. Of course, it makes sense to put this task off and do it in The Future, we tell ourselves.

We’ll feel like it then. We’ll be ready then.

This is obviously not true. The future is very useful for organizing our societies, but it doesn’t really exist.

It is a risky business to outsource the things you want to get done to your future self.

I wish I had a trick to conquer this, but as far as I can tell there isn’t one. The best I have is to try to catch yourself outsourcing things to your future self when you shouldn’t be.

Scheduling something for later is fine. But constantly bailing and outsourcing tasks to your future self is a problem. You have to be aware of the difference.

If you find yourself tempted to schedule something for later, ask yourself:

There may actually be a valid reason for why this is the case.

But probably not… Chances are you’re just procrastinating.

It’s Scarier NOT To Do It

As I suggested in the first insight, what you’re procrastinating on is likely scary.

But you know what else is scary?

Not doing it.

The worst fate is to wonder what would have happened if you had acted, and having it be too late now.

That is f*cking terrifying.

I think this is the key to overcoming procrastinating on important things— the moment when it hits you like a ton of bricks deep in your gut that it will be far worse not to act than to take the risk of acting.

If you’re not there yet, imagine that it’s 5 years later and you still haven’t done the thing you’re thinking of.

How does that feel?

Imagine that it’s been 10 years. 30 years.

Unlike doing my taxes for the 2021 calendar year, the thought of it being 30 years later and looking back, wondering what might have been if I had pursued some of my important goals, makes me feel sick.

Procrastinating on going shopping or doing taxes is not a big deal.

Procrastinating on starting your dream business, personal brand, or going for your dream job IS a big deal.

This is the procrastination that can prevent you from living the life you want to live.

These insights have helped put things in perspective for me, I hope they’ll do the same for you.