Life moves forward regardless of what we do in any given day. Sometimes we’re productive and other times we may need to rest. Both are useful as long as there’s balance.

I can be a pretty big procrastinator when it comes to non-essential tasks on my “get to” list and sometimes I’ll even put off my more important tasks.

There are definitely times when it pays off to procrastinate, but more often than not, we create stress and pressure for ourselves when we don’t do things in a timely manner.

Some projects really do take a long time to get done but often, a lot of us make a much bigger deal out of getting something done that it really warrants.

We think about how hard it will be, how much energy and/or time it will take, how much we really don’t want to do it, even though we know we’ll feel so much better once it’s done.

We allow these tasks to weigh on us and drain us of mental and physical energy while they nag at us in the back of our minds.

So how do we get out of our own way and stop resisting?

• Break big tasks into smaller steps and do them one at a time - even if this means you simply do one a day or one a week. You’re moving forward!

• Stop thinking and just do something - There’s always so much to do in any given day. I’ll sometimes cook or do errands when I don’t want to do computer work because all of it needs to be done and I’m still being productive.

• START - This is always the most important step. We can’t get out of our own way if we don’t start.

  Even if you just commit 5 minutes to doing that one task you’ve been avoiding, you did something, and on a good daty, you’ll keep going because you already did the hardest part by starting.

Our brains are amazing and help us in so many ways, but they also get in our way when we think too much. It’s so easy to rationalize and make a big deal out of things that we can easily become immobilized.

We also sometimes get stuck out of fear. I’ve avoided a relatively easy project for more than 2 months now and have come to the conclusion that my resistance is fear-based (people are going to judge me or won’t like what I have to say).

I’m 58 years old and a successful business woman. I’m happy with my life. I’m going to get out of my own way, get over my fear (and some laziness) and finish this project over the weekend!

What will you do? Is there something you’ve been putting off that you’d feel really good about getting done this weekend?

Action Steps:

• Let yourself get started on one task this week.

  If you finish it, that’s fantastic.

  If you don’t, that’s also completely fine, you moved forward. Create a plan to start again on another day and don’t waste time thinking about it in the meantime!