From my years of experience as a professional organizer, there are three basic reasons people procrastinate:

The task is way too big, and we get overwhelmed.

We have no idea how to do whatever has been asked of us.

Plain and simple, we just don’t want to do it.

If one or more of these examples resonate with you, keep reading for some tips on how to get motivated.

I Don’t Want to Do It

There are a lot of things we put on our “to do” lists (or someone else puts on our lists) that we really do not want to do. If you find yourself continually ignoring the same task, ask yourself a few questions.

• Can I delegate this to someone else? There may be someone who enjoys the task more than you or can possibly get it done more If that’s the case, delegate.
• Does the task really need to get done? We often put items on our lists that we would like to do. Wouldn’t it be nice if … ? However, it’s not critically important, and we would rather spend our time doing something else. If this task is something you can live without, take it off the list.

• Can I get some help? There may be something on the list you do not want to do but it’s also not something you can delegate.

This one comes down to motivation. We all know how to exercise, right?

But we don’t always do it. We can’t delegate it to someone else, and it really is something we need to do for our health. So how do we

get motivated? We ask for help. We can hire a personal trainer or enlist the help of a friend who also needs some motivation to exercise. Either way, you now have to set up an appointment with someone else to exercise. It’s much harder to slack off on your commitment when another person is counting on you to show up.