My whole life, I’ve been both a go-getter and a procrastinator. How can these contradictory things both be possible?

The go-getter in me jumps at an idea or an opportunity. My enthusiasm fuels action, and suddenly I find myself on the road hosting town halls across the country or running this crowdfunding campaign. 

But then the procrastination kicks in. Why? Fear of failure.

During my Ladies Get Paid Campaign, my procrastination has become more pronounced. I’ve been staring at a spreadsheet of my contacts and can’t even bring myself to ask my family for money, let alone the VIPs in my database. I write email after email that just sit in my outbox, unsent for weeks. WHAT is going on?!

Here are a few things I’ve learned in my quest to conquer procrastination:

1. Question yourself. What is this task making you feel? What does it represent? For example, I’m procrastinating from asking for money because I feel like I’m being a burden. Then I flip it around: asking for money is giving people an opportunity to feel and do good. 

2. Be kind to yourself. When that little voice starts creeping up to berate you for procrastinating, thank it for trying to motivate you. And then tell it to f*ck off. 

3. Break it down. Divide your to-do’s not only into daily tasks, but also hourly. Set little goals and give yourself rewards for achieving them. (I’m doing well on the reward part; I just finished an entire bag of chocolate covered pretzels.)

4. Talk it out. Find someone to talk to about your task — it’ll help you stay engaged, and you may even get inspired. It’ll also help hold you accountable.

5. What’s the worst that can happen? If you don’t get this done, what are the consequences? If you do, what are the consequences? Use that as motivation.

I’d love to hear your tips on how to deal with procrastination – share them with me on Instagram.

Now go get paid.

x Claire 

PS Writing this newsletter was totally me procrastinating 🙂

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