I think procrastination robs us of so much productivity in the workplace. The other day, I was running my Prolific Productivity program, and one of the participants asked me, “Colin, how do I stop procrastinating?” You’ve probably heard a whole lot of stuff about procrastination. It impacts our productivity, results, relationships and even our promotions. Mastering this area will enable you to move forward and get the type of achievements you want.
One of the keys to stopping procrastination, is realising this concept: you’re not necessarily procrastinating — you are simply unclear. You are unlcear on your next most important task. Whenever you’re procrastinating or you feel the emotion of overwhelm, it means you’re unclear on your next most important task.
What you need is task simplification. You need to chunk down your task to its next simplest step.
I’ll give you an example. Maybe you’ve got on your to-do list to get a budget completed, and you’ve been procrastinating for a long time. What you need to do is simplify that project down to its next simplest step. It might be ‘Call Greg and ask how much is the accounts receivable at the moment.’ It’s that next simplest step that will enable you to take action. The reason why this occurs is because we’ve got a part of our brain called the Reticular Activation System, the ‘goal’ part of your brain that focuses on a specific outcome. Identifying your next step enables you to take clear action.
I want you to take action today. I want you to stop procrastinating and become someone who is massively productive. And the way you do that is to realise that you have to be super clear on your next specific step to take action.
QUESTION: What’s been helpful for you to stop procrastinating? I’d love to hear it in the comments below.
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In this training, you’ll discover:
- How to create a Super Productive Mindset (the exact thinking you must have to produce incredible results)
- The secret to leveraged energy – this is like a Red Bull for your daily productivity
- 3 critical brain rules – and how you can use them to work with your brain, not against it