7 Biblical Ways To Overcome Procrastination & Pursue Your God-Given Dreams!
Last Updated on July 9, 2021 by Nicky Johnson
Scriptural Ways To Stop Procrastinating & Pursue Your God-Given Passion
This is part 2 of my 7 Powerful Steps to Stop Procrastinating and Start Pursuing Your Passion blog post series.
If you haven’t read part 1, please do so because part 2 probably won’t make much sense without you reading the beginning.
Know what I mean, Verne?
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Okay, let’s pick things back up with Step 3.
Oh yeah, and this post contains affiliate links to great products that will help you in your blogging journey. I will get a commission if you decide to buy from these links but I’m only recommending products that I feel confident about.
7 Biblical Ways to Overcome Procrastination Continued
Step #3) Deal with the demons that keep you in a spirit of procrastination.
Okay so now you’re armed with some knowledge as to why you haven’t started the project but so what.
You’re still going to keep putting it off right?
Knowing why you procrastinate is only half the battle. The other half is facing the reason head-on.
“But wait….how do I do that”.
I mean if it was as simple as knowing then nobody would procrastinate and we would all do what we needed to do at all times.
But of course, this is not the case. So what can we do to deal with our demons that cause us to battle procrastination over and over again?
Well, I will tell you.
You have to get help.
If you are a chronic procrastinator like I was (and still sometimes am) and you procrastinate for any of the reasons that we talked about earlier then it’s unlikely that you will be able to change all by yourself.
And guess what?
For so long God has been patiently waiting for me to use my talents to glorify Him and serve others. Click To Tweet
That’s totally okay. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help. In fact its oh so right.
Now that’s not to say that I like asking for help because I don’t but I have asked for help.
Time and time again and I’ll share how in a minute. But first, let me say why you need to get help with this.
You need to get help with this because this may not be a problem that can just be fixed with a few tips. if you have legitimate fears of failure or whatever the case may be, it’s not something you just snap out of.
You don’t necessarily just read an article or two and say “Sweet…Never procrastinating again” Ummm, not gonna happen.
If you make a habit out of procrastinating (which is kinda the definition) then you are probably dealing with some deep psychological stuff here that you can’t cure by reading another “57 More Ways to Guarantee You Never Procrastinate Again” article or something else equally as dumb and unrealistic.
I want you to fully change your life because this is serious.
For so long God has been patiently waiting for me to use my talents to glorify Him and serve others.
And I’m guessing that if you’re reading this post that He is waiting on you too.
I have to admit part of the reason why I’ve finally started writing again after years of being prodded by the Holy Spirit is that, well, frankly I’m nosy.
I want to know what the Lord has in store for me with this writing thing. Aren't you curious to see what He has in store for you?
I want to know what the Lord has in store for me with this writing thing. Aren't you curious to see what He has in store for you?
If you are, then you can’t keep letting this obstacle of fear or whatever it is stand in your way.
That’s why you’re going to get someone to help you face your fears/demons head-on and these are some ways to do it.
Now, I will admit none of these ways are radical.
These are standard ways to get help when you want to change your life and stop procrastinating.
There’s no need to come up with new ways when these old ways work just fine.
How To Get Help To Overcome Spirit Of Procrastination
1) Online Counseling: Don’t scoff at online counseling. I’m not suggesting something that I haven’t done myself so please hear me when I say that online counseling works.
There’s something about having someone listen to you without judgment that can really change your life.
I still remember the name of my online counselor because she made that much of an impact on me.
The one that worked best for me is online-therapy.
I highly recommend it!
You can talk to them about the issues you are having with procrastination and what it is that’s holding you back.
They will give you tools and strategies to help you understand why you keep hitting roadblocks and ways to overcome them.
As you move through the program you will find yourself more willing to tackle the project and less worried about how it will turn out.
This also a cost-effective way to get help.
2) Group therapy: One form I recommend is group therapy through the YMCA. They are called Restore groups.
Sharing your problems in a group will help you find someone who can relate to you and then you won’t have to go through this alone.
3) Books: I’m a writer so you know I had to put reading on the list as a way to help with procrastination.
Reading is obviously powerful and many books have the power to change the course of your life (case in point: the Bible).
I would suggest reading a book that deals with the psychology of procrastination.
Or if you already know you procrastinate because of one of the reasons listed above, search for a book on that specific reason.
For instance, if you have a fear of failure then search for books on the fear of failure.
I just went to Amazon and typed in fear of failure Christian and two books came up that look like they could be really helpful: Make Your Mark and Brave Enough ( I can’t vouch for the advice or theology of these books).
4) Face to Face Therapy: It works if you are honest with yourself and with the therapist. If you don’t think you can be honest as in brutally honest then it would be best to save your money.
