[THIS POST HAS BEEN REVISED SINCE IT’S ORIGINAL PUBLISHING IN DEC 2014]

Are you procrastinating on the things that’ll move the needle forward in your business and wondering how to take consistent, gentle action?

How would your business change if you were consistent in doing the things that helped you reach more of the right people or enrol more of the right clients?

What would be different in six months or a year if you could stop procrastinating on the things that’ll move the needle forward in your business and take consistent, gentle action?

Disclaimer: I'm not a therapist or someone who knows the deep psychology of why we procrastinate but as a neurodivergent, highly sensitive solopreneur living with ADHD, I’m comfortable calling myself an expert… wink…wink!

I’ve found there are generally five reasons why I procrastinate on doing both mindless and deep work that I know will help me grow and I’m also giving you what I do and reflect on to help me get back to taking consistent, gentle action anytime procrastination tries to stop me from doing anything small or large.

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Why You’re Procrastinating In Your Business And How To Get Back To Taking Consistent, Gentle Action As a Solopreneur

1. Your procrastination is protecting you

Procrastination can serve an important purpose, and that’s to keep you safe.

If you can't find the motivation to update your blog, declutter your inbox or write your sales copy for a new offer, then your procrastination may be protecting you from the stress and overwhelm you feel in your already busy life.

It can also cause you to delay anything that challenges your comfort zone, like putting yourself out there online and will find any excuse to put off goals that elicit your fears.

Gentle actions:

Try to figure out what your procrastination is protecting you from:

Is it protecting you from chaos, stress or boredom?
Is it protecting you from experiencing scary things like failure, embarrassment, rejection or too much responsibility?

Which fears are stopping you from following through or getting started in the first place? Once you're clear about what you're being safeguarded against, ask yourself:

Is my fear protecting me from real danger or one that’s perceived?
Does avoidance protect me from stress or contribute to it?
Is avoiding important things in my business helping me or hurting me?

2. The task is too big

Are you struggling to get started on your goal because it feels big and insurmountable? I felt this way before redesigning my website. When we focus on the bigger overwhelming goal it can paralyze us into inaction.

Gentle actions:

Break your goal down into small bite-sized actions until the goal or task is so small that the stress and anxiety you feel for starting is gone. Only focus on the bigger goal to help you determine the smaller steps, otherwise, you’ll get overwhelmed.
Focus on the result of completing a task/project rather than the action itself. Ex. instead of focusing on the 1200 emails in your inbox and how much time it’ll take to clean it out, focus on what it would feel like to have a clean inbox each day. It can be enough to motivate you to get things done.

3. You believe it's harder than it is

Have you ever procrastinated for so long that by the time you get around to doing whatever it is you need to do you realize you've wasted more time complaining about it than it would've taken to do it in the first place?

Your mind has tricked you into believing that something is much harder, more time-consuming and more difficult than it is.

Gentle actions:

Break it down: My mind usually thinks a task is much bigger than it is because it focuses on the bigger overwhelming goal, so like the tip above, break it down until the steps are so small they don’t feel overwhelming.
Set a 15-minute timer: Got some backend admin work you need to catch up on but can’t get going? Avoiding your newsletter? Carve out some time on your calendar, light a candle, burn some incense and set a 15-minute timer. Stop after the 15 minutes OR keep going if you’re feeling motivated.

04. It’s not fun

When I’m procrastinating on getting things done in my business, it’s usually because the task is boring, and frankly, it’s not interesting enough to do it — oddly enough, I never procrastinate on making graphics for my business or any of the creative, fun stuff!

But, the harsh reality is that sometimes we just have to do things we don't want to do.

Gentle actions:

Make it fun: Procrastinating on your quarterly or annual planning but know it helps you stay focused throughout the year? Make the job enjoyable by using fun stationery to draft your plan, colour up the page with stickers, buy a new planner, pour yourself a latte, and find ways to make the task fun! How can you psyche yourself up to get the job done?
Delegate: Is there someone in your household who’d be better suited for the task or might naturally enjoy it? Or is there a service that can do the task for a fee?
Get an accountability buddy: Ask a friend or a colleague to do the task with you remembering to set your goals before you start. Or let them know what you want to accomplish and ask them to follow up with you after so many hours or days.

05. You’re stuck in perfectionism

For years I thought that being a perfectionist was a good thing. I would tell potential employers that my weakness was "perfectionism", and now I cringe whenever I think back to that.

Unfortunately, perfectionism still rears its ugly head from time to time, but I'm learning that it doesn't have to prevent me from getting stuff done.

Of course, it's important to have high standards and put care into everything we do, but there's a point when perfectionism becomes harmful to our success and overall well-being.

Gentle actions:

Give yourself a deadline: Perfectionists need strict deadlines because we obsess over every aspect of our project/task to the point we never get it done. It's important to be realistic in giving yourself a timeframe to complete the task and then honour the time you've set.
Decide when good enough is good enough: We procrastinate because we're too busy agonizing over every tiny detail until it's perfect when the truth is, it's already good enough. That may sound like you’re settling, but it's better to release your imperfect work into the world NOW than wait for your perfect work—NEVER.
Know you're already enough: Perfectionism stems from a belief that we're not good enough. We need to show the world that we are good enough, so we waste valuable time trying to prove it.

A friend shared a beautiful excerpt from Brené Brown's book Daring Greatly that summarizes this thought perfectly:

“Perfectionism is a defensive move. It’s the belief that if we do things perfectly and look perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgment, and shame. Perfectionism is a twenty-ton shield that we lug around, thinking it will protect us when in fact, it’s the thing that’s really preventing us from being seen.”