Have you ever sat around and procrastinated exercise? You tell yourself that you’ll go tomorrow instead. Or excuses pop up about feeling tired, not having enough time, motivation, or energy. How about distractions? I’m sure there have been times when other options seemed much more appealable.
Well, this is common. People procrastinate all kinds of things. Especially working out because it’s hard and requires a lot of effort. Quite often it’s much more appealing to stay at home and do nothing.
But is that how you want to live?
Do you prefer to be lazy, unfocussed, and leave your body unused? I hope not. I’m guessing that’s why you’re here.
What can you do then? In this article I’ll give you 10 ways to stop procrastinating. So, you can reach your goals and feel proud of yourself.
Let’s jump to it, shall we?
Forget Motivation, Become Disciplined
There is big different between motivation and discipline. Motivation comes and goes, like an emotion. You cannot rely on it. Sometimes you feel pumped up to workout. On other days you want to eat snacks on your sofa.
Discipline can become a permanent quality.
When you develop a disciplined mindset, it doesn’t matter if you’re feeling unmotivated, you do it anyway. Do you think professional athletes want to train all the time? They get after it because they’re determined to train no matter what.
How can you become disciplined? There’s no secret answer I’m afraid. You need to push yourself to take positive action. That first step is always the hardest, but take it, it will build momentum. That could be putting your workout clothes on, picking up your car keys, or going outside.
Take that first step and don’t stop. The more you do this, the easier it is to develop a disciplined mindset.
“Motivation gets you going, but discipline keeps you growing.”
— John C. Maxwell
Get it Out the Way
“I’ll do it in 20 minutes. Ok, in one 1 hour. I’ll go later, just one more video. Right, at 7 o’clock I’m doing it”. Sound familiar? There’s nothing worse than putting off a workout. Plus, the more you delay it, the harder it is to go.
The best way to tackle this, is to do it first thing. Workout in the morning, before doing anything else. When you do, you’ve already won the battle. Everything afterwards will even feel easier because you already did something difficult.
On top of that exercise will help you to feel more refreshed and energised to take on the day.
Find the time, even if it means waking up a little earlier. Getting up the morning to exercise is a huge accomplishment.
Try it. What’s holding you back?
Try New Things and Mix it Up
You might find some exercises like running or lifting weights boring. They can be repetitive after all. There are two solutions to this.
First, try new things. Join classes like Yoga, body pump, Pilates, CrossFit, or even dancing. Following an instructor with a room full of people also encourages a lot of energy and can increase your motivation. You might discover something you love or form new friendships.
Second, mix it up. Don’t stick to the same routine or workout all the time. Change it weekly, or even daily. Try different machines, exercises, alternate between cardio and weights. Challenges yourself to do 10 minutes here, ten minutes there.
Exercise doesn’t have to be boring.
Keep it fresh, engaging, and exciting.
Be Present and Engaged
When I’m at the gym, without fail, there is usually at least one person disengaged from their workout. Instead, they’re either putting in minimal effort or staring at their phones. It’s clear that they don’t want to there. If you do this when exercising it means:
1. You’re not appreciating or working with your body
2. You’re not embracing the workout or maximising its benefits
3. You’re not fully using the power of your mind
4. You’re not being present
Do this instead. Focus on your body. How it moves, the sensations that occur, your heartbeat, breathing, muscles, and so on. You can do this with any form of exercise. Whether it involves running, jumping, swinging, pulling, or pushing.
Pay close attention to how your body feels.
Do you feel your energy? Can you feel your real power?
Let your mind become synchronised with its movements. Be grateful for it and push yourself harder. You can even incorporate how your body interacts with the machines and equipment you use. Notice the vibrations, sounds, and how what you do affect them.
This is the practice of mindfulness.
When you are present and engaged with your workout, they’ll be more productive and benefit. You should also enjoy and appreciate exercising much more. You’ll also realise how you can use the power of your mind to go even further than you thought possible.
Why not be more present during your next workout?
Ask Yourself “What if”
Instead of making excuses to not exercise, telling yourself it’s pointless, or that you can’t do it, ask yourself ‘what if’. You can use this powerful question when you feel unmotivated, uninspired, and apathetic.
When you’re procrastinating exercise, try asking yourself a question like “what if I choose to work out right now?”. Which can lead to other questions such as:
“How would I feel after exercising?’
“Would I feel mentally and physically better?”
