Ep 129: 3 Simple Strategies to Stop Procrastinating & Finally Get Sh*t Done

In this episode, we’re diving into why we procrastinate, why self-judgment keeps us stuck, and how to break free using simple, effective strategies. 

Procrastination isn’t about laziness—it’s often tied to fear, overwhelm, exhaustion, or lack of connection to what truly matters. I’ll share three powerful tools to help you get unstuck, including the 5-minute trick, tracking your procrastination patterns, and tying tasks to your values—so you can stop overthinking and start taking action with more ease and confidence!

You'll learn:

• Why we procrastinate
• Why self-judgment makes it worse
• 3 strategies for getting unstuck

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Transcript

“Hey there, and welcome back to Real, Brave, & Unstoppable! I’m your host Kortney Rivard, and today, we’re talking about something I know all of us deal with—procrastination. Putting things off.  Taxes, anyone?

You know that thing on your to-do list you keep pushing off? That email, that workout, that big life decision? The job search? Yeah. We’re going there today.

And listen—I get it. I procrastinate too. In fact, I probably procrastinated making this episode at some point! I finally got my taxes done, but I procrastinated those for nearly a month. 

So, first things first: procrastination is not a personal failure.

We’re going to talk about why we procrastinate (because it’s deeper than just being lazy), why judging ourselves for it actually makes it worse, and how to get unstuck and move forward to DO the thing.

And, of course, I’m going to tie it all back to the three pillars I always talk about—Body, Mind, and Spirit—because procrastination isn’t just about time management. It’s about how we take care of ourselves, how we think about ourselves, and how connected we feel to what really matters.”

“So let’s start with the big question: why do we do this to ourselves?

We know we need to do the thing. We want to do the thing.. Or at least get the thing over with. But then suddenly, we’re deep into scrolling, cleaning out the junk drawer, or binge-watching Netflix.

One thing I really want to drive home today is that procrastination isn’t about laziness. It’s actually a coping mechanism. Our brains are trying to protect us from something uncomfortable.

No one likes to be uncomfortable, so we’re always seeking out ways to not feel uncomfortable. And when there’s a task that seems too big, too boring, too overwhelming, and an alternative that doesn’t, well… it makes sense why we’d pick the alternative!

When you look at this through the lens of Body, Mind, and Spirit, you start to see that there are different reasons we might be avoiding something.”

🧠 MIND:

• Sometimes, it’s fear of failure. (“What if I try, and I’m not good enough?”)
• Or perfectionism. (“I need to wait until I have the perfect plan.” or “it’s not the right time”)
• Or just overwhelm. (“I don’t even know where to start.” or “it’s such a biiiig project”)
• These are often thoughts or stories that we aren’t consciously aware of. 

💪 BODY:

• If we’re exhausted, of course we’re going to avoid things that take energy.
• If we’re running on caffeine and stress, our brain is going to resist hard tasks because it’s literally trying to conserve energy.
• This is why we tend to procrastinate more when we’re burned out.
• There are other vulnerability factors too… if we’re compromised in any way like lack of sleep, poor nutrition, difficult life event, we’re not going to be doing our best thinking, and when we have the kinds of thoughts that lead to procrastination, we aren’t as able to shift those thoughts into more helpful ones.

✨ SPIRIT:

• If something feels meaningless or disconnected from what we truly care about, we drag our feet.
• We have to feel a why behind what we’re doing—otherwise, it’s just another task on a never-ending to-do list.

So, the next time you catch yourself procrastinating, ask:

• Am I avoiding failure? (Mind)
• Am I just running on empty? (Body)
• Do I even care about this? (Spirit)

And if you answered yes to either the first or second one, or no to the third one, congratulations you’re human!

“Do you know what makes this worse for ourselves? We  judge ourselves for doing it.

We tell ourselves, ‘Ugh, I’m the worst. I should have done this by now. Why am I like this?’

And guess what happens? That self-judgment actually keeps us stuck.

When we beat ourselves up for procrastinating, our brain goes into stress mode, which makes it even harder to think clearly and take action. It’s demotivating instead of encouraging. And it doesn’t address the root of the procrastination! 

So instead of spiraling into self-criticism, what if we got curious instead?

Next time you notice yourself avoiding something, pause and ask:

• What’s really going on here?
• Am I tired? Am I overwhelmed? Am I just not connecting to this task?

A couple of stories to illustrate how this can work…

IH - I have a client who is 

<<Tell a story or two here>>

No judgment. Just awareness.”

This is something I’m always teaching - we’re just observing. There’s no point in judgment or beating ourselves up over it. Learn from it and do better next time. When we know better, we do better said Maya Angelou.

✨ Quick journal prompt for you: “What is my procrastination trying to tell me?”

“Alright, so we know why we procrastinate. Now let’s talk about how to stop overthinking and judging ourselves and actually get moving.

Here are three things that have helped me and my clients break free from procrastination.”

1️⃣ The 5-Minute Trick (Mind)

• This one’s simple: Set a timer for 5 minutes and just start.
  • Tax story  - 5 minute action
• Give yourself full permission to quit after 5 minutes if you want to.
• What usually happens? Once you start, you keep going.

🗣️ “Just do 5 minutes” is so much easier than “I need to finish this entire thing.”

2️⃣ Track Your Procrastination with Curiosity (Mind + Spirit)

• Instead of judging yourself, start noticing patterns.
• Every time you procrastinate, jot down:
  • What was I avoiding?
    What was I feeling?
  • What skill could have helped me? (i.e. noticing thoughts and letting them go, acceptance of unpleasant emotions, pros and cons of starting, considering what values doing the thing connects with and what not doing the thing connects with
• No judgment—just an experiment. This helps build awareness of your choices.
  • And it’s actually helpful to remember that these are choices you are in full control of. Take the empowerment route.

3️⃣ Tie It to Your Values (Spirit)

• If something feels pointless, it’s easy to procrastinate.
• Instead, ask: How does this task connect to what matters to me?
  • “I don’t feel like working out” → but I want to feel strong for my next hike.
    “I don’t want to meal prep” → but I do want to fuel my body well for optimal energy.
  • “I don’t want to do this work task” → but I do want to create financial freedom for myself.
• If you can find the bigger why, the task becomes easier to start.

“So, let’s recap:

• Procrastination isn’t about laziness—it’s about Mind, Body, and Spirit.
  
  
• Self-judgment makes it worse. Get curious instead.
  
  
• And simple tricks like the 5-minute rule, tracking patterns, and tying tasks to your values can help you get moving again.

Here’s your challenge: Try one of these strategies this week. Just one. And DM me or comment on [social media platform] to tell me how it goes!

And if you loved this episode, make sure to [subscribe/review/share]—it helps more women hear this message!

Alright, until next time—stay real, stay brave, and stay unstoppable.”