Erica: Hey, girl. By now, you know I have Her Collective, my online community for ambitious women who are done doing it alone. Her Collective is for the women who are smart, capable, and driven, but they find themselves stuck on the sticky floors like self doubt, burnout, and waiting for permission that quite honestly never comes. Inside HER, you get more than motivation. You get real support, real strategies, and real momentum.

Erica: We work on things like clarifying what you want now and what's coming next, building confidence without burning yourself out, navigating hard conversations, career moves, and leadership moments with clarity, and surrounding yourself with women who actually get it. This isn't about hustling harder. It's about moving intentionally with the right tools and the right people in your corner. If you're ready to stop spinning, start choosing yourself, and build a career in life that actually feels aligned, I'd love to welcome you inside her collective. You can learn more and join us at www.joinhercollective.com.

Erica: Because honestly, girl, you were never meant to do this alone. Alright, friends. I've got a question for you before we even start. What is that big thing that you were putting off? Seriously, is it working out?

Erica: Is it calling your dad to check-in? Is it having that tough conversation with someone on your team? Because y'all, this is what we're talking about today. The thing that we have all danced around at some point, procrastination. Yes.

Erica: That pesky little monster that lurks in the shadows keeping us from reaching our true potential. Today, we're gonna chat about why we procrastinate and also how you can stop. We are going to explore the psychology behind it so that you really understand what is going on behind the scenes of your mind and what you can actually do about it. So let's cut right to the chase, shall we?

Erica: Let's stop procrastinating. Why do we procrastinate anyways? Why do we put off the thing that we know we just absolutely have to do? You know it will make you feel better when you're done with it. You know it.

Erica: But the truth is there is so much more to procrastination than just being lazy or unmotivated. Seriously, picture this. You are all set to start your day with a workout and suddenly, you find yourself doom scrolling through social media. You tell yourself, I'm only gonna watch a few more TikToks or I'll stop in five minutes. And then the next thing you know, it's been an hour and you have to head out to get ready for work.

Erica: You have totally missed your window of opportunity. Does that sound familiar? I'm sure it does because we've all been there. Now step one about this whole procrastination thing is actually catching yourself in that act of procrastinating so that you can recognize your sneaky triggers and gently nudge yourself back on track. Now, don't worry.

Erica: I'm not gonna get too sciency on you, but it is crucial to understand what is going on in our brain when we procrastinate. So why do you think that it is? And, honestly, it's actually pretty simple. Our brains are seeking those short term rewards. So let's be real.

Erica: Those TikToks are giving you instant gratification. Dopamine hit after dopamine hit after dopamine hit. But getting your ass on the treadmill, that's gonna be uncomfortable and you know it. You'll be hot. You'll be sweaty, breathing hard, and you may even feel like you are dying.

Erica: But sitting in that cozy couch with your hot mocha coffee or tea just wrapped in a blanket giggling over stupid TikToks, so much more comfortable and enjoyable. Your brain's reward system is driven by dopamine. So those hits of it that you get keep you stuck on the couch. Hit after hit gives you those immediate rewards. That treadmill run that you've been avoiding will only give you the reward after you go through the pieces of it, after you do the workout.

Erica: Now what's crazy is that your brain actually becomes, like, getting used to those short term rewards over the long term benefits. So it ends up hindering the progress towards the goals you want to achieve over time. Now without going too deep on you here, there are other reasons we procrastinate, like impulsivity, again, where we prioritize immediate gratification over that as long term rewards, avoidance learning, which is where procrastination has actually become the learned behavior, especially when avoiding a certain task that provides a temporary relief from a negative emotion or stress, and then also time perception. And, y'all, time perception blew my mind. And that's the way that our brain perceives time and actually contributes to procrastination.

Erica: So how's that? Well, we overestimate the time that we have to start something, which leads to, like, oh, I'll just get this done later. Y'all been there? I've been there. It's so freaking easy to do.

Erica: Right? So that's awesome because now that we know all that, we can actually start to talk about how to stop procrastination. So let's go. Let's pump the brakes on procrastination. It truly keeps us from doing what we really want to do anyways.

Erica: It stops us from achieving the goals that we have set. So these strategies that I'm about to share with you, these are the ones that I use in my everyday life. It is seriously how I get the most done during my day and how I stop putting everything off. And I have said it once on this podcast, I will say it again, but the question that I get asked the most as a full time chief people officer, a podcast host, a coaching consultant, someone who has a keynote speaking business. I'm a wife.

