5 Quick Tips for Procrastinators: Start Building Your Dream Life NOW

Your dream life is on your vision board, but what are you doing to make it happen?

I see you, procrastinator.

You have big dreams! You’re so excited to make them real! You want to get things out of your head and into the world!

You want it so badly!

But you keep procrastinating instead of taking action.

In fact, that’s what you’re doing right now – reading this post about how to get started hoping to read something that will magically unlock your blockages and make you spring into action.

But to make your dream life your reality, you need to take action. Keep reading for quick tips to make it happen!

This post will give you 5 easy steps to start building your dream life RIGHT NOW.

1 – Take ONE small action

“Just do it.”
Nike

What is ONE single thing that you can do to move closer to your dream or goal right now?

It doesn’t have to be big. It can be a small, simple task. As long as it’s in the direction of meeting your goal.

Maybe it’s making a list of blog post ideas (that’s one that I’ve found myself doing in 10 minutes or less). Maybe it’s reaching out to that person to set up a meeting so that you can finally ask them if they want to support your project. Maybe it’s coming up with a name for your YouTube channel. Maybe it’s picking out the items that you’re going to shoot for your next flatlay post. Maybe it’s filling up your water bottle and drinking from it. Maybe it’s putting your shoes on and going for a walk outside.

Maybe it’s not even a specific action – maybe it’s writing a list of what you need to do and prioritize things one by one!

The more you put things off (i.e. procrastinate), the bigger and more unattainable that eventual goal becomes. You’re only a series of steps away from that big thing. Take one step at a time, and you’ll get there. And remember, every step that you take – no matter how small – is putting you that much closer than if you don’t move forward at all.

2 – Fall back in love with your dream

Your dream is your dream for a reason. Reignite the passion that brought you to this dream in the first place.

It’s time for some reflection and introspection.

My favorite way to do this? Journaling.

Grab a pen, open that book up and start writing an ode to your dream.

Remind yourself of what you care about. Fall back into the feelings of excitement and let yourself dream big. It’s ok to go large here – actually, that’s great. Let your heart start soaring and your mind start opening up to possibilities.

By NOT taking action on your goals and dreams, you’ve been depriving them of care and attention. Reverse this by nurturing your dreams and daring to fall back in love with what you started with.

If journaling isn’t for you, no problem! Visualization works great as well.

Let your imagination paint a picture of your dream life or of you achieving your goals in full, glorious detail. I like to visualize my dream life when I’m out walking my dog. I also like to do this when I’m falling asleep when my brain is switching from waking consciousness to sleep. You can do it upon waking up, too – even before you get out of bed! – to give yourself some inspiration to head into the day.

A great visualization technique that gives you a physical prompt is vision boarding. (For anyone who isn’t familiar with vision boarding: in a nutshell, it’s putting together images that help you imagine your dream vision whenever you look at it.)

You can make a digital vision board on Pinterest, a folder in your photos app, a file in your notes app, a Canva board, a Word doc, or really anywhere. There are even tons of apps for vision boarding, though I haven’t tried any of them.

If you want a tactile experience and a physical vision board to look at, grab a board (cardstock or cardboard work fine), magazine or printed pictures, scissors and glue. Cut out your images (and/or words, phrases, etc.) and paste them on to the board, old-school. Vision boarding like this is honestly a ton of fun and makes a great group activity if you have a tribe of people who are down to do this with you. Get the vibes going so everyone is feeling good and uplifted and share your goals and hype each other up as you make your boards!

You can also make a mind movie. Take videos and photos that illustrate your dream life and put them together in a video or reel. Add music, voiceovers, text overlays, or whatever you feel inspired to add to create an experience that immerses you in that dream of yours.

Really, you can visualize your dream life anytime, anywhere. You can do it in a few moments or you can spend whole hours doing this exercise. The point is to get yourself hyped up and excited so that you feel inspired to take action!

3 – MOVE

Procrastination is often us just getting stuck in inaction. Combat inertia by getting up and moving.

Sometimes it’s hard to jump right into the damn thing and there’s too much resistance, wherever it’s originated from. That’s fine.

Instead of diving head first into the work that’s required for your big goal, start on the periphery and get your energy up so that it becomes easier to slide into that work. Just start moving in a way that’s easy and feels good.

I think the most fun way to get moving is to dance and free flow. Free form dancing is great for connecting with your creativity because you’re making the moves up as you go, which is largely what you’ll be doing as you get into the work of building your dream. It’s also a form of authentic movement: you’re moving outwardly as an extension of what’s within, and that’s also going to help you as you get into your creative flow for your work.

