How to Stop Procrastinating and Stick to Your Workout and Healthy Lifestyle Goals

Procrastination can be a major obstacle to achieving your weight loss and health goals. Whether you're putting off joining a weight loss programme, starting a new exercise routine, or adopting a healthier diet, procrastination can derail your progress and make it difficult to achieve the results you desire.

In this article, we’ll get to understand this topic more and come up with ways on how to address this problem. 

What is procrastination and why do we do it?

Procrastination is the act of delaying or putting off a task or activity that needs to be done. The Science behind procrastination is complex and involves a combination of psychological, emotional, and cognitive factors. 

Needless to say, procrastination is the thief of your time. A more relevant analogy is that procrastination is like a credit card, lots of fun until you get the bill. Because the price you end up paying for procrastination is simply HUGE. 

And it shouldn’t be that surprising that it affects so many people. After all, we are actually hot wired to move towards that which we associate with being pleasurable and away from that we consider painful. This is an evolutionary process to protect us from danger but unfortunately is not as useful to us in the modern world as it was to our ancestors.

Essentially what we are doing is sometimes referred to as present bias. Simply put, it means we are motivated more by immediate gratification than we are by long term reward. A good example relating to weight loss is you want to drop a dress size but that will, even with the right help and strategy, take a period of time to complete to feel the reward. However, having an ice cream now will be instant gratification. We feel good at the moment and we resolve to start our healthy eating regime tomorrow. 

But for people who procrastinate tomorrow never comes… but the bill does. 

Some tips and techniques to manage procrastination

Is there really a way to end procrastination fast? What are things we should consider to break this bad habit?

Understand your behavioural patterns 

In BodySlims, we believe in what is called the pain and pleasure scales. Sadly, for many people, they are out of balance. Let’s take the example of the ice cream. That person is living to the pleasure of the moment. The pain of being overweight is not great enough at this point to stop that person from having the ice cream. 

However, gradually, as a result of procrastinating, perhaps that person gets heavier and the pain and pleasure scale starts to shift. The pain of being overweight is now stronger than the pleasure of having ice cream. Of course, this kind of thinking may encourage someone to start but if someone is procrastinating habitually, it’s already a behavioural pattern.Though you may take small steps but it’s unlikely you’ll get where you want to go without actually working on the behavioural pattern. 

Understanding your behavioural patterns is one key thing you need to do before breaking those bad patterns as you deal with procrastination.

Understand its impact on your mental health

Another example is needing to do the assignment or report. This report is due Monday 9 a.m. Now it’s pretty likely doing it won’t be fun so the pleasure of watching Netflix and relaxing on Friday and Saturday may tip the scales in favour of doing nothing. Come Sunday, driven by pain in the form of anxiety or stress, we have a terrible day and wish we’d started sooner. 

People who procrastinate are often unaware of how detrimental it is particularly to their mental health. Most will justify the fact they procrastinate with a long list of excuses and that would be fine except for the price you pay.

Get it done sooner, the better

The Italians have a wonderful saying about this that you have a stone in your shoe. At first you can keep going, after a time you start to feel uncomfortable and if you leave it long enough you’ll have a limp. 

The simple fact is for most people putting things off bothers them in the back of their mind. If you’ve ever experienced the joy of getting something you don’t enjoy done early in the day and then the rest of the being happy you did it as opposed to spending the day putting it off but knowing you have to do it has been like having a cloud over your head for the day, you’ll know what we’re talking about. 

Reevaluate your goals 

You may also need to reevaluate your set goals. Is it something simple like finishing a report due Monday morning? Or is it something more complex such as eating healthier or losing weight? For big goals, it helps to break it down into smaller, more manageable tasks. Ask yourself – what is the first step? Perhaps for losing weight, the first step is signing up for a weight loss programme. 

And while you’re making progress, don’t forget to celebrate small victories and don’t be discouraged by setbacks. Use them as opportunities to learn and adjust your approach. 

Find an “accountability partner”

An “accountability partner is someone who will help you stay motivated and on track. It is someone who understands you, shares your vision, and can provide guidance and support. And sometimes, it doesn’t have to be just one person… It can be a community. 

In BodySlims, we understand procrastination, (so many of our customers do it we simply have to!) And we devised the programme in such a way that everything, right from the start is time sensitive so people have to prioritise doing the tasks as we remove the option. 

Procrastination falls under behavioural pattern and habit and it’s always our intention on the BodySlims programme to install new habits and behavioural patterns that do serve your greater long term good. 

The average length of time it takes to install a new habit is 66 days. The BodySlims programme is 70 days and that is not coincidental but rather the recognition of procrastination as one of the leading causes for people coming to us in the first place and us seeking to have them go away with a new way of life. 

Tomorrow never comes and this is your life, it’s happening now. We don’t get do overs, it's not a dress rehearsal. The only time we ever have is now, the present. Gerard Moran, the founder of BodySlims, alludes to the need to manage your moments being the key to managing your day and how if you manage your day everyday you will have already managed your life. 

So trust our thousands of success stories, and take the first step in your weight loss journey with a few simple clicks. Stop procrastinating and join our weight loss programme now!

@bodyslims Surrender to win … a word from the Weight Whisperer #surrendertowin #weightlosstip #weightlosshelp #weightlosscoach #weightlossmotivation ♬ original sound - BodySlims