Do you know what your next step is to reach the goals you’ve set? If you don’t know, you should take a few moments to grab some paper and sketch out your next few steps to reach whichever goal you’re working on.

But say you do know what your next step is. Is it something you can do now? If you have to wait on something to happen before you take your next step (also known as a ‘dependency’), then that should be noted along with your next step. If there’s no dependency that you’re waiting on, why haven’t you taken that next step?

Ahh, enter our good friend (not!) procrastination. Why do we procrastinate? There are many, many reasons; some are universal, some are as unique as you are. Some of the universal reasons for putting things off can be: fear of failure; fear of success; fear of boredom; and a sense of being overwhelmed. Let’s look at these individually.

I’m Overwhelmed!

Sometimes, a project can appear to be SO HUGE that one just doesn’t know where to start. There’s an old saying about eating an elephant. The only way is to eat that elephant one bite at a time. If you aren’t sure where to start, just choose the closest available part that you can grab onto and start there. If it’s a writing project, start jotting down some random thoughts about where the project is headed. If it’s a physical project (such as cleaning the garage or straightening up the kid’s playroom), simply pick up the nearest physical object within reach and decide what should be done about that object. Lather, rinse, repeat. Pick up another object, decide, do. Another object; and so on.

Some overwhelming projects are best handled in small chunks. Work on it for five or ten minutes — set an alarm if that helps you realize you’re only committed for a short time — and then switch to a more pleasant task. Sometimes, you may find that after working on it for a few minutes, it really isn’t as bad as you thought it was. Feel free, at this point, to ignore your alarm and continue working.

Fear of Boredom

If you’ve got a particularly mind-numbing task ahead of you, take whatever steps you can to make it fun! Play some loud music (or soft, soothing music if you prefer), and make a game of it. Set yourself tiny goals and make it a competition with yourself. If you can inject some fun into the whole process, you’ll be done in no time at all. Also, see the tips above for overwhelming tasks. If you have a large number of boring tasks (or if you have them recur regularly), it may make sense for you to schedule them so that you are only faced with them once each day or every couple of days. If you’re a business owner, you can delegate the really boring things to someone that enjoys them — after all, every person is unique, and something that bores you to tears may be an exciting afternoon for someone else!

Fear of Success

Many, many books have been written on this very subject. If you feel that this is your overriding reason for avoiding something, take a few quiet moments to reflect on the past. Find a memory of a time when you succeeded — remember it fully. Close your eyes, feel yourself really in that situation again. The aim here is to remember what success feels like. If you can recall, accurately, what true success feels like, it should take away some of the fear of succeeding in the present situation.

Fear of Failure

You’ve likely heard the saying that you haven’t succeeded until you’ve failed many times. Although failure is necessary to success, it’s really nothing to be feared. If you calculate your risks in a realistic manner, failure won’t hurt all that much. You shouldn’t take over-reaching risks that might endanger your quality of life, such as losing your house or endangering your ability to take care of your family. Only you can accurately assess whether a risk is acceptable to you. Be sure to talk things over with your family, as they are, by proxy, taking whatever risks you are. Also, bear in mind that true failure only occurs when you stop trying. As long as you keep attempting, you aren’t a failure, because success may be just around the corner. As Edison said, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” Persistence, as in everything, is the key.

Don’t let fear or procrastination hold you back. Conquer all!