Generation Procrastination

Many of us start the year with a bang – new goals, new intentions, new hopes and dreams… but as the months go by, we often find it hard to keep up that momentum.

 

Written by  Lynette Botha | Images: Unsplash & Pexels

 

A good intention is meaningless unless it is followed by a good action, or so the saying goes. Starting the year highly motivated, with new goals or resolutions, is the easy part; making sure that you stay on track and keep the driving power is where things tend to go awry.

Why? Because life happens… when we’re sun-kissed and rested following a break from work and life’s day-to-day admin, merrily writing down our wishes for the year ahead, we tend to forget that a year is not linear, it is not simply moving from A-Z – it’s more like from A-K back to C, visiting M on repeat, and zig-zagging your way to X.

 

 

And, for many of us, when the first rug is pulled out from under us, our commitment to our resolutions or goals wane, because we tend to lose steam and procrastinate. Here’s how not to do that this year…

 

Don’t procrastinate, accelerate

No matter what your goal is, just start. This sounds simple enough, right? But you are less likely to finish something if you never even start it in the first place. “I’ll sign-up for gym in February, because January is going to be too manic.” No. “I’ll start eating healthier after my birthday month.” No. “I’ll begin with a monthly budget after the end-of-season sales are over.”

No, no and no. Just start. Sign-up for gym today (you’ll be doubly motivated to go when you see that debit order coming off every month, trust us). Start eating healthier today and cut yourself some slack during your birthday celebrations. Tighten the purse strings now; if you want to buy an item or two on sale, cut back somewhere else.

 

 

Keep your goals top of mind

Type out your goals or resolutions and print out a few copies. Paste a duplicate in the front of your diary, place a copy on your fridge within your eyeline, stick a copy inside your wardrobe door.

Constantly being reminded of what you set out to achieve will motivate you and remind you of why you decided on those objectives in the first place.

Believe that you can do it

Self-doubt or imposter syndrome are often the root cause of procrastination. We give up on things or put them off because we feel like we’ll never achieve our desired outcome or do things right anyway, so we concede, we stop trying. There is a definitive connection between self-confidence and achieving your goals; and the more objectives you tick off, the more you believe in yourself and are motivated to give your next aim a shot.

If reaching the summit of three mountains this year is one of your goals, when you reach the top of the first one, you’ll be so proud of yourself, that you’ll feel more self-assured that you’ll be able to tackle the next one. Or if giving up meat by the end of the year is one of your resolutions, when you successfully exist without beef for two months, you’ll believe that giving up chicken too is a very real possibility.

 

 

As the famous C. S. Lewis quote goes, “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream”.

Set your intentions, get started and trust in the process – and, yourself!