How To Set SMART Goals For Procrastination Using Your Journal!
Last Updated on 12/30/2022 by Nicky
How To Set SMART Goals For Procrastination
Hey, ya’ll. I’m excited to share some potentially life-changing advice on how you can set SMART goals for procrastination!
I truly believe that this post could really change how you think about procrastination and goal setting.
This is part 2 of my 15 Positive Journal Affirmations To Stop Procrastinating & Pursue Your God-Given Dreams blog post series.
I split it up only because there’s so much information here that it might overwhelm you if you tried to read it all in one sitting.
If you haven’t read part 1 of this procrastination series, please click here and do so because part 2 probably won’t make much sense without you reading the beginning.
Know what I mean, Verne?
In the first post, I explained 2 steps to overcoming procrastination. Those steps were really long and needed their own post! Now I will explain 5 more steps you can take in your war against procrastination. This will include tips about setting goals that are SMART and how to use a journal throughout the process.
Let’s pick things back up with our next step for setting SMART goals for procrastination.
Oh yeah, and this post contains affiliate links to great products that will help you in your health journey. I will get a commission if you decide to buy from these links but I’m only recommending products that I feel confident about.
Want to read How To Set SMART Goals For Procrastination later? Then pin this to your Pinterest board!
5 Steps To Setting SMART Goals For Procrastination
This post is a continuation of this post: 15 Positive Journal Affirmations To Stop Procrastinating & Pursue Your God-Given Dreams
Step #1) Deal with the demons that make you procrastinate.
Okay so now you’re armed with some knowledge as to why you haven’t started the project but now what?
You’re still going to keep putting it off right? You’re still probably not quite ready to set SMART goals, right?
Knowing why you procrastinate is only half the battle. The other half of beating procrastination is facing the reason head-on.
“But wait….how do I do that”.
I mean if it was as simple as knowing then nobody would procrastinate and we would all do what we needed to do at all times.
But of course, this is not the case.
So what can we do to deal with our procrastination demons?
Well, I will tell you.
You have to get help.
If you are a chronic procrastinator like I was (and still sometimes am) and you procrastinate for any of the reasons that we talked about earlier then it’s unlikely that you will be able to change all by yourself.
And guess what?
That’s totally okay.
There’s nothing wrong with asking for help. In fact, it’s oh so right.
Now that’s not to say that I like asking for help because I don’t but I have asked for help.
Time and time again and I’ll share how in a minute.
But first, let me say why you need to get help with this.
You need to get help with this because overcoming procrastination may not be a problem that can just be fixed with a few tips.
If you have legitimate fears of failure or whatever the case may be, it’s not something you just snap out of.
You don’t necessarily just read an article or two and say “Sweet…Never procrastinating again”
Ummm, not gonna happen.
If you make a habit out of procrastinating (which is kinda the definition) then you are probably dealing with some deep psychological stuff here that you can’t cure by reading another “57 More Ways to Guarantee You Never Procrastinate Again” article or something else equally as dumb and unrealistic.
I want you to fully change your life because this is serious.
“So now you’re still going to ignore something except this time it’s your fears and doubts that have kept you trapped all these years.”
For so long God has been patiently waiting for me to use my talents to glorify Him and serve others.
And I’m guessing that if you’re reading this post He is waiting on you too.
I have to admit part of the reason why I’ve finally started writing again after years of being prodded by the Holy Spirit is because, well, frankly I’m nosy.
I want to know what the Lord has in store for me with this writing thing.
Aren’t you curious to see what He has in store for you?
If you are, then you can’t keep letting this obstacle of fear or whatever it is stand in your way.
That’s why you’re going to get someone to help you face your fears/demons head-on and these are some ways to do it.
Now, I will admit none of these ways are radical.
These are standard ways to get help when you want to change your life.
How To Deal With Your Demons To Overcome Procrastination
Idea #1) Use Online Counseling To Help Get To The Root Cause Of Your Procrastination
Don’t scoff at online counseling. I’m not suggesting something that I haven’t done myself so please hear me when I say that online counseling works.
There’s something about having someone listen to you without judgment that can really change your life.
I still remember the name of my online counselor because she made that much of an impact on me.
