it's no secret that many moms and business owners feel stuck at some point in their lives and in their business with all of the demands on our time and energy. It can be hard to find the motivation to move forward and for many of us, procrastination is what keeps us stuck. If you're ready to move past this roadblock and achieve your goals, then keep listening because I'm going to be sharing with you tips on how to stop procrastination from keeping you stuck. You're listening to the marisa raider show, I'm a mom of three farm wife and creative entrepreneur who thrives on helping dreamers endures, make the most of their God given talents. You can consider me your newest BFF who will be in there to cheer you on and give you practical tools to use in your business and your life all while empowering you in your faith, providing you with hard truths and motivation to get you chasing your dreams. I am bringing you actionable tips to uplevel your life and business as a busy mom and believer, I'll share laughs and encouragement with you as you chase after your God given dreams, I believe that you've been given this one life and purpose for you to live out and if you're ready to be the rock star you're meant to be, then you're in the right place, let's get started Hey there, it's marissa and we are back with another episode of the Marisa raider show.

I'm super excited today. We are talking about something that plagued me for most of my life. I believe that it might be the evil sister of imposter syndrome, but I don't have any proof to that. We all know that feeling though, the one that you have when you have a goal in mind, but for some reason you just cannot get started or maybe you get started and you stop before you finish it. You know that voice in your head that you keep telling yourself like, oh, I'll start that tomorrow or I just need a little bit more information before I get started. But before you know it, weeks or even months have gone by and you still haven't taken any action. If this sounds familiar, then you're probably, you know it, a procrastinator. But the good news is that there is always a way to stop procrastinating and get started on your goals. Let's face it, we've all been there, you're staring at a blank page or screen and you can't seem to get started on that project that you need done by tomorrow or maybe you're putting off cleaning the house or going for a run whatever the task is.

Procrastination can make it feel impossible to get started. I'm a recovering procrastinator. It's actually the running joke in my family. There are so many things that I procrastinate about, literally, I will make any excuse. I can to not have to get started on something and now there are a few reasons why that is and we're gonna get into that here in a little bit, but I want to share with you the good news that procrastination is normal. Everybody does it from time to time. But the key is to learn how to stop it so that it doesn't become a habit. And so I'm going to be sharing with you a few of my tips. And so the first thing that we need to do is to figure out why you're procrastinating. Are you feeling overwhelmed by a task? Do you lack confidence in your ability to complete it? Because once you know the reason then you can start to address it at its root. one of the most common questions I get asked is how do I stop procrastinating?

And while there's really no one size fits all answer, there are some general principles that can help. And the first step is to understand why you're doing it in the first place. Are you afraid of failure? Maybe you're even afraid of success or maybe you're a perfectionist who is never satisfied with your own work. Maybe you're battling all three. Once you've identified that root, cause though you can begin to address it. So for instance, if you're afraid of failure, you might need to remind yourself that everyone makes mistakes and that failure is necessary in order to learn. If you're afraid of success, you might need to work on your self esteem and building up your confidence and if you're a perfectionist, you might need to learn to accept imperfection and give yourself permission to make mistakes by understanding why you're procrastinating, You can take the steps to overcome it. Now. Earlier, I was talking about all of my excuses that I make when I'm a procrastinator and it turns out there are four of them that most people use.

The first one is I work well under pressure. How many times have you heard somebody say that a lot? I just do better when I have that deadline looming over my head, My creativity kicks in my this my dad, whatever the excuse, maybe chances are your challenge is getting started, so you need to put action in place to get that motivation to get started on something. Next excuse, I'm just so lazy right now, we've all said it, but chances are the reason why you're saying it is because you struggle to take a break. And so scheduling breaks will keep you in a nice balanced flow of getting things done instead of that cycle of procrastinate. Procrastinate procrastinate and then have to work really, really hard until it's done and then needing time to recover again, which leads to more procrastination.

Another one that I hear a lot is I'm just so busy, so busy. I don't have time for this right now. I can't do this right now, but I'm gonna tell you, are you really busy or are you just creating chaos to avoid what needs done right now, I'm the queen of creating chaos. I know what that looks like, I know what being busy to be busy looks like and instead of being busy to be productive. And so that is something that I have really struggled with and had to get very clear on. And to the point where I have accountability partners. Yes, me. The one who's telling you to find an accountability partner, I have my own accountability partners, I make my to do list. I set micro goals. I don't give into my imposter syndrome when it's kicking in. There are so many things that I do that I'm teaching you myself because I've been where you are and so I want to share what's working with you?

The last one that I hear all the time is I just had the best idea. Oh, that one gets me in my heart. It is the bait of my existence and that is called shiny object syndrome, my friends. The challenge here is to actually complete something because every time you're working towards a goal, something new and exciting pops up in your view and you think maybe I should move on to that. You need to learn to teach yourself to stick to what you're currently working on and not move on to the next shiny object until you have reached your current goal. So how do we do this? How do we quit using these excuses? I'm gonna share with you a few ways here that I personally use and you should also start using, I'm not gonna lie, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. You need to be doing these things if you want to overcome your procrastination. So the first thing is breaking your tasks down into smaller, manageable steps so that you can complete things in short amounts of time.