Erica: I'm a mom. How do I do all of the damn things? Sometimes y'all. I don't know. But how I stop procrastinating is I eat the frog.

Erica: And I actually did an episode on this way back in the beginning. But I do the one thing that I don't want to do the most first. So I'm a say it again, but I do the thing that I don't wanna do the most first. And I absolutely love this strategy because that thing that I would have stress and anxiety about and tend to avoid, I get it off my plate. Right?

Erica: It makes for an easier day. And then I don't have to worry about it anymore. No more stress. No more anxiety about, oh my gosh. How's that tough conversation gonna go?

Erica: Or waiting to get my run done. Like, all of those just feelings of, ugh, I don't wanna do it anymore are gone. So step one, eat the frog. Now another strategy that I do to kick the procrastination habit to the curb is an accountability partner. There is just something about having someone depend on you that gets you going.

Erica: So if I tell someone that I will have the report to you by Friday, I will have the report to you by Friday. If I tell someone I'll meet them for a walk in the morning, I will meet them for the walk. So when you have that person, you are so much more likely to hold up your end of the bargain if you have someone depending on you. So, again, to break the habit, you've eaten the frog, and now you're getting an accountability partner to help you break the procrastination loop. Get that someone in your life that you can count on and show up for each other.

Erica: Now this next one, I stole from my idol, Mel Robbins, and that is her five second rule. And basically, all she does is count down from five like a rocket ship and blast off. So basically, five four three two one, do the thing. K? She wrote an entire book about this, a whole freaking book.

Erica: But it basically gives you to give you that gist, five four three two one, do the thing you don't wanna do. No excuses. Just do it. 54321, get out of bed. Bed.

Erica: Don't hit the snooze button. 54321, put your tennis shoes on. Go for a walk. Get moving. Five four three two one, sit down and start your project.

Erica: Whatever it is, 54321, do the damn thing. Now once you have stopped procrastinating because you're eating the frogs for breakfast and you're counting down, you've got an accountability partner, you've got all of the wheels set in motion. Now what? Now you have to keep that momentum going. You have to stay on track.

Erica: You have to continue to build the habits that lead to consistent success. I personally love to make a list of the daily things that I need to get done, and I make sure that I cross off at least one thing, one win a day, one thing to celebrate. So no matter how sideways my day goes, and y'all being in HR, corporate America, being a mom with two small kids, you know your day can go sideways in a heartbeat. I have that one win. Whether that is a workout, whether that is starting a new keynote, whether that is brainstorming opportunities or reaching out to five new people on LinkedIn, whatever that one win is, I have something to celebrate.

Erica: I have one thing that I can be proud of every single day. Now the other thing I like to do is track that continued success with a habit tracker. Seeing my continued success helps me feel accomplished, and it gives me this push to keep doing it again and again and again. It's like I don't wanna break my streak. So if I'm working out, even if it's just a walk or a stretch or a yoga, I check that off.

Erica: Take your vitamins, check. Floss your teeth, oh my god. That's a big one I love to ignore. Check it off. Just keep doing it because then you can keep seeing your continued success and rock it out.

Erica: And that's it y'all. Procrastination isn't something that has to rule your life. You get to decide how it goes. You are in the driver's seat. You have now the tips and the tricks to say peace out, girl scout, to all things procrastination, and you can start tackling those goals.

Erica: K? Don't take them all on at once. Maybe start with that list where you do one thing a day. Maybe it's calling a friend and setting up regular walking sessions. Whatever area of your life you are just passing the buck along and putting it off, do what you need to do and pick a strategy that works for you.

Erica: But one thing I want you to remember, this is not about the destination y'all. This is about the journey. So I want you to remember to take joy in every single accomplishment, in every single win. Love the process because when you enjoy the ride, that destination becomes so much sweeter. Now before you go, if you find yourself falling off track, remember, that is part of the journey.

Erica: You can't be perfect. You are not going to hit this every single time. So be kind to yourself. Stay curious and y'all keep breaking those glass ceilings. And now I want you to stop procrastinating and go follow me on all of the socials if you haven't done so already for more content just like this.

Erica: I'm on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and even freaking TikTok, y'all. I would love to be sharing that space with you. So with that, I'm a stop procrastinating with my day and I'm a get on with it. So I will see you next time.