20+ Experts Share Tips on Stopping Procrastination and Causing Self-Improvement

The 1 reason most people procrastinate is indecisiveness and ‘waiting’ for something to happen, that’s what is hindering spiritual and personal growth.

So my three tips on how to start moving in a direction of growth and progress are:

1. Realize that you only have this One Life.

This is it my friend. You only get one shot, and you don't have all the time in the world.
It's time to change and make your life as great as it can be, and when you embark on the journey of personal growth, your life will change too - for the better!
You will experience more of the good stuff in life, I promise you that.
Don't wait another day, begin Now.
Remember; One Life. This is it. Make it real good.

2. Start doing and taking action right away.

Many times people watch a lot of YouTube videos, they listen to lots of Podcasts and read a lot of books and so on, but without implementing what they have learned.
So make a list of the things you need to do and want to do and then start doing them.
Get clear about what direction you want to go and think seriously and deeply about what that new path requires from you in terms of taking action.
And then start doing the things on your to-do list, one step at a time.

3. Stop comparing yourself with others and where they are in their personal growth.

Looking at what everybody else is doing is taking away energy from what your real focus should be on, which is You.
Focus on doing You and doing you really good.
The journey is all about the inner work, and not about acquiring a lot of information and looking left and right to see what everybody else is doing and where they are in their growth.
Keep your attention on You and the areas in your life where you can grow, evolve and improve yourself and your life.

Coming back to tips number one and summing it up;

This is your One Life, really let that sink in.
Let it motivate you to start using your time and energy wisely so that you can grow and evolve into the person that you are meant to be.
A person who is confident and happy, and who live their life with a great sense of purpose and meaningfulness.

My “thing” is mindset, so I'm going to base my top tips around procrastination and self-improvement from a mindset perspective. When you find yourself procrastinating, it can be really helpful to dig a bit deeper and look at why you're avoiding that activity or task. Getting to the root of the issue can make it easier for you to take action and get things done...and do a little self-improvement work in the process! Some people are really good at just pushing through the procrastination and getting things done, but that just doesn't work for everyone.

1. First, determine whether this is something that you absolutely have to do yourself. Is there any way you could outsource this to someone else, or get help with it? Sometimes, it's easier and more efficient to actually get someone else to do the task for us.

2. Assuming this is something you've got to do yourself, here are some questions to ask yourself: Why are you procrastinating on this? Is there something that you're afraid of? Do you think that whatever you do won't be good enough? What's stopping you from getting this done?

3. Once you're really clear on what's keeping you stuck, look at the other side of the coin and see what you need to believe about yourself in order to stop procrastinating and take action. Do you need to believe that you are good enough? That you're smart enough? That you have the confidence to do it?

4. Sometimes, understanding the root cause of the procrastination is enough to help people actually start taking action. Often, we need to do a little more work, what I call deep mindset work. This is something that you can do on your own, or with someone who specializes in this type of work. I always recommend working at the deeper levels, and shifting things at the subconscious and energetic levels. There are all kinds of techniques that can help with this; PSYCH-K®, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), hypnotherapy, etc.

5. Take action! Even when doing mindset work, we absolutely need to take action in order to tell our minds that we're serious about making change. However, once we've done the work to shift our beliefs around an issue, taking action is usually much easier.

1. Keep it simple.

I use one word to focus on for the whole year (for 2018 mine is ACTION) and every time I begin to lose sight of my goal or get distracted, I remind myself of my focus word. I even wear a bracelet with my word etched on it. I have a mantra, "Take Action", that I say every day. This one word reminds me that nothing will stand in my way of attaining my goal.

2. Stay centered.

I call myself back to the moment. When I realize I am procrastinating, I call myself out. Being mindful is about living in the moment. Procrastination is dwelling in the future, putting something off, over-thinking it, analyzing, over-planning, avoiding, whatever. When I realize I am doing it, I center myself on the task at hand and simply do that. I am in control of the now. Procrastination is a mind game that I don't play.

3. Celebrate every win.

I don't wait until I achieve the big hairy audacious goal. I celebrate every chance I get. Making every day a celebration makes life fun and enjoyable. We procrastinate sometimes because we don't want to do the hard work it takes to get to the good times, so make every day good and there will be no reason to procrastinate. Find the good in everything. Be grateful for every moment and procrastination won't get in the way of success.

3 Tips on How to Stop Procrastinating and Cause Self-Improvement

If you want to start becoming more productive and bolster your level of success effectively, it is important to know where to start. These simple tips can help you achieve great things in a short amount of time.

