Are you in need of rest or are you just procrastinating?
It can be hard to know when to let yourself lay on the sofa and binge Love Is Blind and when you're really just putting off The Work.
I totally get it.
My knee-jerk response when I'm feeling overwhelmed, unsure of what to do, or don't know where to start is to watch TV, go on Instagram or play Candy Crush.
Since the pandemic, I've noticed I procrastinate a lot more than before and my ability to focus is a lot worse than it used to be.
Maybe you can relate?
If you can then I want to invite you to listen to this episode!
In it, I'm sharing 1 simple strategy I've been implementing to cut down on procrastination and get work done.
Click “play” on the podcast player below to tune in!
Transcript
If you're feeling completely unmotivated in your online service business right now then I hope this episode helps. I'm not telling you it absolutely will because everyone is unique and what works for some won't work for others. I can only ever share with you the things that have worked for me and my students/clients. But if you feel unmotivated to work, and you're really procrastinating lately, give this a listen and let me know what you think over on IG!
Disclaimer though: If you're struggling with a mental illness and that is why you are procrastinating, this episode won't necessarily apply to you and i'd recommend getting help from a licensed medical professional if possible.
If you don’t think it’s related to mental illness but you need 1:1 help overcoming your habit of procrastination, you can learn more about my coaching here.
Sometimes when we're stuck in this place where we just don't want to do anything but watch tv, we can scare ourselves into thinking the worst.
That maybe we're depressed.
Or maybe we've lost our mojo and this is how we'll be now, forever.
Or this work clearly isn't what we're meant to be doing or else we'd be hopping to our desks excitedly each morning, ready to crack on.
Some of those scenarios may be true for some of you. This is where self awareness comes in - you need it to be able to assess why YOU are procrastinating.
You might need to take a break.
You might need to get medical help.
You might need to change your whole business.
Or... you might not.
I want to share what has been working really well for me in helping me overcome my procrastination.
First, I totally get it. Whenever i feel overwhelmed, my go to response is to freeze. So procrastination is the response I most fall into, more so than hustling and ignoring how I feel. If I find myself feeling overwhelmed or unsure how to do something or where to start, I'll freeze and go and watch tv. Classic procrastination.
And ever since the pandemic, i noticed this response getting worse and worse. To the point where i'd get up and the first thing I’d do was watch tv. That's was never EVER me in the past.
I also noticed since the pandemic that I find it harder to focus than ever before, and I think a lot of other business owners will relate. I don't think it's surprising since screen time has increased by 76% since the pandemic, according to Startup Magazine.
I think that worldwide crisis pushed most of humanity into spending more time on screens, on apps like TikTok and Youtube, where our focus is constantly being pulled all over the place, where distractions are everywhere because there's always another video, another dopamine hit. And when these videos are now just 10-15 secs long, it can be easy to lose hours a day to the scroll and not get bored. I think that has played a big role in the deterioration of our focus but thats just my theory.
Here is one of the simple ways I've been taking back my focus and overcoming my procrastination:
I try to embody someone who inspires me and ask myself, what would they do right now? Would they sit here at 10am and watch another episode of Love Is Blind or would they get to work?
Sometimes it's easy to look at yourself and think "I can't do this. I don't want to do this." And some days that's fair enough. I'm an advocate for rest and balance. But when it becomes a daily pattern, that's when it becomes a problem. So it really helps me to act AS IF I am someone else. To borrow their personality for a day. To borrow a quality of theirs that I'm lacking right now.
So if there's someone who inspires you, try thinking like them. Tell yourself you're going to act like them today and see how different your decisions are throughout the day. See what you get done when you're embodying a person you admire.
Because here's the thing…
Sometimes we don't believe we are capable of something, in this instance that something is being productive and getting work done. We tell ourselves things like “i'm not productive. I'm lazy. I can't do this. i'm broken and i'll never get my mojo back.”
And it's ok if you don't believe you can do this yet. Because you don't need to believe you can, in order to do it. You just need to act as if you're the kind of person who believes they can. And if you do that enough, you'll eventually find you DO believe you can because you've seen yourself doing it. And you no longer have to embody someone else or the quality that person has because that is now genuinely a part of who you are.
I hope you found this episode helpful. But I appreciate that there are some of you who would like more extensive help from me, so if that's you then there are a few ways i can help you:
Courses: I have a course that teaches you how to book clients consistently and scale to recurring $5k months, and a course that helps you organize your business so you can stop stressing and start amazing your clients. Learn more.
Coaching: I help freedom seekers make a full-time income online without working full-time hours. Learn more.
About Nesha
Hey there! I’m Nesha, 10-year traveling entrepreneur and host of The Simple Business Show. I teach freedom seekers how to make a full-time income online without working full-time hours, so they have the time, location and financial freedom to live the lifestyle they dream of.
Looking for more ways I can help you? Here they are:
Organize & Automate - Join 1200+ students and learn how to organize your entire online service-based business in just two weeks (on the side of your regular routine!) so you can stop stressing and fall back in love with your business.
Simple Sales School - Learn how to get a consistent flow of clients so you can build the income & financial freedom you desire.
Nesha’s coaching offers - Work with me on a deeper level to learn how to make a full-time income online without working full-time hours
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