Exercise of any kind will work too. Walking outdoors is great because it gets you moving, beating the stagnation that can come with staying cooped up inside within the same environment where you haven’t been making progress for however long.

Lots of people also tend to get sparks of inspiration on walks, just like they do in the shower. When we’re engaged in an activity that doesn’t require too much mental focus our minds open up to receiving all kinds of ideas and making connections that we aren’t typically open to when we’re in more rigid situations – and hence, more rigid mindsets to fit those situations.

Stretching is great because it creates space and movement and flow and flexibility in the body, which gets reflected in the mind too. Stretch to feel good, loosen up your mind and body, get your energy going, and you are primed to take action!

“Movement” isn’t confined to these activities either. Maybe you’d prefer to cook a meal, or knit for 20 minutes, or color, or something else entirely.

Just make sure that you’re not using this as another form of procrastination to put off doing the work you know you need to do. Set a timer if you have to stop yourself from getting too distracted. Get into flow then after that activity has gotten you pumped up and feeling motivated, start taking actions that will move you forward on your goals!

4 – GET INSPIRED

Tip #2 was all about falling back in love with your dream. It’s a good tip and I stand by it, but sometimes we’re in our way so much that turning inward doesn’t get the job done. That’s ok. You can find inspiration outside of yourself too.

Sometimes it helps to see what others have done and examples of what is possible to help you believe in yourself and feel more emboldened to go after what you want.

Who are your role models? Look for interviews or talks where they talk about their journey and what they’ve experienced, learned, created. No matter how successful they are, everyone has encountered challenges. You can find stories about where they share those experiences and what it was like. How they felt in those lowest moments and how they got through it.

You’re not alone in your struggle. It can be so illuminating and uplifting to see the distance that the people who you look up to have traveled to get to where they are. Let yourself be inspired by the stories of others to help you believe that your dreams are not out of reach.

Others have had to travel through challenges to bridge the distance between where they started and where they wanted to go. The work that you’ve been putting off is the bridge between where you are now and where you want to be. Listen to true stories to remind yourself that you can do it. Immerse yourself in a vibe of inspiration, then get on that bridge!

5. Imagine your death (aka END OF LIFE EXERCISE)

Did you try the above tips and are still unmoved?

Are you still in the same place you were before? Unmotivated? Not taking action?

Ok. Let’s zoom out.

You are going to die.

You don’t know when you’re going to die, but it’s a fact. For this exercise let’s assume you’re going to die after having lived an average lifespan. On your deathbed, how are you going to view your life in retrospect?

If you continue living the way you are now, continuing to put your dreams off until the next day, then the next day, then the next… what will be the life you look back on?

Now what is the life that you WISH to look back on?

The only way to make that real is to start living that life NOW.

You may be thinking this is an old, basic, tired practice… But it’s SO real.

You can take life for granted and let each day pass by, drifting further from your dreams by your inaction. That’s a choice. And you are free to make that choice. But is that what you want?

Be true to yourself and your heart’s desires. Honor yourself. Your life is yours to live. But do you really want to let your future be shaped by what happened when you let your fears and doubts hold you back from the life you wanted to lead?

Feel the feelings of frustration. Realize that no, you DON’T want to waste your life away in fear. You DO want to go for it!

Then… take ONE small step RIGHT NOW that will bring you closer to your dreams.

And keep at it, taking one action at a time. It’s ok if you fall off, but hold yourself accountable and stay consistent overall. This is how you follow through on actualizing your dreams. And one day you’ll look back in gratitude for you believing in yourself and showing up for yourself, even when it felt hard.

You’ve got this!

Conclusion

So there you have it! Five easy tips to help you beat procrastination and start taking action on the things you said you need to do:

Take ONE small action
Fall back in love with your dream
Move
Get inspired
Imagine your death

Now be honest: Did you do any of these things while you were reading?

If not, no judgment. I would have just read straight through it, myself.

But now that you’ve finished this post – take action!

Do the item that resonated with you the most from this list.

If you’re in bed, staying up late – (procrastinating on sleep??) – turn your phone off, close your eyes, and VISUALIZE yourself achieving your goals. That’s tip 2 again – falling back in love with your dream.

In the morning, commit to doing one of the tips from the above list for that day.

You have everything you need inside of you to do the things you need to do and be the person you need to be. You are not a procrastinator for life – you’re someone who procrastinates. And guess what? You are ALSO someone who takes action. So go ahead take your pick of five easy tips – then GO!

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