Procrastination Tips for Introverts and Self-Doubters

Is procrastination & self-doubt holding you back? Do you feel you’ll never get your business to where you know you could if only you believed in yourself? Are you finding yourself stuck in a cycle of procrastination & frustration?

I totally get it & that's why I'm sharing some of my own experiences & a few of the things that I have learned, and that have helped myself and others when managing procrastination and self doubt.

This post explores 7 procrastination tips for introverts, low energy or low confident people who are finding it hard to break through those blocks. Sometimes knowing that there is a way through can be enough to let go of that fear bit by bit.

*Affiliate Disclosure: Some links in this post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something via the link, I may receive a small commission. This doesn't affect the price you pay.

If you have any questions, reach out for a chat [email protected] or check out my other blogs

Procrastination Tips for Introverts

Some of these may work well for you, but others may just not float your boat – and that's perfectly normal! We are all unique – the label of being an introvert / neurodiverse / low confidence / low energy doesn't define who we are or have a single ‘solution' to things like procrastination.

Individuality is key, and awareness of this is vital. As you read through the seven procrastination tips for introverts, pay attention to your reaction to them – both mental and physical. Also, be open before dismissing some as “that will never work!” you never know – it could be the one thing that does help a little!

Once you're read through, I would love to hear from you, so please share your thoughts or your own favourite procrastination tips for introverts / neurodiverse / low energy women out there!

1: Embrace Your Introversion and Increase Self-Awareness:

As an introvert, HSP, or someone dealing with self-doubt, it's important that you recognise and embrace your unique qualities. When you do this, it allows you to reflect and approach challenges with both awareness and compassion for yourself.

As you begin to understand yourself more, you’ll be able to tap into what actually works for you, as opposed to trying to fit into what you think you need to or should do.

One key approach to developing a good level of self-awareness, is to identify any of the triggers that lead to procrastination.

This understanding will allow you to acknowledge your learning and working styles, your needs, the reasons behind your procrastination, as well as understanding your mindset with more compassion and grace.

One of the things I fought against following my diagnosis was my body and the new limitations that came with the physical changes. I was still so focused on ‘old me', that I didn't allow the ‘new me' into existence. I was fighting against what my mind and body needed.

I was determined to beat the illness and return to my normal. However, this lack of acceptance of who I had become, simply made the process longer and much more difficult to navigate.

But, the moment I accepted that I needed to approach things differently, things began to change and I was able to rebuild.

I learned to love who I became, and by working with myself and listening and responding to my needs (energy levels, rest time, working patterns etc.), I was able to retrain as a counsellor, achieve a distinction (1st class) Masters degree, train as a coach, set up and run 2 businesses as well as run my partners and continue to work as a mentor and tutor!

We are so scared of being judged that we look for every excuse to procrastinate.

Erica Jong

2: Break Bigger Goals into Smaller Steps

This is what I am always shouting about within my work. People may find the thought of setting goals & planning unappealing – but I cannot stress enough how much of an impact having clear goals is, and the importance of breaking those goals down.

If you experience self-doubt, setting goals, and working towards them can be the biggest trigger for procrastination. It can lead to overwhelm before you even start because the end point seems so far away, it simply doesn’t feel possible.

If you run a business and have goals to grow and expand, there are lots of unknowns and so many factors that you have to consider. If you’re new to business, it can feel like a massive undertaking & even bigger risk.

If your business goals are too big, it will just lead straight to avoidance and procrastination.

the key is to break them down into smaller, achievable tasks. Create a step-by-step plan, and set realistic deadlines for each milestone. By focusing on manageable steps, you'll build momentum, increase confidence, and gradually make progress towards your bigger vision.

Please don’t underestimate the power of a plan. If you find plans too rigid or you write one, and never look at it again, make your plan flexible and interactive.

Work with your plan every single day. Add to it, update it & change things as you move along. Your plan will be your best friend by the time you achieve your goals!

3: Focus on Your Mindset

Challenges and setbacks are a part of any business or goal related journey. Focusing on creating a positive mindset will help you overcome self-doubt and dampen down that fear of failure.

Most of the time procrastination is based around fear. Although, it could also just be because it’s a really, really boring task… But the good news is fear-based procrastination can be changed!

When you take the time to nurture yourself and create a positive and compassionate mindset towards yourself and others, the fear of failing, or of doing something wrong and looking like a prized idiot begins to disappear.

Remember, your brain has one primary role – to keep you alive and safe. When it senses you’re uncomfortable with something, it perceives it as a real life and death kind of threat. It will do everything it can to convince you to not do it. It doesn’t know your life isn’t in danger – but it’s responding like it is.

There are various ways that you can tame these mind gremlins so that you can challenge your automatic response to these situations. Of course, if anxiety is something that impacts you a great deal, perhaps working with a therapist could be a good option. Or, working with a mindset and confidence coach who can support you to transform those beliefs.