Related: Benefits of online therapy
You could just google online therapy, choose the one you think would work for you, and talk to them about the issues you are having with procrastination and what it is that’s holding you back.
However, there is one that I recommend.
It’s called online-therapy.com.
Online-therapy.com’s homepage
That’s the one that I used years and years ago and they helped me get my first big breakthrough when dealing with anxiety and procrastination.
I’m not sure what drew me to them to be quite honest but I’m so glad I tried them.
Online-Therapy.Com has so many powerful features that can help you.
– They have a live licensed therapist which for me was the most life-changing feature of all.
It allowed me to share my thoughts with someone who could interpret them and give me a new perspective and outlook on life.
– There are 8 helpful chapters or sections to read.
– Then you answer the worksheet related to the section you’re on and the therapist will give you helpful feedback.
– You can also write down your thoughts in a journal and have the therapist read and make encouraging comments on what you’ve written.
– You can also set up a time to do a live chat with the therapist one on one.
If you’re scared to get face to face therapy then this is a great stepping stone into that, if you need it later one.
Online-therapy.com will give you tools and strategies to help you understand why you keep hitting roadblocks and ways to overcome them.
Inside Online-therapy.com’s dashboard
As you move through the program you will find yourself more willing to tackle the project and less worried about how it will turn out.
This is also a cost-effective way to get help because right now you can set up a free account!
Now you won’t get access to the therapist which to me is what really makes the program shine but you can still make some progress towards overcoming procrastination.
Click To Go To Online-Therapy.Com!
Want to know more about online therapy and its benefits? Then click here to read why I chose online therapy and how it changed my life!
One form I recommend is group therapy through the YMCA. They are called Restore groups. I’ve used them myself and found them to be a stepping stone to being comfortable with private therapy.
Sharing your problems in a group will help you find someone who can relate to you and then you won’t have to go through this alone.
Idea #3) Read Books About Procrastination
I’m a writer so you know I had to put reading on the list as a way to help with procrastination. In fact, I’ve created a workbook about overcoming procrastination called True Transformations that you can read more about here!
I love the True Transformation workbook because it’s like a combination of a book and a journal. So you really have the space to explore your thoughts about what you’ve read!
Reading is obviously powerful and many books have the power to change the course of your life (case in point: the Bible).
I would suggest reading a book that deals with the psychology of procrastination.
Or if you already know you procrastinate because of one of the reasons listed above, search for a book on that specific reason.
For instance, if you have a fear of failure then search for books on the fear of failure.
I just went to Amazon and typed in fear of failure Christian and two books came up that look like they could be really helpful: Make Your Mark and Brave Enough
( I can’t vouch for the advice or theology of these books).
Idea #4) Go To The Next Level With Face to Face Therapy
It works if you are honest with yourself and with the therapist.
If you don’t think you can be honest as in brutally honest then it would be best to save your money.
There would be no benefit to you.
Action Plan: Go to online-therapy.com and sign up for a free account and start benefiting from the rich resources they offer!
Whichever method (or some combination of them all) appeals to you, please try one.
I believe you will start to see personal growth like you’ve never seen before.
Then you will naturally want to move on to step 4.
Step 2) Set & Create SMART Goals To Overcome Procrastination
SMART goals stand for:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Timely
SMART goals are a revolutionary way to set goals.
These goals specifically define what it is that you are trying to accomplish.
This is exactly what we need as fellow procrastinators.
We need to set one smart goal and focus on that one goal only so the project does not overwhelm us and is something we are more likely to achieve.
I believe once we get in the habit of actually reaching our goals we will get a bit addicted to the feeling and we won’t want to procrastinate like we used to.
So how do we do this because sometimes we think we’ve set a smart goal and we haven’t.
I would create a goal-setting journal where I wrote down all of my goals and then start looking for ways to make those goals as specific and measurable as possible.
It might also help to think about SMART goals this way. Set one big macro goal and then break that macro goal down into little micro goals.
For instance, let’s say you want to start a business.
The following is not a SMART goal (I at one time thought it was): I want to get 100 new email subscribers by the end of December.
And while this goal was kind of smart, it could be a lot smarter. How was I going to get the email subscribers?
