Listener Content - Overcoming Procrastination

Breaking the Procrastination Loop: From Avoidance to Action

Are you constantly putting off your dreams with promises of "I'll start Monday" or "when life settles down"? In this compelling episode, host Glenn Azar tackles the truth about procrastination—it's not a time management issue, but an emotional one rooted in fear, overwhelm, and uncertainty. Drawing from his personal experiences transitioning from military life to entrepreneurship, Glenn reveals how procrastination is actually avoidance in disguise and shares how understanding this pattern is the first step to breaking free from it.

This episode dismantles the myth that procrastination equals laziness. Instead, Glenn explores the psychological loop of stress, avoidance, temporary relief, and guilt that keeps us stuck. Through real-world examples, including a mentee who delayed launching a podcast for six months only to later build an audience of thousands, he demonstrates how action—not strategy—is the true antidote to procrastination.

Timestamps and Key Takeaways:

**2:15** - The procrastination loop explained: Why we avoid tasks despite wanting results
**5:30** - Glenn's personal battle with procrastination after leaving the Army
**8:45** - The story of the mentee who transformed procrastination into a successful podcast
**10:20** - Five practical strategies to overcome procrastination:
- Clarity kills procrastination—be specific about tasks
- Start small with five-minute commitments
- Break the perfection loop through action
- Change your environment to trigger focus
- Reward progress, not perfection

**14:10** - The golden rule: Action before feeling—motivation follows movement
**15:30** - Information about the 28-day Habit Builder program

Ready to stop overthinking and start doing? This episode isn't just about understanding procrastination—it's your call to action. Whether you're putting off a business idea, fitness goal, or personal project, Glenn's practical approach will help you take that crucial first step today. Listen now and transform procrastination from your biggest obstacle into your greatest opportunity for growth.

 

 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Appoche Production.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Hey, team Gnats are here walking back to the Building
Better Humane Project podcast. Today we're tackling a big one procrastination. Now,
let's be honest. Everyone procrastinates at times, but for some
people it becomes a lifestyle. And it's not that you
don't have dreams or goals. You do. You just keep
putting off the work that would get you there. You
say things like I'll start Monday, or when life settle downs,

(00:32):
or once I feel ready, But the truth is Monday
never comes, life never really settles, and you'll never fully
feel ready. Procrastination is not a time problem. It's an
emotional problem. It's about fear, overwhelm and uncertainty, and the
good news, once you understand it, you can overcome it.
This episode is brought to you by Adventure Professionals, where

(00:53):
we help you stop overthinking and start doing. Whether you're
trekking Kakoda, summoning Matt kil Manjara pushing yourself on the
Aussie ten Peaks, we'll get you out of your comfort
zone and into action. Check us out at www dot
adventure Professionals dot com dot AU. Now here's the thing.
Procrastination isn't about laziness. It's about avoidance. We procrastinate when

(01:15):
we associate pain with taking action, fear of failure, fear
of success, fear of judgment, or just the discomfort of
doing something new. Your brain's job is to protect you
from pain, So when it censors a threat, even a
psychological one, it says, let's just check Instagram for a minute,
Let's just check out from life for a minute. There's

(01:36):
these other things that I prefer to be doing right now.
You get a hit at day for meine, you feel
good temporarily and the problem goes away until the guilt
kicks in later. That's the procrastination loop. There's a stress,
there's avoidance, relief, guilt, more stress. The cycle keeps spinning
until you learn to break it. I've dealt with this myself.

(01:57):
When I started my first business after the Army, I
had no idea what I was doing. I'd put off
important things like marketing or sales calls because I was
afraid of failing. I'd tell myself I was busy, but
I was just busy being busy, not productive. Eventually I
realized something. I wasn't afraid of the work. I was
afraid of the result. If I tried and failed? What

(02:18):
would that mean about me? Once I faced that fear
head on, everything started to change. Now I don't wait
for motivation. I rely on systems. I rely on standards.
I get up and act because action kills anxiety. I
see procrastination all the time in the people I coach, athletes, students,
business owners. One mentoring client wanted to start a podcast now.

(02:41):
For six months, he talked about it, researched microphones, wrote notes,
but were never recorded an episode. When I asked why,
he said, I'm scared that it won't be good enough,
Like who's going to listen to it? That's it perfectionism
disguised as procrastination. So I sent him a challenge. Record
one episode, no edit's, no retakes, no expectations, just hit

(03:03):
record and publish it. He did it, and two years
later that podcast has over one hundred episodes and thousands
of downloads. He didn't overcome procrastination with a new strategy.
He overcame it with action. Let's make this practical. Here
are five ways that you can beat procrastination. Number one,
clarity kills procrastination. You're not lazy, you're unclear to find

(03:26):
exactly what you need to do. Don't write work on
a project right draft paragraph one of the proposal, specifically
giving yourself that direction. Two. Start small. You don't need
to do it all at once. The hardest part is starting.
Commit to five minutes. Once you start, momentum takes over.
There's not saying that I've always loved is. It's the

(03:47):
start that stops most people. So let's just make the start.
Number three is to break the perfection loop. You don't
need to be perfect, you just need to be in motion.
Action creates feedback, and feedback improves performance. Number four is
to change your environment. It shapes your behavior. Remove distractions,
create a workspace that triggers focus. A number five years

(04:12):
reward progress, not perfection. Every time you follow through acknowledge it.
Progress builds confidence, Confidence builds consistency. And here's the golden rule.
Act first, feel later. Motivation doesn't come before action, it
comes after it. Here's your challenge. Identify one thing that

(04:32):
you've been procrastinating on, break it into the smallest possible
first step, and then do that step today. Don't wait
for the perfect time, make the time perfect by acting now.
If procrastination is something that you want to break permanently.
Head on over to the Building Better Humans Project dot
com dot A. You never forgot my own website, Building

(04:53):
Better Humans Project dot com dot you, And there's my
twenty eight day Habit Builder program, which is ligitally designed
to help you take small, consistent daily actions that stick
so there's no more overthinking, no more waiting for mo innovation,
and you'll start to break through that procrastination. You can
hit the link in the show notes as well. Procrastination
is fear in disguise. The cure isn't motivation, it's momentum.

(05:17):
Start small, Start scared, Start messy, but just bloody. Start
all right, team, This has been the Building Better Humans
Project podcast. If you love this episode, share it with
a friend, get on over and rate it. It is
brought to you by Adventure Professionals www. Dot Adventure Professionals
dot com dot au. To find your next challenge, I
would love to personally take you on an adventure Every's

(05:38):
base camp, Mount Kilimanjaro, the Kakoda track, which I think
is my absolute favorite when I think about it. Any
of those I'd love to take you on in the
next twelve months, So hit me up, don't procrastinate. Let's
get ripped into it and just do something really cool,
something that you're absolutely gonna love until next time. Stop
waiting for the perfect moment and keep building a better you.

Speaker 1 (06:09):
Thanks for listening to this episode of The Building Better
Humans podcast with your host Glenn a'sa for feedback. To
stay up to date or go back and find an
old episode, head over to one ady dot net dot au.
Here the Building Better Humors Project pocas this go