How to Break Out of the Procrastination Trap for Coaches

“You may delay, but time will not.” – Benjamin Franklin

Fact Alert – procrastination creeps into your life and often goes unnoticed.

Even seasoned coaches and mentors (who I’ll refer to as practitioners) who are skilled at guiding others toward success – can easily miss the signs of procrastination in themselves.  

How come you might ask, after all, we are trained to recognise barriers that get in the way of us reaching our goals – aren’t we?  I believe it’s because procrastination happens on two levels, and yes, I do have evidence to support my theory.

The top level of the P word is more obvious. We can usually spot when it’s happening and we know the steps to take to overcome it.

It’s a bit like sitting in a chair that is so comfortable you don’t want to get out of it. The cushions are soft and enveloping and it takes a phenomenal effort to lever yourself out of it, especially if what you’re getting up to do isn’t overly appealing.

So, you put off getting to your feet.  You know you are doing it. It’s obvious – you can’t miss it, but you do it anyway.

This kind of procrastination shows up in all areas of our lives. Only when the need to move on from whatever we’re procrastinating about becomes urgent or when it’s getting in the way of something more important, can we usually find the energy and motivation to take steps to overcome the big P and make some progress.

Take the health & fitness aspect of our lives as the perfect January example. We might decide to: 

• Find a gym buddy
• Join a slimming club
• Work with a personal trainer
• Commit ourselves to an exercise regime
• Use our circle of friends as a support network. 

A website dedicated to studying procrastination stated in a survey that a whopping 94% of people indicated that procrastination hurts their happiness, and 18% indicated that this effect is extremely negative.

As practitioners, we must consider the deeper level of procrastination. We can’t afford to let it go unnoticed. After all, there are a lot of people looking for the help of a trained, qualified, and accredited practitioner. People who are prepared to pay good money in return for results. And you have the skills and knowledge to help them.  

Breaking The Habit Of Procrastination

Regardless of whether you are a newly qualified practitioner or a seasoned practitioner with a thriving business, most of us spend a huge amount of time and energy working out how to let prospective clients know we can help them achieve their goals. 

Our success in understanding the language clients use, and having the skills to explore discipline and motivation around procrastination at a deeper level can make the difference between our clients’ success and failure, and ultimately ours!

Our industry is one where practitioners are known to be either scraping a living or building a 6/7 figure business. And shock horror –  this can happen despite being self-aware, investing heavily in our ongoing training, or having the support of a coach, mentor or supervisor (though being trained, qualified and accredited with the support of another makes it less likely to happen).  

So What Is Blocking Us?

Procrastination can be hidden so deeply inside of us – it bypasses our everyday thoughts. It’s so familiar that we fail to see this habitual behaviour. It’s a barrier that disguises itself very cleverly because the mind is all about the path to least resistance. 

Full disclosure, in a moment of total clarity – I could see this at play in my life recently. 

I was driving my MX5 with the top down in the sunshine.  I felt happy and optimistic. As I noticed this state of mind, I asked my authentic self to be honest and consider:

“When I’m not experiencing this happy and optimistic state of mind, how am I most of the time when I’m not “tuning in”? 

I was shocked to discover that my default state of mind when I’m not trying to be positive and confident is one of self-doubt.

What!! 

And I believe we all have these same habitual responses or state of mind – a bit like a familiar sweater we put on automatically, without noticing it’s not a good fit anymore (and worse, it’s got holes in it)!  

So what’s the solution – beware the comfortable and easy solution. 

The good news is that once we’ve spotted this deeper type of procrastination once, we can easily spot it again.  With reflection, we can see it’s outdated, it’s just another poor habit. And of course with great coaching and NLP techniques to name but a few support mechanisms, we can all develop new habit that serves us better. 

Time To Dig Deep

I invite you to dig deep by asking yourself these questions now:

• When I’m not actively noticing my thoughts – what is my default state? 
• What do I believe most of the time when I’m not focusing on being positive?
• How is this playing out in my life at the moment?
• Which is currently true for you: you will enjoy a happy future, or experience more of the same struggle and disappointment?

As anyone who has tried to implement a New Year’s Resolution, most don’t stick because change requires conscious living and determination to break the cycle of poor habits that no longer serve us.

How to Break Free

Your resolutions, at any time of the year, start by understanding what your current default state of mind is and what you’d prefer it to be.

5 solutions for creating sticky resolutions that work:

1. Practise visualising yourself living the life you want to live
2. Set times during the day to regularly check in and reframe negative thoughts
3. Post positive affirmations everywhere, and use sticky notes around the place to remind you
4. Invest in your future by creating a dream team of people trained and qualified to help you achieve your goals
5. Keep digging deeper and checking in with yourself by asking yourself “And what else can I do next to move me towards my goal”? 

What Will You Do Now?

Slipping into coaching mode, as you do, I have to ask that all-important coaching accountability question I ask all my clients) “what will you do and when will you do it”?

I recommend you TAKE ACTION – NOW -, within 10 minutes of reading this post ideally, that way you’re as much as 10 X times more likely to do something different!   

When your new default state, for example, is to be confident, bold and visible, select three things you WILL do that support this change.

Take a pen and paper now and write them down. 

Yes, I did this too!  I committed to:

1. networking more
2. posting a social media reel at least 6 x a week and
3. reviewing my charges

After 2 weeks I can report these small mindset changes have resulted in a BIG impact on my business already. I’ve uncovered 2 speaker opportunities and grown my social media following – to share just a couple of wins. 

Conclusion

Notice your deepest thoughts. We are what we think of most of the time!

Don’t assume you are feeling positive, brave, and confident, all the time – it’s probably not sustainable for anyone. Instead, decide to make it a habit to tune in and check out what is going on internally for you at any given moment. By recognising your default thought patterns – you can and will dismantle the procrastination trap that tends to sabotage you, and then you too can move towards your successful and fulfilled life. 

As Tom Landry said,

‘A coach is someone who tells you what you don’t want to hear, who has you see what you don’t want to see, so you can be who you have always known you could be.”

And that’s why coaches have never been more in demand, because they are proven to make a significant difference to our performance mentally and physically!

When we achieve this self-mastery, we are better equipped to help our clients achieve their goals too.