Monday Motivation is here for you. This weekend I read an article that left me shaking my head. Not because it was so unbelievable but because it was dead on, describing me to a T. I love making lists. I love learning new things. I love starting new things. It makes me feel good to move forward.

But what happens when moving forward isn’t really moving forward? What happens when you’re really moving laterally? Every time I start a new project, I research the heck out of it. I loooooove me some research. That’s the problem. Instead of moving forward, I was spending way too much time in research mode, paralyzed by the thought of actually putting everything I’d learned into practice. There are two problems with this. First, people learn better when they DO instead of read. The more I read, the harder it became to remember all the cool things I’d learned. Second, I wasn’t going anywhere. I wasn’t moving toward my goal; I was just hiding from it.

How do I overcome this? Deadlines. It’s one thing to say that I have a goal. It’s another to give it a timeframe that sets achievement in stone. Put one foot in front of the other and quit hiding in preparation.

Think this doesn’t pertain to you? How many times have you had work to do but felt the incredible urge to clean your desk before you could begin? How about planning to work out? You can only buy so many cute outfits or cool pairs of shoes before you actually have to sweat in them.

Don’t feel too ashamed. We all do this. The difference between never achieving your goal and total fulfillment is knowing when you’re moving laterally instead of taking the steps to move forward. You have to give yourself a deadline on every detail. Don’t forget this important, often forgotten, step in achieving your goals. Give yourself a deadline on every detail so you don’t get hung up for too long. Before you know it, you’ll be checking off your goal and moving on to the next one.

Chime in. Tell me your favorite procrastination technique.