We all know how it feels to be stuck in that cycle of procrastination. We tell ourselves that we'll start working on a project tomorrow and then tomorrow comes and goes without any progress being made. Maybe you've even tried setting a deadline for yourself only to find out that you're still putting it off until the end. So how do you break the cycle and get started on these projects? You need to break your tasks down into small manageable steps that can be completed in a short amount of time. Think micro goals and if you don't know what I'm talking about on micro goals, go back a couple episodes and listen, because micro goals will change your life, I promise. So instead of telling yourself that you need to complete an entire project, for example, focus on just the smallest piece once you've accomplished that you can move on to the next step by breaking your tasks down in this way, you're going to find it much easier to get started and you'll be less likely to procrastinate. So go ahead and give it a try, You might be surprised at how well it works. Honestly, this happens to me every time I write a blog post, I procrastinated because I'm like, gosh takes so much effort and time to write a blog post.

I have to make sure that it's optimized so that it can be found in search engines. I need it to be relatable. I needed to have great information in it and add value to my readers lives. But what I found is that if I can write the intro, check that off the list. If I can come up with the headlines, check it off the list. Then the next step is coming up with the paragraphs to go under the headlines. Got it, check it off the list, right? My closing, check it off the list. Then I go back and do my images and then I optimize it for search engines and sometimes I do do that all in one setting. But by breaking it down and forming this system that I have, I no longer feel like I have to do it all at once. I no longer procrastinate it until monday night when the blog post is supposed to go out on Tuesday, I can actually take my time and say, yep, got the intro written. Do I feel like continuing On, Yep, I can do the next step two. Okay. Or if I am bored to death by the end of my intro then I move on, I do something else, I come back to it.

I set minor goals, those micro goals to be able to get through it and stop the procrastination cycle. The next tip that I have is setting a deadline for yourself and holding yourself accountable. One of the most effective ways to beat procrastination is to set a deadline. Once you have a date in mind, try to break the project into those smaller tasks so that you don't feel so overwhelmed and then find a way to hold yourself accountable. You might want to tell a friend or family member about your deadline and ask them to check in on your progress or you could even make a bet with yourself. If you meet your deadline, you get to treat yourself to something special by taking these steps, you'll be well on your way to conquering procrastination for good and I can tell you treating myself Does not do me any good. I rewarding myself is not a thing for me, taking something away from myself gets me going so my accountability partner, everything I do not check off my list for the week. I owe them $5 dollars $5. We figured it out if I died and did nothing that entire week because I would probably have to die in order to not accomplish any of the things they would make almost $300 off of me.

That's how many micro goals I set every week. Sounds insane, it sounds overwhelming but this didn't just happen overnight. I've been forming these Piece by piece for years, but I want you to know that my accountability partner shows up for me every week in the hopes that I'm gonna have to pay him $5. I have yet to have to pay any money because that is what motivates me. I don't want to give my hard earned money away when all I could do is show up, stop procrastinating and get my stuff done. So you need to find someone that is going to hold you to your deadlines and keep you on track and if you do not want to bother your friends and family with that burden, Find a coach who will support you, encourage and hold you accountable along the way. one of the most important things that you can do to achieve your goals is to find a coach who is going to hold you accountable, support you encourage you and keep you on the right track. A coach is going to help you stay focused and they are going to cheer you on when you're feeling down, they're also going to keep you accountable for your actions, which is essential if you want to avoid procrastinating if you're not sure how to find a coach, I found one for you, I'm here just book a call with me and see if we would be a good fit.

It's as simple as that, no strings attached. just want to chat with you. But once you've found a coach that you can trust make a commitment to working with them regularly, the more effort you put into the relationship, the more benefit you will receive. And the last thing is rewarding yourself for completing those small milestones. We already talked about this. If you're not like me and you like a good reward, go for it. This will not only make the goal seem more achievable, but it will also help you stay motivated and on track. However, it's important to reward yourself for reaching these milestones or you might find yourself slipping back into old habits of procrastination. So whether it's a small treat like your favorite dessert or something bigger like a day at the spa, make sure you give yourself a pat on the back for a job, well done. This will help you stay focused and motivated and it will eventually lead you to achieving your goal. So now, what do you do if you don't work well for rewards for me, my reward is not having to get my cash out and pay it forward because that would be a real bummer, wouldn't it?

I already have my treats built into my lifestyle. I don't like rewarding myself with things like that. It just isn't my style and so I would have to cut those rewards if I had to give that money away every week. So for me I am rewarding myself. It's like this whole cycle of psychological warfare that goes on inside my brain because that's just how my brain works. So I want you to take a minute when this episode is over and really think about what gets me fired up. What motivates me? Is it another person just simply their accountability? Do I need something more? Maybe right away, accountability is enough. But then as things get tougher and you're starting to really build those habits and your brain is fighting you in that path of resistance, then maybe you need to up your game and add to it. It's okay to adjust it as you go. But I want you to know procrastination is a normal human behavior. We all experienced it from time to time. The key is understanding why you're procrastinating and address it at the root cause.

And if you can break your tasks down those small, manageable micro steps that can be completed in a short amount of time, that will help you in the long run setting that deadline for yourself, holding yourself accountable or finding somebody like a coach who will help you stay accountable and encourage you along the way, helping you with those rewards for completing all those small milestones, then you can overcome procrastination. I know this from personal experience. I've struggled with chronic procrastination, my entire life. In fact it's completely why I created my jumpstart program that helps you overcome this common problem. So if you want to start living the life of your dreams, my jumpstart program is definitely the one for you. So head to the show notes, check it out there and honestly, you know exactly what I'm going to be doing until the next episode, I'm going to be here cheering you on and I cannot wait to hear all about the non procrastinating that you start doing so.

Hit me up in my DM. Send me an email. Shoot me a text. If you're on my text list. I want to hear how you're overcoming procrastination and I'm gonna be here cheering you on. Yeah. Mhm.