In an e-mail newsletter directed at real estate professionals, a business coach gave one key suggestion:

Pick a goal that’s manageable.

How to get unstuck

Inside all of us, the coach wrote, is an avoider. The ‘avoiding’ voice tells us our goal is too hard; making 30 prospecting calls, for example. The coach wrote that one client had this goal for a day and was unable to start. His avoiding voice was telling him he would fail, and then he would be critical of himself for failing.

The answer for him was to negotiate with the avoiding voice. He chose to make 20 calls – still an aggressive goal – because he’d been successful making that many calls in the past.

The next time you’re dealing with procrastination, the coach suggests asking yourself these questions:

• What am I afraid of?
• What self limiting belief is driving me?
• What is a manageable action step?

Then pick something you know you can achieve, take action, feel successful, and use that as a springboard for the future.