Tomorrow is a lie.

Mary Kelly Leadership Economist | Keynote Speaker | Conference & Training Programs

Tomorrow is a lie. It sounds polite. It sounds responsible. But it’s the same move every time. You hand your future self a problem and walk away.

I’ve coached and coached myself through this. And I still catch myself doing it. So here are seven “procrastinating tomorrow” tricks I actually use to finish tasks faster. Not perfect. Just effective.

1. Make tomorrow smaller than today

Look, the reason “tomorrow” feels safe is because it’s vague. It has no shape. No edges. So your brain can pretend it’ll magically fit.

I don’t fight procrastination with motivation. I fight it by thinking about shrinking tomorrow.

2. Do the 2-minute ugly start

I set a timer for two minutes and I start. Not well. Not even okay. Bad on purpose.

And sometimes I stop after two minutes. Fine. I still moved the task from “nothing” to “started.” That matters more than it seems.

3. Write the next step, not the plan

When I work with clients on this, the first thing I check is whether they’re hiding in over-planning. Planning feels productive. It’s also a great hiding place.

So I write one line: “Next step: ____.” Just one. If we can’t answer it, the task is too big.

Need more help download our free:  5-Minute Stop Procrastination Plan.

Please check out Mary’s book:  Stop Procrastinating Tomorrow