How to stop procrastinating for good!
Procrastination is something many of us struggle with, myself included. Learning English may be something that you want to do, but you make up excuses for why you don't, such as not having enough time, working too much or not knowing how to get started.
There are 2 main reasons for why we procrastinate, the first one is because we lack accountability. Growing up we always had someone holding us accountable for tasks we had to do. Our parents usually held us accountable for going to school, doing our bed, behaving well etc. And then our teachers and professors at school and university held us accountable for our homework and assignments. After that, our bosses and managers at work and the list goes on ... But when it comes to a personal goal that no one knows about, you have no one but yourself to hold you accountable and that can be difficult.
So how can you apply accountability to a personal goal like learning English?
1. You can have a teacher that holds you accountable for the tasks you need to achieve weekly. This is something I work in with my students who have certain goals they want to achieve. If this is something that you would like to know more about, contact me here.
2. You can ask your partner, friend or a family member to check in with you every Friday to make sure you achieved what you set out to learn for the week.
3. You can even join or create an online group where you and other members of the group check-in with each other and hold each other accountable for the progress and goals you said you would achieve.
The second reason we procrastinate when we need to do something is because we link pain to the process and when we link pain to something, we try to avoid it and end up not doing it because it's too stressful, overwhelming or requires a lot of effort. As a result, we procrastinate (watch TV shows, go on social media or read this post hehe) and never get around to achieving what we set out for. Does this sound familiar?
If you answered yes, then I have just the solution you need. Create a consequence even worse than the pain you have already associated with the task. For example, learning English is overwhelming (this is the pain you have associated with the task), but what is the greater pain that will happen if you don't learn English. The greater pain and therefore the consequence is you don't progress in your career, you don't work on self improvement, you won't be confident when speaking, you can't apply for international jobs etc ... This consequence in itself is more painful because you won't have the life you truly want. So you want to take action immediately to avoid the even bigger pain that will happen if you don't pursue English.
In addition to this, you could do the complete opposite and think of the rewards you will reap and the benefits that will come from doing this task. You will slowly, but surely work on your English and as a consequence get better. The reward might be you will be proud of your accomplishments, you will work for a multinational company, you will earn more money, you will become a confident English speaker or all of the benefits I listed combined. Honestly, the possibilities are endless when you learn English and doors start opening up for you!
These are some of the best tactics to motivate you to stay focused on your English learning journey, overcome procrastination and achieve those big dreams you've always wanted. I hope you commit to them and apply them to your life as there is nothing better than building a life you want and not settling for what you have. Life is short and now more than ever things are more accessible and opportunities are within our reach if we just stay dedicated and focused on the end goal!
Drop me a comment below if you have any questions or need more guidance, alternatively you can contact me via the contact page on my website!