TSS #058: How to (finally) stop procrastinating

Read time: 3 minutes

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As a Solopreneur, it can be challenging to stay productive and motivated while working alone.

Procrastination is a major obstacle to accomplishing your goals, but with the right mindset and strategies, you can conquer them.

In this article, I’ll share 6 practical tips for solopreneurs to help you beat procrastination and actually get shit done.

From creating a plan of action to breaking tasks down into manageable chunks, these tips will help you stay focused, motivated, and productive - all while working alone.

They will transform your workdays from frustrating and unproductive to productive and fulfilling.

So, if you’re ready to start getting things done, read on for the 6 practical tips. Let's dive in.

Set SMART Goals:

The best way to begin attacking procrastination is by setting SMART goals. If you’re not familiar with SMART goals, here’s what they are:

• Specific: What, specifically, do I want to accomplish?
• Measurable: Quantify what success looks like.
• Achievable: Is this reasonable?
• Relevant: Why am I setting this goal?
• Time-bound: What's my time horizon to finish?

Break Down Goals Into Small Tasks:

Let’s be honest - big goals can be really overwhelming, but small tasks make things much easier to digest.

For example, getting 1,000 newsletter subscribers might feel daunting to some people.

But if you can think of a way to attract 10 per day, you'll get there in just over 3 months.

The smaller you break your goals down, the more tactical you can get.

Create A Schedule (and Stick To It):

Once you have your goals broken down, you need to create a schedule to start executing the tasks needed to hit those goals.

And everyone has a time (or times) of the day when they are more productive than others.

Figure out when you are most productive & schedule your tasks for those times.

Create a recurring invite and include links to the tools you'll use during that block. Aim for 2-3 hours of “deep work” (with time management techniques from step #6 below)

Eliminate Distractions:

When it’s time for deep work, it’s important that you stay uninterrupted.

Put your phone and computer on Do Not Disturb mode.

Get rid of all push notifications while you're at it.

Close all of your social media tabs.

Shut the door to your office, throw on headphones, and rock lo-fi beats (or white noise).

This is your time.

Get Organized:

While this may not be as relevant for everyone, to me, a clean and tidy workspace makes it very easy to get more work done.

Keep a clean desk and a minimal workspace with no unnecessary piles of junk, snacks, or messy papers.

Try and have just your computer, the tools you need to complete your tasks, and maybe a cup of coffee or espresso (if you're like me).

Use Time-Management Techniques:

As you can see, much of eliminating procrastination is getting your goals set and your environment right. But at some point, you must do the work.

So get yourself a Pomodoro Timer. A Pomodoro timer is set to 25 minutes of deep task completion followed by a 5-minute break. You want to go through 6 total reps until you have almost 3 hours of deep work completed.

The 6 steps above are how I plan my Mondays and Fridays, which are the two days I spend moving most of my strategic projects forward.

One Last Takeaway:

As you complete your tasks, you move closer to your goals.

As you reach your goals, you become even more rigid in how you spend your time.

When you become rigid about how you spend your time, you stop procrastinating.

Congrats.

You've done it.

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