Procrastination can get the best of us, at home and at work. The last thing I want to do after an amazing breakfast is wash the dishes. At work, I find myself procrastinating when I get behind. It becomes worse when I’m tired, lack focus, or feel overwhelmed. The funny thing is, more often than not, once I get started on a task at hand, I get on a roll. It recently dawned on me that I could be more deliberate in tackling the procrastination problem.

Recently, I helped my wife with her final preparations for a craft show. It was the night before the big event and there were just a few more things to do before dinner. We were both hungry and I was ready to quit. I watched as she put aside her tiredness and did one little thing. The one thing turned into three things and then ten things. An hour later, the to-do list was finished.

As I lent a helping hand, it intrigued me to see how she overcame procrastination. When she could have easily procrastinated, she took one step and that step built inertia. As inertia grew, the next task wasn’t so arduous. I realized that this happens to me too. I notice it most with running. I don’t love running. I love having run. When I don’t feel like running, all I need to do is change clothes and lace up my running shoes. Once I get that far, in my mind, there is no turning back, I’ve decided to run. Surely, we can all leverage this truth to our advantage.

If I were to break this process down into steps, I’d say we can all build inertia and overcome procrastination by doing 3 things.

#1  Narrow your focus to one thing. Avoid the temptation to contemplate how you can accomplish your entire task list in the time you’ve got. Rather, select the next most important thing and place your focus and energy there. (And don’t spend 15 minutes deciding which task is most important.)

#2  Cross the starting line. Build inertia by accomplishing that one thing. Completing one thing will lead to another and that boosts motivation. For me, getting my running shoes laced up ensures I will run. Soaping up the sponge is my starting line for doing the dishes. What is your starting line? Whatever it is, you just need to summon the willpower to cross it.

#3  Go with the flow. Continue putting one foot in front of the other. Remain task focused. This happens when I sit down to write. I’ll get sucked into the moment and before long, an hour has passed. Allow that inertia to carry you forward like a kayak being carried along by the flow of a river.

Even high achievers and hard chargers have things we don’t like to do or times when we just don’t feel doing them. Whatever the reason, we can harness the power of inertia and overcome the temptations of procrastination by taking 3 simple steps. Each one helps us lock in, get started and build inertia to get more done.

Question: What starting line do you need to cross? And, what will you accomplish when you do? Scroll to the bottom of this post to leave your thoughts. We’d all love to hear from you.

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