1. Reduce Your Stress Level

One of the most common reasons people procrastinate is because they overwhelm themselves with feelings of guilt and other negative emotions that cause stress. When you adopt a more positive viewpoint, you can start getting more done on a regular basis. Don’t waste any time beating yourself up and just get to work.

2. Make a List

Writing down a list of all the things you need to accomplish each day can also help you to get more done. There is nothing quite like the satisfaction that comes from crossing off things you have accomplished on a physical list. This will help keep you motivated to continue plowing through your work. Whether it is on a pad of paper or on your phone, write it down.

3. Choose the Proper Work Space

You should choose the right space to work in each day, as your immediate environment can have a huge impact on how productive you are. Find a quiet and relaxing place to get things done so that you won’t have any distractions. This could be a private research room at a local library or your home office. You will want to think about what kind of space you will thrive in when it comes to getting work done so you can make the right decision.

1) Ask yourself why.

One of the main reasons I don’t procrastinate as much as I used to, is that I’ve gotten into the habit of asking why.
We often know we are procrastinating. But, instead of getting to the bottom of it we make excuses like, “Well I’m just a procrastinator” or “I’m just lazy”.
Firmly held beliefs about yourself are usually easier to deal with than, “I don’t want to be judged harshly with the finished result, so I’ll do it last minute knowing it wasn’t my best work.” Or, “I’m scared I don’t know what I am doing.” Or, “I am overwhelmed by the scope of it.”
Instead of telling ourselves the truth we lie to ourselves when we only admit we procrastinate.
Until we get to the why, it’s harder to overcome procrastination.
Next time you realize you are procrastinating, ask yourself why.
Then you can talk back to your fear, ask for help, break down the project into smaller pieces or try making the task more fun.

2) Ask yourself,“Will I feel more or less overwhelmed if I don’t do anything right now?”

When I ask this I usually know I would get further behind if I continued to procrastinate. I would feel more overwhelmed because more things would be added to the list while I am trying to get out of doing work.

3) Take a few minutes to clean up and prioritize.

Clear off your desk so you can think. Consolidate your to do list. Mark your top 10 to dos. Pick one and start.

1. Don't overwhelm yourself with everything that comes between now and the finish line for your goal. Focus on the very first step and prioritize what needs to get done or started today. Do this every day. If you do this consistently, you'll establish a habit where you're working towards your goals every day and consequently achieving them slowly over time.

2. Stay organized. Use whatever tools to stay organized that works for you. Maybe it's a whiteboard calendar on the back of your front door. Maybe it's a series of post it notes on your wall. Maybe it's a checklist app on your phone. Whatever solution you choose, it should be something that keeps your to do list visible and organized. Don't worry about how there will be weeks where you're adding more things than you're crossing off -- that's normal. Simply having the list gives you a viewing area to quickly browse through your tasks and select something as your "goal for today" or maybe your "goal for this weekend." As long as you have some kind of system for saving your goals until you've accomplished them, you won't lost sight of them and will achieve them.

3. Don't sweat the small stuff. If something takes less than 5 minutes, just do it now. Send a quick email. Make a short phone call. Process your stack of mail. Collect the trash in your car. When you knock out these small tasks quickly as they come to you, they don't have an opportunity to build up into something bigger.

Tip #1: Fix your sleep. Low sleep quality, not being able to fall asleep at will, not being able to get out of bed in the morning – that has always been a massive problem for me personally. If you can fix your sleep, you’ll be ahead of most people. You’ll have more energy. You’ll start the day with a win. And everything will go a lot smoother. Invest some time into reading about sleep optimization.

Tip #2: Use timers to beat resistance. You know you should do something, but can’t get yourself to do it? The resistance – for whatever reason! – is just too high? Then use a timer. Do the dishes for five minutes. Work on your school project for fifteen minutes. Work out for ten minutes. This allows you to focus on the process and removes a lot of the friction to getting started.

Tip #3: Treat yourself with self-compassion, not self-criticism. Stop beating yourself up for procrastinating (or for anything else for that matter). It only makes things worse. Self-compassion – treating yourself with warmth, love, and understanding – is so much more effective. Ask yourself, “How would I try to motivate my kid?” Certainly not by criticizing it all the time, right? Same goes for you.
Best of luck on your journey! :-)

The number one thing you can do to stop procrastinating is to connect what you need or want to do with why you want to do it. What is the big picture vision of how you want your life and work to be? How does this task move you towards that? How will having completed the thing feel? Experiencing the feeling even in your mind will help motivate you to get it done.

