Starting a company can seem like a mammoth and daunting task. You have to prepare a business plan, talk to manufacturers if you are making a product or try out the services you want to provide as a freelancer. You need to think of a name, logo and tag line. You need to open a bank account and you need to make sure all the legalities are in place. Listing it down makes it even more frightening and chances are, you suddenly think that you probably don’t have the skills for it yet or you have a lot of other work that needs to be wrapped up before you start out. You spend your time on relatively unimportant tasks.
You are procrastinating and you are not alone.
Here are a few tips you can use to reduce your procrastination level and take the first step towards your dream company:
1. Break it down to simpler tasks
A task like making a business plan is definitely a massive one. But rather than thinking that you need to make a business plan, think of how you can break it down. Having a complete business plan is your end goal. Your immediate goal could be talking to a fellow entrepreneur and see how they worked on their business plan. Plan it out into simple steps that don’t seem unattainable in the timeline you have set.
Action Point: Break down your to-do list into concrete, actionable steps that are easy to complete.
2. Take the first step
You think about finishing a task and focus on the results, it does not give you motivation to start. When you think about the obstacles you would need to pass in order to finish, you automatically try to avoid it. Your starting step could simply be starting up your computer and opening up Word. You might find yourself sitting down for hours together just writing down your ideas and forming your Business Plan.
Action Point: Just ask yourself, “Is there something I can do in the next two minutes to start my company?”
3. Set a deadline
Some like to procrastinate because there is a certain pleasure in finishing everything at the very last minute. Setting a deadline could be the answer to overcome this habit. Give yourself a tight deadline for every actionable on that to-do list and stay within it. Reward yourself in order to condition your brain into thinking that there is a treat at the end of that actionable. This will make you look forward to starting and finishing the work within the deadline.
Action Point: Reward yourself if you finish the task within the deadline.
4. Never think that you have to do something, think that you choose to
Sometimes you might push off tasks because you believe that you have to finish it off and it seems unpleasant when you frame it that way. It is your choice that you want to start a company. There is nothing that you have to do. You always choose. Therefore changing that thought process to, “I choose to chart out a business plan because it is going to be fun and a good learning experience,” could motivate you to accomplish your mission.
Action Point: Always choose to do something because you are passionate about it.
5. Tone Down perfectionism
When you are a perfectionist, you want everything done in a certain way. This makes the task look even more daunting because you are afraid that it is not going to be perfect or that you don’t have the skills to complete the task just yet. It makes you afraid to even take the first step. Allow yourself the liberty to make mistakes and take it as a learning curve.
Action point: Don’t focus on perfectionism, focus on learning from your mistakes.
There are a lot of theories as to why procrastination happens and how we can avoid it. But there is a huge gap between how much is known about the brain versus how much there is to know. Therefore procrastination can never be gotten rid of completely. However you can take the above steps and start to reduce your procrastination levels considerable and you can do it immediately! So stop reading this article and do what you can in the next two minutes to start your company!
It’s high time that you start thinking to do something for yourself. Look for business centre in Andheri East, Mumbai or co-working space in MG Road, Bengaluru. Find your inspiration here!