Here’s a true SMART goal you can set
I want to get 100 new email subscribers by the end of February by posting 2 Pinterest pins a day to draw traffic to my squeeze page/lead magnet.
This goal is smarter because now I know exactly how to get from point A to B and when I want to do it.
If you want, you could set one large smart goal and then set a series of smaller goals that will help you accomplish the bigger SMART goal.
This way you have smaller victories along the way motivating you to reach the bigger victory.
Don’t move on to the next small smart goal though until you’ve finished the one before it.
Just stay on a steady path and keep moving through your chain of small goals until you’ve accomplished the bigger goal.
Action Step: Write down a smart goal in your journal in relation to whatever project God is calling you to do.
It can be as big or as small as you’d like.
Like if God wants you to go back to school, a smart goal could be: I will request more information be mailed to me about the nursing program at 3 schools.
Step #3: Take Action On Your SMART Goals.
At this point, there’s nothing left to do but jump right in and start working on your newly set goal.
Refrain from letting old habits bubble to the surface.
Fears and doubts will try and creep in and tell you that you will fail, why even try.
Just ignore them.
Ignore them like you’ve ignored your dreams all these years. ( ok that’s a low blow, forgive me) but do you see what I’m saying?
A big component of procrastination is ignoring.
So now you’re still going to ignore something except this time it’s your fears and doubts that have kept you trapped all these years.
When you do that you take control of the situation. You’re taking your power back.
Action step: Just do it. Start working to fulfill your SMART goal. Just start with whatever resources you have and don’t worry about perfection.
Step #4: Re-Evaluate Your SMART Goals & Make Adjustments.
You may not need this step if you did your SMART goal right.
However, like me, you may have to reevaluate your goal because it doesn’t seem like it’s working.
I would suggest you track your progress every week in your goal-setting journal so you can see how close or far off you are from reaching your goal.
You answer if you have accomplished your goal, are you halfway there, or have you even started? If you haven’t started yet, write down some of the obstacles that have stood in the way of you getting started.
Then see how you can work around or eliminate those obstacles
If you have not started then the problem could also lie with the goal itself.
See if you can break the goal down into smaller sub-goals.
Then try again with your new plan.
Action Plan: See if you are on track to achieving your goal. If not rework it into a goal you know you will actually do.
Step 5: Move On To Your Next SMART Goal
Now that you have achieved one goal, I hope it will motivate you to set another goal or start tackling the goals you already set.
Right now you’re on a roll so don’t stop. Ask people around you to help you stay on track if you need it.
Just whatever you do, don’t lose sight of your goals.
In your journal, write a list of goals in order of importance and just work your way down the list.
Action Step: Create more smart goals in your journal and begin executing.
Setting SMART Goals For Procrastination Summary
Just to recap let’s go over the action steps one more time:
Action Plan 1: Take advantage of the free tools and resources at online-therapy.com
Action Plan 2: Write down a smart goal in relation to whatever project God is calling you to do.
It can be as big or as small as you’d like.
Like if God wants you to go back to school, a smart goal could be: I will request more information be mailed to me about the nursing program at 3 schools.
Action Plan 3: Just do it. Start working to fulfill your SMART goal. Just start with whatever resources you have and don’t worry about perfection.
Action Plan 4: See if you are on track to achieving your goal. If not rework it into a goal you know you will actually do.
Action Plan 5: Create more smart goals and begin executing.
Beating Procrastination Using SMART Goals + Next Steps
Like I said this is not an overnight quick-fix list of solutions but I do believe that if you follow these steps they will work and as far as how fast they work… well that is all up to you.
You can make this process as fast or as slow as you’d like.
It could be as fast as a month or as slow as a year.
Only you know where your head is at.
The bottom line is to start where you are with what you have, keep the Lord first in this process, and keep going until you have started that project.
Stop dreaming about it and start living it.
It just takes a little action.
What action are you going to take today to start pursuing your passion? Let me know in the comments.
Thank you so much for reading! I know I basically wrote a book but I pray this has been helpful to you.
Call to action: If you have found this post helpful I would love it if you’d do the following:
- Please save one of the pins in this article to one of your Pinterest boards or share it on social media.
Doing this would help me so much and I would really appreciate it! Stay in touch and God bless.
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