Stop Being A Procrastinator

It was hard for me to admit that I was a procrastinator. I didn’t want the issue to be my behavior. I wanted to blame time, although it was never the issue.

You see, I’ve had the same amount of time as everybody else. And lots of people on the planet have been making their ideas happen since like forever!

I slowly came to realize that the issue was me and not time. It was my inability to deal with tasks (and issues) that I considered way too difficult. I had no problem tackling tasks that were natural and easy for me. It was the hard stuff that I tended to avoid,  and then I’d wait until the very last moment to start tackling them.

Girl, let me break it down.

When I first started GoneGirlGo, I kept putting off this one task because it seemed so daunting and difficult. I didn’t think that I could figure it out so I avoided it.

Although the consequences of being a procrastinator were self-inflicted, they were real. Loss of sleep. Undue stress. Guilt. Worry. Anxiety. (Girl, bye! Ain’t nobody got time for that!)

The time finally came for me to take care of it. My back was against the wall. If I didn’t do it, then the big picture of what I wanted to accomplish wasn’t going to happen. I had reached the moment of truth. I took a deep breath and dove in. I wrestled with the task and yes, those self-inflicted consequences too.

Even with all that suffering and hard work, I got it done, but realized that I had to change being a procrastinator because it was not working, especially because I was declaring GoneGirlGo as my forward movement. (And those consequences were annoying me.) 

Fast forward to the present.

I’m better, but not completely cured. I do consider myself somewhat reformed.

When faced with a difficult task or issue that my first inclination is to avoid, I’ve learned to do these things.

(Disclaimer: not in order, not all the time, and not at the same time necessarily.)

🌺Have a conversation with myself to pinpoint the reason for putting off the hard stuff.

Me: “Girl, why are you putting this thing off?”

Me: “Uh because it is hard. I’m not sure where to start. And I don’t have the wherewithal to figure it out.”

Me: “Zoe, so what do you need to do to alleviate the difficulty and gain the wherewithal?”

Me: Hmmm?

(And so the conversation continues with myself until the matter within is resolved.)

🌺Refuse to bite off more than I’m capable of chewing, especially if I have something difficult to accomplish.

I cannot, absolutely cannot allow too many things to fill my plate.  I must be a ninja about what I decide to put on my plate and ask myself:

  • Does it align with my purpose?
  • Will it add value to my life?
  • Is it a priority?
  • Would I lose anything if I don’t do it?

It’s this simple. When I have too much to do, overwhelm gets in the driver’s seat and I climb in the back. I avoid. I lose focus. I become de-motivated. And girl, you know these behaviors don’t complement procrastination at all!

Avoidance, loss of focus, de-motivation co-mingled with procrastination become an inner beast that takes on a life of its own. 😩

🌺Share my concerns with someone I trust.

When I let my trusted advisor in on my struggle, all bets are off of the table. I now have someone who can call me on the carpet when I fall short. Ultimately, completing the task is my responsibility and I don’t have to answer to anyone for doing it but myself, but having her is the extra reinforcement that I need to be motivated to complete the task as well as change my ways. 

It helps to be clear with her about what type of support I need and to check in with her regularly. I also realize that transparency and honesty are essential. Not being honest with her is only lying to myself. 

🌺Schedule tasks and appointments to actually do them.

I set up tasks on my Google calendar so that I can map out what I need to do and by when. And for extra reinforcement , I schedule  appointments with alerts to remind me to actually work on the task. My Google account is hooked up to my mobile device so that I get the alerts while I’m on the move. 

🌺Manage my time better.

I had to stop myself from spending significant amounts of time doing stuff like scrolling through Facebook or checking my email. What I learned to do was set aside short amounts of time to do these things so that they wouldn’t dominate the time I needed to work on the hard tasks. When I’m particularly good at tackling the hard stuff, I practice the Pomodoro Technique,  in which I work for 25 minutes on a task then take a short 3-5 minute break. I repeat this until the task is done.


I get that being a procrastinator may not be your issue. Our inner-work is, of course, different. But just maybe you’re the girlfriend who’s the trusted advisor. Here’s some insight for you to consider if you’re ever asked to hold your girl accountable.

The bottom line, regardless of why you procrastinate and regardless of your inner-work, you gotta do it because you’re on the threshold of making your ideas blossom. And let me add. This inner-work doesn’t stop, even when you’re blooming and your ideas are too.

If you’re going to change, you’ve got to do something about it. So my question to you is, what are you going to do? Have a conversation with yourself? Be a ninja about what you decide to put on your plate? Find a trusted advisor and entrust your concerns to her? Be a trusted advisor to a procrastinator? Use tools like Google calendar or the Pomordoro technique to map it out and manage your time better?

Girl, don’t be shy now.

  • Write a comment below or share your comment on the GoneGirlGo Facebook page.
  • For a more private exchange, email me at zoe@gonegirlgo.com
  • For a private reflection, spend time journaling about this topic this week.

I think the image up top about sums it up. When you procrastinate you stand in the way of yourself. So many more opportunities and possibilities are waiting for you, but when you procrastinate, you may miss out. And what you may miss out on may be just what you need. You owe it to yourself to stop doing that.