Stop Putting it Off: How to Overcome Procrastination and Take Action

Good old-fashioned procrastination is the number one thing I see holding women back from moving forward with their online business. 

It's so easy to tell yourself you'll get started (or take the next step) after you complete the next course, get the next certification, or get a new camera (for more professional videos, naturally!). 

The dangerous part of these reasons (excuses) is that they often make logical sense. 

You can easily fool yourself into believing the endless parade of "reasons" why you should wait. 

And then the weeks pass by.

Weeks turn into months. 

Months turn into years. 

And eventually, after years of inaction, most will give up. 

That's too bad because it could have gone so differently. 

What if we recognized that all reasons for waiting are just defense mechanisms? 

Trying something new can be scary. 

Putting yourself and your ideas out there can be scary. 

All of this fear of the unknown is enough to generate some level of fear (conscious or subconscious) for most people. 

That fear of the unknown is what triggers perfectly normal defense mechanisms (like procrastination) to keep you "safe".

Unfortunately, it also keeps you in the same place day after day, week after week, year after year.

If you want to grow, you need to be willing to try new things, even when it feels a little scary. 

The solution to this issue starts with consciously recognizing what's happening. 

Just assume that every "reason" you come up with is simply procrastination at work and consciously choose to take action anyway. 

I know that's easier said than done but here are some tips that can help:

• Focus on baby steps if that feels more doable. Movement forward is the key, you'll build momentum naturally over time. Simply keep taking action and moving forward no matter what. 
• While I believe in taking action, I also believe in taking inspired action. Not sure what your next step should be? Set the timer on your phone for 5-10 minutes and envision yourself as having already achieved your goal. Soak up the feeling of joy, accomplishment, or success until your timer goes off. From that good feeling space take whatever action you feel most excited to take next, even if it doesn't make sense at the time. You can trust that the feeling of excitement is divine guidance- follow it! 
• Remember why you want to start your online business. When you remember and tap into your desire for more freedom, more enjoyment, more time with your loved ones, whatever it is for you, it can often help you be brave in the face of fear and procrastination. 
• Set yourself up *structurally* for success. Get yourself an accountability partner- this can be as informal as a friend or as formal as a coach. Or get involved with a program or community around your goal of starting an online business. For many, having support around accountability in continually moving forward can be the difference between making it happen and never even getting started. 

You deserve to achieve the life of your dreams and the world deserves the gifts you have to share. Period. 

Don't let procrastination, sneaky as it can be, hold you back from taking that next step (or the first step!) toward starting your online business.

You can be brave.

You can face your fear of the unknown.

You can slay that dragon one step at a time and I promise you the work will be worth it.

- Megan