7 Proven Tips to Beat Procrastination
- Dilek Süzal
- Mar 18
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 2
Why do we resist the very things that move us forward?
Why do we resist taking action, even on things we truly want?
These are the questions I am on a life-long quest to answer.
For me.
For you.
⏳ Problem: Procrastination.
It isn’t just about laziness. It’s the unseen killer of progress with short term benefits and long-term costs, holding you back from opportunities, self-sabotaging, increasing stress, and making even simple tasks feel overwhelming. And, yes, it’s holding you back from reaching your peak potential, both as an individual and within your team.
💡 Solution: Action.
The key isn’t waiting for motivation, but rather creating motivation by using smart strategies to trick your brain into action!
Procrastination is more than a time-management issue. It’s a behavioural pattern that roots in:
Fear of failure: The paralyzing belief that making a mistake will lead to disaster.
Perfectionism: The desire to complete everything perfectly before taking action.
Overwhelm: When the task ahead feels too large, your mind avoids it altogether.
Hacks to Eliminate Procrastination
In his book The Procrastination Equation Dr. Piers Steel gives us a formula to increase the level of motivation to overcome procrastination.
✅ Increase your ‘Expectancy’ of success and self-belief and the task’s ‘Value’ (make it more pleasant and rewarding). If you do not believe in yourself -yet-, believe in the value of what you want to accomplish and believe in the need/success of your project.
✅ Decrease your ‘Impulsiveness’ - the tendency to get distracted by more urgent or interesting things- and the ‘Delay’ - the time between the present and the task’s reward by chunking it down to smaller goals.
Furthermore:
✅ Use the "2-Minute Rule" Commit to working on something for just 2 minutes. This simple trick is proven to overcome inertia.
✅ Reverse Gratitude: Instead of thinking about why you need to do something, think about how life would be if you don’t act on it. This taps into loss aversion.
✅ Identity-Based Motivation: Instead of saying, “I need to exercise,” say, “I am the kind of person who prioritises my health.” This shift makes motivation intrinsic.
✅ Reframe the Fear of Failure: Instead of seeing failure as a dead-end, view it as a valuable learning tool.
✅ Visualize Your Success: Visualization isn’t just woo-woo. In fact, it’s backed by science. Mental imagery activates the same brain regions as actual experience, helping to prepare your brain for the task ahead.
Time for Action
Remember, you don’t need perfection, you need progress.
✨ Start by taking one small step today.
🔑 Action is the key to breaking free from procrastination.
What’s one small step from the list above you can take right now to stop procrastinating?
Warmly, Dilek
Official Collaboration Partners:
★ Lead Coach at the global coaching platform BetterUp based in USA.
★ Executive Coach and Trainer at SparkUs based in Turkey and Netherlands.
★ Impact Partner for coaching, training & facilitation projects at leadership experts Think Beyond Group based in Austria.
★ Leadership Coach at Percoms AG, based in Switzerland.
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