Clients often come to you with big ideas—some excited, some worried—but many get stuck instead of starting. Procrastination happens to everyone, and it often shows up as “busy” behavior (like cleaning, scrolling, or over‑organizing) instead of real progress. I know I have a tendance to do this then wonder where the time went.
At its core, the problem is usually perception: the project feels too hard, expensive, or confusing, even if that’s not actually true.
- Know what you really need to understand
- Some projects require deep knowledge; others just require enough to keep things running.
- If the tech setup (like Mailchimp or Constant Contact) is painful and time‑consuming, hire help for the initial setup and then manage the easy, ongoing part yourself.
- Ask: “What information am I missing?”
- If you do need more information, define exactly what’s missing and make a short plan to get it.
- If you already have what you need, look at everything together so you can see the big picture and feel more confident.
- Stop collecting endless opinions
- Get feedback from people who actually have relevant expertise or experience, not just anyone who has an opinion.
- Realize that asking “just one more person” is often another form of procrastination.
- Break the project into clear chunks
- Big projects (like a website redesign) feel overwhelming when you see them as one giant task.
- Divide them into specific pieces (e.g., homepage elements: photo, testimonial, social icons, calendar link) so you can tackle them one by one.
- Get everything out of your head and onto paper (or screen)
- Relying on memory leads to spinning your wheels and losing track of what’s done and what’s next.
- A written, step‑by‑step plan lets you see the whole project and saves time later.
- Let go of perfectionism and just start
- Waiting until everything is perfect keeps you from making any progress at all.
- Start with a good‑enough version and improve it over time as your business evolves.
Bottom line: The first step is the hardest. Use these six simple habits to make projects feel smaller, clearer, and less scary—so you can stop stalling and start moving.