As a business coach for real estate professionals for the last 12 years, I often hear the same question from my clients, "How do I stop procrastinating and do what I need to do to pick up the phone?"

This article will give you a strategy guaranteed to help you overcome the old pattern of procrastination.

Here's the KEY: Pick a goal that is manageable for you

I was working with a client this morning named Steve who had been feeling stuck all week and unable to pick up the phone.

We identified that he clearly had an avoidance pattern going on. I asked that part of him to tell us why it had been preventing my client from making his prospecting calls.

It very clearly answered, "30 contacts today seems like too much. Steve will fail, and then he will be criticizing himself. I don't want him to go through that pain so I'm stopping him from making the calls altogether."

We did some negotiating with his "avoidant part" and it wasn't long before a win-win agreement was reached.

The "avoidant part," now called his Ally, was very agreeable to Steve making the calls as long as he would lower the number 20 contacts a day when he sat down to prospect.

Steve knew that he could do 20 contacts today, he'd done it before and he felt very confident of his ability to do that.

Furthermore, a part of him that had been preventing him from taking the phone was now agreeing to be his Ally with a brand-new job description.

The deal was this: Steve's part was to get on the phone and make 20 contacts a day. The Ally's part was to:

1. Nudge him to get on the phone

2. Praise him for his efforts

3. Protect him from self judgment and criticism

At the end of the session, Steve reported feeling energized and highly motivated. We worked out some action steps and accountability along with a set of empowered beliefs. With his new and more realistic goal of reaching 20 clients instead of 30, the procrastination stopped.

Here's a Tip: Procrastination is just another word for fear.

Next time you are procrastinating ask yourself these questions:

·What am I afraid of?

·What self limiting belief is driving me?

·What is a manageable action step?

Pick something you know you can achieve, take action, feel successful, and use that as a springboard for your future action.

Published: May 23, 2008

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