The theme this month is How to Stop Procrastinating as a Solopreneur where I’m giving you methods to bust through to get things done!

We often procrastinate on tasks not because the task itself is hard, but because there’s a step in the process that always derails us. If you eliminate that step or find a more effective way to get past it, often the urge to procrastinate disappears. The task becomes easy—or even just more enjoyable.

First, identify the big procrastination point. For example, last September I started a new 12-week health program called Wildfit and within the first week, we were enhancing our morning routines with deep breathing and a nice big glass of water. Within a couple of weeks, we began to add in healthy green smoothies called Alkagizers AND no caffeine or dairy.

Hold up.

I’m not a morning person. I’m usually tired and groggy, and all I want is to curl up with my dogs and drink my morning coffee. Lots of it. Strong.

At first, I couldn’t resist the urge to reach for the coffee pot. And the thought of having a green smoothie on top of coffee is kind of… stomach-churning. So those first few days, everyone else in the group was posting how they felt ahhmmmaazing. But there I was, staying in a groggy morning mood and—most important—I didn’t feel any better. What’s the sticking point here?

In this video, I go over how to overcome sticking points and why it’s important to build in rewards to keep you motivated.

Welcome to a new Systems Sunday! The theme this month is How to Stop Procrastinating as a Solopreneur where I’m giving you methods this month to bust through to get things done!

I am Lisa Wells, Your Virtual Assistant Trainer.

Today I have two more methods to help you overcome procrastination. If you need to catch up from last week, click on the link below.

Method Five: Look for the Sticking Point

We often procrastinate on tasks not because the task itself is hard, but because there’s a step in the process that always derails us. If you eliminate that step or find a more effective way to get past it, often the urge to procrastinate disappears. The task becomes easy—or even just more enjoyable.

First, identify the big procrastination point. For example, last September I started a new 12-week health program called Wildfit and within the first week, we were enhancing our morning routines with deep breathing and a nice big glass of water. Within a couple of weeks, we began to add in healthy green smoothies called Alkagizers AND no caffeine or dairy.

Hold up.

I’m not a morning person. I’m usually tired and groggy, and all I want is to curl up with my dogs and drink my morning coffee. Lots of it. Strong.

At first, I couldn’t resist the urge to reach for the coffee pot. And the thought of having a green smoothie on top of coffee is kind of… stomach-churning. So those first few days, everyone else in the group was posting how they felt ahhmmmaazing. But there I was, staying in groggy morning mood and—most important—I didn’t feel any better.

What’s the sticking point here?

One big sticking point is how I habitually felt in the morning. I’m tired. I’m addicted to that morning coffee—and as we know, addictions are the hardest habits to break.

What I had to do was to make it easy to replace the habit. So, I began to make a big batch of the smoothie the night before and stored it in the fridge. In the morning, I would give it a quick buzz in the blender to refresh it. Others in the group would freeze their smoothie in ice trays and then add it to the blender with water. The point is, we figured out how to make it easy and not have to think about it—that smoothie is ready to sip!

I changed the “sticking point” step in the process.

It’s now February and I’ve maintained this one habit – I have an Alkagizer right after a big glass of water and it starts the day off right. I did add back coffee, but have it later in the day.

I created my desired new routine. I get the feeling of accomplishment and action, the excitement of taking concrete steps towards my goal, and the reward of feeling genuinely more energetic and healthier at what used to be my worst part of the day.

And that’s a great habit to get into.

Method Six: Look for the Reward

I mentioned the “reward” factor earlier. When you talk about rewards, most people tend to focus on the Big Reward—the mansion you’re going to move into when you make seven figures or the appearance on national TV or being able to retire at age forty.

But it’s important to build in intrinsic rewards, all along the way.

It’s like starting that journey with a single step: You need those little rewards to motivate you towards the big rewards. People need to have a sense of purpose and joy in every single day.

Living with purpose and joy makes it easy to beat procrastination, most of the time. You’re just so “in your zone” you don’t want to stop. Working feels like fun again. You’re excited for your clients, and you’re excited for the future.

But don’t neglect those little, overlooked rewards you can easily build into any procrastination-whupping technique or strategy. We already had a look at the automatic, built-in rewards that I created when I started preparing my fresh, healthy smoothies the night before:

• The feeling of accomplishment as an action taker
• The excitement of actually setting myself on my path towards my goal
• The reward of feeling great in the mornings, instead of groggy

And it’s great when there are unexpected positive side effects, too. Giving up caffeine for two and a half months, I found I slept better. Drinking more water, my skin looked better. And I released 20 lbs during the 12-week program by giving up sugar.

Rewards should be a built-in part of any procrastination-busting, habit-changing strategy—both long-term rewards and those all-important, little immediate ones. It’s just human nature: We like to do what is pleasurable, and if something is all pain, we are just not going to create that habit.

If you enjoyed this episode and want more tips and strategies, check out my new Business Building Action Kit, “How to Stop Procrastinating as a Solopreneur.”

All of my action kits contain a full done-for-you action plan to give you guidance, resources, and keep you on track with checklists and worksheets.

You can find a link to the product below or visit my VA Business Builder Boutique and click on Shop.

Join me next week when I’ll give you more strategies to bust through procrastination as we talk about how to create the right space. See you then!

Catch up on other “How to Stop Procrastinating” episodes:

• [Video] How to Stop Procrastinating as a Solopreneur – Tried and true methods to bust through procrastination!
• [Video] For the procrastinators who tend to overcomplicate things
• [Video] How to Stop Procrastinating by Creating the Right Space

Did you enjoy this episode and want to put it into action? Check out this action kit!