3 Ways to Avoid Productive Procrastination So You Can Grow Your Business

​We’ve all engaged in productive procrastination at some point in our business. Yes, the laundry needs to get done, but does it really take priority over that project you’ve been meaning to tackle for your business?

​Productive procrastination is a very sneaky way for our brains to trick us into avoiding things we need to be doing for our business because it doesn’t feel like procrastination. It feels like work. It feels like we’re doing something that needs to get done. And while it might have been a while since you last cleaned your office, that doesn’t mean doing so is more important than tackling the needle-moving activities in your business.

​Because productive procrastination can be so sneaky, we sometimes need to take extra precautions against going down the rabbit hole of the less-important things on our to-do list. With that in mind, let’s look at some strategies you can use to avoid productive procrastination and start growing your business.

Avoid Productive Procrastination by Prioritizing Your To-Do List

Our to-do list is always a mile long, and no matter how many hours we work, it feels like the list never gets any shorter, and productive procrastination can contribute to that problem. If you spend too much time on low-priority tasks, you don’t feel productive at the end of the day because you didn’t accomplish the things that really needed to get done that day. Then you beat yourself up and call yourself lazy, which makes you feel bad about yourself. When you feel bad about yourself, you’re not very motivated to tackle the big projects in your business, so you focus on the less-important tasks, and the cycle repeats itself. Sound familiar?

You might already know how important it is to write out your to-do list every morning (or the night before), but if you have not considered prioritizing your to-do list, you could be setting yourself up for failure without even realizing it.

​One way to prioritize your to-do list is to write them in order of when each task needs to get done. While that can help you avoid blowing past deadlines, it can still leave your schedule open for that sneaky productive procrastination.

​Another way to prioritize your to-do list is in order of importance. What tasks can you do today that will help you grow your business? Do those first.

What tasks do you need to do today to keep your business going? This includes client work, making sure bills are paid on time so the lights stay on while you work, etc. These should be the secondary tasks on your to-do list.

Everything else can go after that. This includes administrative tasks, some marketing tasks that are helpful but not necessary, certain household tasks, etc. Anything that can get pushed to another day needs to go at the end of your to-do list regardless of where the deadline lands.

​Reward Yourself for Avoiding Productive Procrastination

​Most of the time we procrastinate performing a certain task because we don’t want to do it. Just like you can arrange your to-do list to put the most important tasks at the top, you can also arrange it so that you do your favorite task right after performing your least favorite task. If you really don’t want to make those sales calls, but you know they always help you get more business, then put those sales calls at the beginning of the day and follow them up with an easier task you’re looking forward to performing, or even a break. Maybe after you finish your sales calls, you get to eat a snack or watch an episode of your favorite TV show. Whatever reward will encourage you to do the thing you don’t want to do, use that to motivate yourself to complete the needle-moving activities for your business.

Stop Being “Busy”

​Our culture values people who are “busy” because we have a tendency to assume that “busy” means “productive,” but they’re not the same thing. For example, if you’ve been meaning to write a book for your business to establish yourself as an expert in your field, you can spend hours researching your chosen topic without writing a single word or even creating an outline. You’re busy, but you’re not productive. At some point, you have to start writing in order to achieve your goals.

​Take another look at your to-do list. Is it full of busywork, or are they all needle-moving activities that will help you grow your business?

Get Help from a Professional Business Coach

​Because productive procrastination is so sneaky, it can be hard to catch yourself falling into this trap. This is where it can be helpful to have a coach holding you accountable to your goals and pointing out when you’re focusing on low-priority tasks. If you have big goals you want to accomplish in your business, but you never seem to make progress on them, it might be time to think about hiring a coach. You can schedule your FREE clarity call now so we can talk about how I can help you identify and take action on the needle-moving activities to grow your business.