Believing that you can, and trusting that you can do the work will shift your energy completely. Think about when you had to do something, and you really did not want to do it. Picture yourself, your stance, your mood and your energy. Now picture yourself doing something that excites you! What’s different in your energy?

If we apply this to the work in front of you, how different of an experience will it be for you if your feelings and energy towards it is more supportive and positive?

How could you reframe it? Try flipping thoughts around, for example: “I get to work on this today!” “I am building my future simply by doing this task right now!”

Other ways that you could improve your mindset are:

• Challenge negative thoughts as they arise. This becomes easier and quicker the more you practice. Every time you catch yourself being negative or criticising yourself, catch yourself and correct the thought with something that challenges it. In my work as a therapist, this is a powerful tool and helps so much.
• Affirmations. Set your intention for the day. You don’t have to be woo-woo to benefit from affirmations. It’s simply a version of self-encouragement! I’m sure you’ve experienced it before – where you’re giving yourself that little pep-talk become a presentation or something “You can do it!” Kind of thing… well affirmations are similar. They are generally “I am” statements. So, “I am confident” “I am good enough.” Etc.
• Positive self-talk. If you’re in the procrastination and self-doubt cycle, I imagine your head is full of critical thoughts about yourself. Flip the script. Become your number one fan. Become your supporter and your friend. Champion yourself. It might feel weird at first, but in time it will become second nature – just like these negative thoughts did.
• Recognise that mistakes are opportunities for growth and learning. We are not back in the 80’s in classrooms where ritual humiliation and the odd wooden chalkboard rubber was thrown at your head when answered incorrectly or talking with friends (Thanks for the memories, Mr Powell et al..!). It is not the end of the world if something doesn’t work out. If do you get something wrong, it does not mean you are a failure. You learn from it. You adapt and you grow!
• Embrace a growth mindset. View challenges as stepping – stones to success rather than roadblocks. This is key! As mentioned above – in order to learn we must firstly give it a go. When things don’t work out exactly how you wanted, you get to learn from that. Reflective learning is a wonderful tool. Take the time to learn what you could do differently next time. Or, if faced with a block – how can you navigate this? Get that solution-focused head switched on. Life is rarely a straight line from A-B, so instead of being frightened or trying to avoid it, believe you can overcome it and take what you need from the experience.
• Seek support with a friend or colleague. You don’t have to do everything yourself –hello fellow perfectionists – yes, I’m talking to you! Sometimes the act of emptying what’s on your mind by talking it through with a friend or colleague will bring about the biggest insight. Embrace your own skill set, but seek support if you need to!
• Embrace being a newbie! You’re not expected to be an expert straight away! Give yourself grace and don't heap unrealistic expectations on yourself that are totally unfair. Confidence and skill comes with practice.

4: Seek Support and Accountability

As an introvert or someone struggling with self-belief, it's easy to isolate yourself. I totally understand the need for solace to rest and recharge but also try to be open to connections with others as well. Seek support from mentors, peers, or business communities.

Being self-employed can be lonely, being part of a community of others in the same situation can be a great way to run ideas or worries and learn from them as well. Share your goals and challenges with trusted individuals who can offer guidance and encouragement along the way.

Join accountability groups where you can track progress and celebrate achievements together. Connecting with others who understand your journey can provide motivation and a sense of camaraderie. There is nothing like having a group of people to share things with. It can also help with building your confidence and growing your network.

5: Set Realistic Time Limits

Procrastination will thrive when you have an open-ended timeline. Parkinson’s law is where you can stretch the time it takes to complete a task that can be completed in a much shorter length of time. If you set specific and realistic time limits for each task it creates a sense of urgency to complete tasks within the designated time frame.

Be mindful that you’re not piling on the pressure, or you may just freeze, but realistic goals with a timeframe can keep you focused on the task in hand.

Some other techniques to stay focused and on track include:

Time-blocking. These small blocks of focus time are a great way to ensure that you are fully focused for a specific amount of time. The structure and discipline of time limits can remove distractions and limit the risk of procrastination.

Focus on one thing. Focusing on one thing at a time will reduce the overwhelm. If you are growing a business, your mind will be drawn to multiple different things. This tends to lead to not finishing tasks or avoiding them altogether! When you commit to working on only one thing, your brain can laser in on this and ignore the other tasks until the one you’re working on is complete.

Higher Focus Times. Identify how and when you work best. Is there a time limit for when your focus drops off? If so, manipulate your plan & diary to ensure that after say 30 or 45 minutes you stop to refresh your brain & switch off for 5-10 minutes.

