Procrastination is your biggest enemy when it comes to making any significant changes in your life, be it in your health or in your career. When you break it down, procrastination is really self-sabotage, which means you are your own enemy! This might sound scary, but it is actually a good thing.  Why? It's often easier to change your own behavior than to change external circumstances.

Here are some ideas to start recognizing and tackling procrastination:

Notice your own self-sabotaging behaviors:
You know you feel better when you get to yoga, and you know you need to do your research before that next meeting. So what makes us not do these things if we are the ones receiving the benefits? Procrastination can arise for many reasons, including a fear of putting yourself out there; feelings of overwhelm; or just a lack of overall clarity. The next time you catch yourself procrastinating, ask yourself WHY. Notice the underlying belief or feeling. This is a great first step to changing your behavior patterns, and moving beyond them.

Get clearer about your goals:
Procrastination often comes from a lack of clarity about what you're actually doing. So before you stare at your computer, hoping the task will complete itself, or before you let poor planning render your farmers market veggies moldy again, stop for a moment to think about the big picture. What is your goal?  How can you refine that goal in a way that will give you direction and vigor to really achieve it?

Chunk it down:
Now that you have clarity, chunk down your goal into smaller, manageable tasks. When there is a lot to accomplish it's SO easy to feel overwhelmed with all the moving parts and the items on your to-do list. This is why it's important to set simple, specific goals.

Be accountable to someone else:
Partnerships are a positive force in getting things done. Whether you could benefit from a workout buddy, or a mentor, having to check in with someone could motivate you like nothing before. Plus, the input of someone else can help you break through the challenging roadblocks that lay ahead.

Evaluate the costs of not achieving your goals:
Whether it's not getting the promotion or raise you want, or not giving your body needed physical and mental nourishment, the costs are high!  This is your life, your livelihood, and your overall state of well-being. Ask yourself, what would my life look like if I did achieve my goals?  Now, isn't that worth working towards?

xoxo,

Karen and Marika