Do not wait: the time will never be ‘just right’. Start where you stand, and work whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along.
Napoleon Hill
Procrastination happens for various reasons. We feel lazy, we think there’s plenty of time to accomplish our task, we have mental blocks and hidden fears we are unaware of or unwilling to confront, or we wait for the perfect moment to execute our task. All of these factors feed into one another. There are various kinds of mental blocks such as the fear of failure, or even the fear of success. Waiting for the perfect moment is one of the leading causes for procrastination. Know that there will never be ‘a perfect moment’ to commence a project, to sign up for a training, to apply to university for a program, to create a profile on a dating website, or to make that trip to your dream destination. The time to do it is today, it is now, it is the present moment. If it’s a creative project you’ve been planning, start with what you know, learn as you move forward, seeking help along the way if needed. If it’s your dream destination, gather the funds, take leave from your job, and book your ticket, now.
The key is overcoming procrastination is to recognize that perfection is an abstraction, it does not exist. Our life circumstances will never feel perfect. Life, because it is life, will be messy: we will continue to lose jobs, experience the end of a relationship or marriage, be jolted by the betrayal of a coworker, succumb to illness, and grieve the death of loved one. We must gather our wits and courage, and take that first step towards our goal or dream amidst the messiness that is life, without waiting for the perfect moment.