How to beat procrastination and achieve your goals

We attach too much importance to numbers

When planning their careers, many people tie their goals to specific numbers: “I want to get a promotion in three years”, “In the next quarter, I want to break the company's sales records,” “I want to increase my income by 30% in a year.”

But face it, whether you achieve these goals or not depends not only on how hard you work. There are many factors that you cannot control. Therefore, goals tied to specific numbers are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, we know exactly which direction to move in, but on the other, we drive ourselves into a rigid framework.

If we fail to meet the deadline, we feel that we cannot cope with the situation and begin to procrastinate. Or, even worse, we become disillusioned with ourselves.

So instead of thinking about specific actions to achieve a goal, ask yourself this question: "What is my motive?"

Why is it better to think about your motives

If we understand why we set a specific goal for ourselves, it is much easier for us to develop habits to achieve it. In addition, we will get rid of the feeling of fatigue and stress that occurs when we try to do everything on time.

For example, if your goal is to move to a new career level and become a leader, try to find the background behind this goal. If you strive to ensure that your ideas become the driving force in the development of the company, then your actions should not be limited to demonstrating your leadership skills or competing with colleagues for a coveted position. You must develop a habit of taking advantage of opportunities that arise for the good of the company, offer more valuable feedback in meetings, and strengthen collaboration among colleagues. Thus, you will stop confusing your motive (to increase influence in the company and contribute to its development) with the way to achieve the goal (to take a leadership position).

Yes, by choosing tight deadlines, we sometimes reach our goals faster, but this approach also has a significant drawback. We do not enjoy the process and become victims of procrastination.

Try to change your attitude towards goals and think first of all not about numbers, but about the motives for your actions. This way you will see that you have more opportunities to achieve what you want than you thought. And the process itself will become more enjoyable.