“What if I can achieve my fitness goals?”
“How would I feel?”
“What would the benefits be?”
“Would I feel a sense of achievement?”
You get the idea. Asking “what if” is a powerful open-ended question. One that gets you thinking about the benefits of what you’re putting off.
Why not use it the next time you’re hesitating and overthinking doing something?
“And you ask “what if I fall?” Oh but my darling, what if you fly?”
— Erin Hanson
Warn Yourself of the Consequences
Quite often we try to tell ourselves about the benefits of doing something. We may desperately say “I’m eating this salad to be lose weight”. You think this would work, but it doesn’t always.
The main reason why is because humans tend to focus on the negatives, more than the positive.
That’s why we beat ourselves up about not doing something right. Getting a B instead an A. Missing one gym session, despite going regularly throughout the rest of the week. Why? We’re hardwired that way for survival purposes.
We evolved to pay attention to threats, danger, harmful situations, and people, to avoid them. Makes sense, no? You can use this to your advantage. Instead of trying to reinforce on the benefits of exercise, focus on the consequences of not exercising.
Tell yourself that you may put weight on. That you’ll become unhealthier. Increase your risk of disease, high blood pressure and cholesterol. Or that you’ll degenerate much faster as you grow older without working out.
This is a much more effective approach and should motivate you more.
Set Goals Realistic and Achievable Goals
What are your fitness goals? So many people set unrealistic goals. Such as trying to get a six pack, build substantial muscle, or lose a lot of weight in just a short period of time. And then they don’t meet them, they become deflated, unmotivated, and give up.
You need to set SMART goals. Ones that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.
Losing weight or building muscle takes time. A lot of it. If you look in the mirror each day, you’re probably not going to notice much change. But if you stay consistent with your diet and exercise, and look at photos months apart, you should see improvements.
Feeling clueless about how to set fitness SMART goals? Hire a personal trainer. Or go online and find reliable forums, communities, and resources. There are plenty around.
Once you create SMART these goals, it’s much more likely you’ll stick to your regimen. Rather than procrastinating or giving up when you failed to meet your old unattainable ones.
“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”
— Tony Robbins
Partner Up
Some people love working out alone, others find it, well… lonely and boring. It can also be hard to push yourself to exercise. Especially on those cold winter days, when you just want to stay at home with a cup of a tea.
So, why not partner up with somebody? A friend, colleague, your partner, or perhaps you could even find someone new. There are apps like Gym Buddy where you can find somebody to exercise with.
Partnering up with somebody can help as follows:
- You bounce energy off one another.
- You can provide each other with encouragement and motivation.
- Either one of you can hold the other accountable.
- You can both come up with new, fun, and creative workouts to do together.
- You can help to guide proper technique, form, and spot each other when weightlifting.
Why not test the water? Message some people or try an app to find a gym buddy. Who knows, you may even form a new, meaningful friendship.
Use Dopamine to Your Advantage
You release dopamine when you an anticipate or do something pleasurable. For example, the mere thought of using social media or eating chocolate releases it in your system. Which is it’s easy to form addictive habits.
You also release it when exercising, more so if you enjoy it. If you don’t though, you can use dopamine hacking to release almost on command. How? Give yourself rewards using self-talk throughout your workout.
For example, when you struggling to push yourself to exercise, say “I’m so glad that I’m working to strengthen my body. I know so many people who don’t even make the effort. I’m taking positive steps to be healthier and right now”.
Believe it or not, simple self-talk like this will release your dopamine. Subconsciously you’ll start to see exercise as a source of pleasure, something that’s worth doing. Why not come up with some phrases or sentences you can use during your next workout?
If you want to know in more detail how this works, check out my article ‘How to Hack Dopamine to Your Advantage’.
You Can Overcome Procrastination
Don’t feel bad that you put off exercise, procrastination is common, but you can overcome it. An important thing to remember is that motivation comes and goes. Don’t rely on it. Once you understand that, you can use the suggestions above to develop a more focussed and disciplined mindset.
Overtime, choosing to exercise over doing nothing will become like a habit. You won’t even think about it.
Once you do, you may find that this new attitude will seep into other areas of your life. After all, some people even procrastinate the things they want to do. Once you beat procrastinating, the sky is the limit. You’ll be more productive, positive, and achieve your goals in no time.
What other things to you procrastinate? Let me know in the comments section.
Take care of yourselves,
Chris from Mindful Way to Be
