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The bridge between now and your success is doing the work. So why do you try to jump, hang-glide or rope-swing your way across the gap? You’re wired to find shortcuts, smartcuts and hacks. It’s in your entrepreneurial DNA. When you finally accept that it’s time to do the work, beware!
There's a troll waiting for you - its name is Procrastination.
Instead of guiding your safe passage, the troll will chat to you on Facebook and fill
In 2000, Ted O’Donoghue and Matthew Rabin published an essay titled Choice and Procrastination. In this paper, they revealed two golden insights.
Argument 1: Additional options can induce procrastination.
In the researcher’s words, "A person may never complete a good task because of persistent but unfulfilled aspirations to do a better job." Let’s traverse from abstract to specific and do some entrepreneurial self-diagnosis. Here are a few symptoms to check yourself against:
- You toil on a project for months, but fail to launch
- You feel like no matter what you do, it will never be good enough
- You protect and guard your idea like Smeagol protects the "precious"
- Your fear and anxiety manifests itself in out-of-character or irrational behavior
This is powerful.
Argument 2: People may procrastinate more in pursuit of important goals than unimportant ones.
Remember those hacks and shortcuts? You’re protecting your ego from unrealized failure.
Here are some example behaviors to check against:
- You pivot or launch new products before finding product market fit
- You prioritize projects that yield validation instead of moving the needle
- You favor bandaids over systemic business improvements
If you have demonstrated these any of these behaviors, don’t beat yourself up. I’ve been guilty, time and time again. You can’t kill procrastination, but you can beat it on a daily basis.
Choose The Digestion Menu Over The Brainfood Buffet
Digesting multiple sources of information is difficult.
I would gorge on brainfood instead of selectively choosing the best and most useful content to read. By sheer volume, I was learning a lot, but I had no time to apply it. This is a form of procrastination and self diagnosing it hurt my ego. Instead of gorging yourself at the brainfood buffet, read one book at a time, take notes and then take action on just one thing you’ve learned along the way.
As you read, use Amazon highlights or a pen in the margins to mark up your tome. When you finish, categorize and summarize your notes for future reference. Then, apply just one thing that you learn from the book to your business or life. Finishing a book feels good, but taking action and sharing your results with the author feels great!
"If knowledge is power, action is a steroid."
Ask Yourself A Hard Question
Changing your behavior is one of the most difficult things you can do.
I like to use a "pattern interrupt" that snaps me out of procrastination. Here are some questions to ask yourself before you dive into a project or continue with an old one. They will help you understand why you are doing something:
- Do you love the work?
- Do you want to build something?
- Do you want fame, fortune and prestige?
- Do you want to help people?
- Do you want recognition or kudos from your peers?
To give you an example, here’s my ‘work in progress’ why.
I study successful entrepreneurs so I can model their mindset, systems and behavior. I synthesize what I learn to create a body of work that will stand the test of time.
This helps me focus on strategy over shortcuts and writing articles that will be useful today and five years from now. When you procrastinate, ask yourself one question to get back to your why:
“Why am I [reading listicles] [wasting time on Facebook] [etc] when I should be doing XYZ instead?”
Find Your Sherpa
Preventing procrastination is easier with a little help.
You can meet with a like minded entrepreneur, employ a coach or find an advisor to help you.
To find an accountability partner; tap into your personal network and look for someone who will be honest with you and ask you tough questions, instead of high-fiving you for small wins. Set a regular, mutually convenient time to catch up and track your goals together.
To find a coach or advisor; look for someone who’s done what you want to do and pay them for their time.
"Put your money where your procrastination is and you will amaze yourself."
Set SMART Goals
I set unachievable goals... and you might do the same.
I use the SMART framework for goal-setting; specific, measurable, actionable, realistic and timely. To this day, I have to restrain myself from setting SMAT goals. If you find yourself setting audacious goals and losing motivation after a week, you’re not alone. I can guarantee one thing about your motivation - it won’t last.
Plan accordingly. Don’t rely on willpower.
System oriented goals are the perfect workaround. Set a micro daily goal or benchmark, like writing 1,000 words a day or getting to the gym at 9AM. Perhaps your broader goal is to write a 30,000 word book or get your body fat to 10%, but breaking down to tiny goals makes your progress so much easier to track.
Consider the difference between goal 1 and goal 2.
Goal 1 - Grow revenue 10% month on month
Goal 2 - Grow revenue 400% in 10 months
It’s fun and exciting to set enormous goals, but when you’re getting started, realistic goals will reduce your stress, help you stay focused and save you from procrastinating when you miss an early milestone.
Plan To Fail
Have you ever started a workout program and given up after a few weeks? I have. Three times. Instead of going to the gym to do your workout, I made excuses and ate Pop Tarts straight from the box. Successful entrepreneurs and high achievers know exactly what will slow them down and plan accordingly. So how do you keep yourself going back for more, even when it’s the last thing you want to do? Try this on for size:
- Pay a trainer and make sure they charge you when you no-show
- Track every workout you do by crossing it off your calendar
- Watch a video that will motivate you
- Commit to a long-term goal like running a half-marathon
Finally, ask yourself if eating junk food or slacking off will make you feel better about yourself in the long term. If you answer no, then you know what to do next.
Reward Yourself
A target is not enough to motivate you. Let me explain:
What do bodybuilders do after they win a competition? Binge on junk food. What do the San Francisco Giants do after they win the World Series? Party for a week. When you achieve a milestone, do something that makes you feel good. Use your celebration to ponder your next target. This will help you avoid yo-yoing between goals and will also lock in your resolve for the next goal you set.
If you’re working towards a goal right now, ask yourself what your reward will be when the work is done.
