You’re tired, you had a long day, you know you have to practice, but the only thing you really want to do is NOTHING. But if you have a goal you’re trying to reach, you have to do the work even when you don’t feel like it. We see it all the time with our students, they tell us they want to be great, but then they show up for rehearsal and it’s obvious they didn’t practice. And don’t get it twisted, we all suffer from this because… 

…But the people who succeed are the ones who can push past that feeling of “I don’t wanna” and just get the job done. You have to earn your victories, and even just your ability to get up to start the tasks towards your goals is an ingredient for future success.

This is valid point, but procrastination is not an impossible habit to break. You just have to know how to activate will power at the right time. Here are 3 things you can do to help avoid procrastination.

1. Don’t wait, Start now. If you’re an “Ok, 5 more minutes, then I’ll get started” kind of person, that could be the reason you don’t ever get anything done. Because 5 minutes easily turns into hours, then it’s too late and the day is over. So don’t wait. Start on your projects right away. Don’t even allow yourself the time to get into anything else.

2. Start anywhere. Sometimes we don’t start something because we’re afraid of failure and we don’t know what to do or where to start. As a performer, specific, well-defined methods of practice are important for growth, but DOING is better than NOT DOING, so if you don’t know where to begin, begin anywhere. Then dial in your process as time goes on.

3. Think of the end result. When you are in that place of “I don’t feel like it”, remind yourself why you started. You have to know what you’re fighting for so it makes sense to use energy towards it. In that moment of procrastination, paint the picture of what the end result will look like and know that without taking steps towards that goal each day, you’ll never make it.

Procrastination and laziness will never be completely out of your life, but if you can have the awareness of it and know when and how to avoid them, you’ll find much more success in your life and move faster towards your goals.