Self-improvement happens incrementally. In other words, every little bit helps. If you are having a hard time getting started or staying on task, break it down to the very next step. Determine the easiest or quickest bit to work on. Because our brains like positive feedback, providing yourself with a small win can motivate you to keep going.

Recognize when your procrastination is really your perfectionism getting in the way. Learn to get things done not perfect. Think of it as a form of dosing your energy. Don’t waste energy on stuff that is irrelevant, spend it where you really shine. And some things you have to do anyway, don’t wait for the perfect moment, just do them in the right order.

If you start working on the task, there's no time for procrastination. You're now immersed in the job, and your brain is preoccupied with how to solve the challenge(s) before you.

Procrastination also has a mischievous cousin -- it's called "paralysis by analysis." You can spend all day long thinking about what might happen...or what could happen or...you catch my drift.

The reality is you'll never know what will happen until you dive into the work. So often, the outcome will be nothing that you expected. It might even be better than you predicted.

If you chip away at your project a little each day, you won't have time to procrastinate. The idea won't enter your brain. There is always something else you can work on -- another skill to obtain or mountain to scale.
Your mission (or passion project) is too important to sit around and wonder what might be.

1. Start any activity with setting a timer. If 25 minutes is too much, set the timer for 15 minutes or even 5 minutes. For activities like my yoga practice that usually lasts 90 minutes I set a timer, too. The limited time makes any activity more doable. It intensifies the given time. Setting the timer is the beginning. It's like ready, steady, go.....

2. Plan your activities the evening before. Plan what you want to do, when you start this activity and how long it will last. Start with the next tiny step. Don't discuss anymore if you want to do this activity or not. Don't doubt about your decision. Just go for it.

3. When a task is done, cross it out from your list. To write things down is important. Look back and enjoy the success. Take a break. Appreciate what is done. This helps to get going the next time when a 'difficult' task needs to be done.

1. Break your tasks down into smaller bits - Large tasks can feel overwhelming and demotivating. Break down what you have to do in the day, week, and longer into smaller chunks.

2. Reward yourself - Who doesn't like a reward or something special to work towards, right? It requires some self-discipline, but jot down a bit of paper what you're going to buy yourself when you get some certain tasks done and keep it as a motivating reminder.

3. Stop trying to be perfect - This is the one tip I always give people that makes them stop and think. Are you procrastinating because you're waiting for that perfect moment, or because you don't think you can do the task good enough? Stop overthinking it and just do it!

1. Answer-Procrastination = Laziness + Indifference. You can remedy this by having a clear, definite aim and nurturing a clear vision for yourself. I talk more about this formula here.

2. You can't rely on willpower alone. Forcing yourself to build a new habit is sometimes very difficult. What's easier is changing your environment to nurture the change you want to see and understanding how these feedback loops work.

3. Stop being afraid. Most poeple have a subconscius fear of improving and ending their procrastination for very complex reasons, usually these are distilled down to a fear of success or failure. There's nothing to be afraid of and the journey will be worth it. You have one chance, one life.

My tip to stop procrastinating is to trick myself into action. If I have something I don't feel like doing, I just tell myself to work on it for 5 minutes. After all, something is better than nothing, even if just 5 minutes. What ends up happening though is that I never stop at 5 minutes. Once I get going, I keep going. It's just getting over the hump of actually starting. The funny thing is, I know that when I tell myself to work on something for just 5 minutes, I'll keep working on it longer. But for some reason, the 5 minute time frame gets me to start taking action.

1. Structure and schedule your day with balanced grace. I schedule my self-care time and my work time. I also schedule my white space and nothing time.

2. Do it. Do it again. And, do it again. New research shows it takes 66 days to develop a habit. Just get it done, action will always kill fear.

3. Ask yourself what the story you are making up. What is holding you back? How are you standing in your own way? Then rewrite that story and let it go.

If someone is in a position where they are unable to take action, I would say that it might be a good idea for them to look into if they actually want to do it. Through taking this approach, they may find that it is not something that really interests them. Now, if what they want to do does interest them, they could think about what will happen if they don’t take action. By focusing on the bad things that might happen, it might give them the emotional fuel that they need to get things moving. Along with this, they may find that what is taking place within them is stopping them from taking action. For example, they may believe that it is not possible for them to achieve something, which will hold them back. It will then be necessary for them to change their outlook and to realise that nothing happens overnight. When they change how they view what they want to achieve and focus on taking one step at a time, it might allow them to move forward.

“Tap into your inspiration. When you are inspired you are motivated from within and things become easier. Find what inspires you and follow that passion daily."