After around 35-40 minutes, I begin to notice that I’m getting distracted, or that my mind is beginning to jump around instead of remaining focused. This is the time I choose to pause. Pay attention to this in the coming days to develop an awareness of how you work. Once you’ve got a better understanding, you can use time-blocking to plan out your day!

6: Celebrate Small Wins:

Celebrate your achievements, no matter how small they may seem. Acknowledge and reward yourself for completing tasks and meeting deadlines. Celebrating small wins boosts confidence and encourages you to build that momentum. Remember, every step forward is a step closer to your business goals, it doesn’t have to be full of giant leaps!

Us humans love a reward! By celebrating yourself as you take those steps, you’re reinforcing how good it feels to get shit done! Have a pack of gold stars (Mel Robbins swears by these!) Or, take yourself out for a walk, run a bath, take some time off. Whatever you need to do to acknowledge that you have achieved something!

This is one of my favourite procrastination tips for introverts – or for anyone really. We don't celebrate ourselves enough. As a Brit – it's not something that culturally has been encourage. Modesty has been favoured, so it can feel very alien to shout about your success because there's a fear of ‘bragging'.

7: Practice Self-Compassion:

Be kind to yourself. Recognise that everyone faces challenges and setbacks. Practice self-compassion by acknowledging your efforts and progress, even if progress feels slow. Treat yourself with the same kindness and understanding you would offer a friend.

This final procrastination tip for introverts is an important one, and can be linked to each of the other ones, but I felt it needed its own space!

Self compassion helps you create more self-love and in turn improve your confidence and self belief. When you genuinely care for yourself, you want to support yourself, which lessens self criticism and self doubt.

it's particularly important if fear drives your procrastination, because you can become your very own cheerleader – encouraging yourself to keep going rather than focus on things you haven't yet achieved.

Next Steps:

These 7 procrastination tips for introverts are some of the ways that you can take back control of your work and your focus. If you find it hard to implement these things, please reach out.

I offer therapeutic coaching as well as one-off coaching sessions to help you get clarity of where you are, what you need to do to achieve your goals, and to explore the best way of working.

As an introverted, neurodiverse and low energy woman, I totally get how overwhelm, panic, worry and doubt can become your biggest block to success.

The procrastination tips for introverts apply to anyone who is feeling like this, and I just wanted you to know that there is a way forward, and you can find a way of working that energises and motivates you.

Tools Resources & Support

Each post I add my favourite tools and resources, so here are some more just for you!

Sunsama – A brilliant task management that is perfect for busy and neurodiverse minds who easily find themselves overwhelmed and distracted. grab a free 2 week trial and free month!

Thought-Shifting Mini Journal – CBT-Based Thought Shifting Activities + mini journal with prompts

Canva Pro – Upgrade your content design with Canva Pro. Explore the enhanced features available in Pro. Grab your free trial here.

Etsy – Are you ready to create your own online store? Etsy is a brilliant shopping platform that's used by millions. Setting up your store is simple, and when you sign up with this link we both get 40 free listings!

Pinterest Guide – If you're looking to get into Pinterest, I highly recommend Amy's free guide and Pinterest course. It's up-to-date for 2024 & she also has a brilliant course for only $67 that's updated frequently.

Task Batching – I created this task batching / brain dump workbook to help you get to grips with batching tasks. You can also read the post here for further info!

Final Thoughts…

As introverts or individuals struggling with self-doubt, we all have unique strengths that can be used to achieve success in business. By embracing our introversion and unique traits, we can work through procrastination and achieve our business objectives with confidence.

These procrastination tips for introverts, or those battling low confidence are just some of the ways that you can begin to flip the message and finally overcome procrastination for good!

Remember, you do have the power to overcome challenges and achieve your goals! I’m off for a walk to celebrate posting this blog today – what are you going to do to celebrate taking the time to read this? Let me know in the comments!

Before you go…

If this post helped or you enjoyed reading it, please share one of the images below as it really helps my blog – Thank You!

Meet Lynsey

Hey there! I'm Lynsey, a coach, counsellor, and mentor for low energy, introverted or low confident female coaches & small business owners. With over 5 years’ experience of running businesses, and over a decade as a tutor and trainer, I've learned the value of effective time management that energises you through working with your energy.

I've lived with chronic illness – ME/CFS since 2011 and since then I re-trained as a counsellor, and achieved a distinction for my MA in Counselling and Psychotherapy Practice; all while running 4 businesses! I want that for you as well & it is possible with the right support and pathway to success.

Improving your mindset, finding acceptance and developing a solution-focused approach to achieving your goals is my passion. Blending mental health support where needed, as well as a supportive space and methods to manage your work more effectively.

If you'd like to know more about working with me, you can email [email protected] or find me on socials (links in the menu)

Have you seen my online store Shop.QuietlyConquer? Find DFY templates, downloads & more!

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