There would be no benefit to you.
Overcoming Procrastination Action Plan: Go to your city’s public library page or Amazon Kindle store and research books on procrastination or on whatever it is you think is holding you back.
For instance, if you think fear is what is holding you back look up books on how to overcome fear).
Put a book on hold at the library ( and actually pick it up) or purchase a book ( and read it).
Whichever method (or some combination of them all) appeals to you, please try one.
I believe you will start to see personal growth like you’ve never seen before. Then you will naturally want to move on to step 4.
Step 4) Create SMART Goals To Kick The Procrastination Habit
SMART goals stand for:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Timely
They are revolutionary ways to set goals. These goals specifically define what it is that you are trying to accomplish. This is exactly what we need as fellow procrastinators.
We need to set one smart goal and focus on that one goal only so the project does not overwhelm us and is something we are more likely to achieve.
I believe once we get in the habit of actually reaching our goals we will get a bit addicted to the feeling and we won’t want to procrastinate like we used to.
So how do we do this because sometimes we think we’ve set a smart goal and we haven’t.
For instance, I thought the following was a smart goal: I want to get 100 new emails subscribers by the end of December.
And while this goal was kind of smart, it could be a lot smarter. How was I going to get the email subscribers?
So now I’ve set a new SMARTer goal: I want to get 100 new email subscribers using Pinterest graphics to draw traffic to my squeeze page/lead magnet.
This goal is smarter because now I know exactly how to get from point A to B.
If you want, you could set one large smart goal and then set a series of smaller smarter goals that will help you accomplish the bigger goal.
This way you have smaller victories along the way motivating you to reach the bigger victory.
Don’t move on to the next small smart goal though until you’ve finished the one before it.
Just stay on a steady path and keep moving through your chain of small goals until you’ve accomplished the bigger goal.
Stop Procrastinating Action Plan: Write down a smart goal in relation to whatever project God is calling you to do. It can be as big or as small as you’d like.
If God wants you to go back to school, a smart goal could be: I will request more information be mailed to me about the nursing program at 3 schools.
Step #5: Execute Your New Plan To Kick Procrastination For Good!
At this point, there’s nothing left to do but jump right in and start working on your newly set goal.
Refrain from letting old habits bubble to the surface.
Fears and doubts will try and creep in and tell you that you will fail, why even try. Just ignore them.
Ignore them like you’ve ignored your dreams all these years. ( ok that’s a low blow, forgive me) but do you see what I’m saying?
A big component of procrastination is ignoring.
So now you’re still going to ignore something except this time it’s your fears and doubts that have kept you trapped all these years.
When you do that you take control of the situation.
You’re taking your power back.
Just Do It Action Plan: Just do it. Start working to fulfill your SMART goal. Just start with whatever resources you have and don’t worry about perfection.
Step #6: Re-Evaluate The Progress You’ve Made.
You may not need this step if you did your SMART goal right. However, like me, you may have to reevaluate your goal because it doesn’t seem like it’s working.
Look at the progress you’ve made in the past week. Have you accomplished your goal, are you halfway there or have you not even started?
If you have not started then the problem may lie with the goal itself. See if you can break the goal down into smaller sub-goals. Then try again with your new plan.
How’s It Going Action Plan: See if you are on track to achieving your goal. If not rework it into a goal you know you will actually do.
Step 7: Move On To Your Next SMART Goal (Procrastination Cured?)
Now that you have achieved one goal, I hope it will motivate you to set another goal or start tackling the goals you already set.
Right now you’re on a roll so don’t stop.
Ask people around you to help you stay on track if you need it. Just whatever you do don’t lose sight of your goals.
Now of course these steps to cure procrastination just sound so easy but of course life ever runs as smoothly as this list.
The truth is, you might fail between steps 5 & 6 or leave step 4 out all together.
Procrastination is not an easy spirit to overcome.
Next I’m going to go over some things you should be doing throughout each and every step that I’ve covered.
Keep Going Action Step: Create more smart goals and begin executing.
Prayer & Scriptures For Overcoming Procrastination
Perhaps you were looking for these steps as you were reading.
The truth is, praying and reading scripture are the keys to following all of the other steps.
We should be constantly praying for wisdom and guidance while we navigate our way through the other steps.
For instance, when we are setting our SMART goals, we should be first praying and asking God to show us what He wants us to accomplish.
We will especially need His help when we are overcoming the demons that cause us to procrastinate like mentioned in step 3.
God and I went through a lot as I stumbled my way through this step, in particular.
Do not try and complete these steps without Him because what you might find is that you’ve traded one spirit of fear (because that’s what I truly think procrastination is) for another.
I love that God uses them as an example of how we should be. It's a like a challenge...are you going to let a bug accomplish more than you lol? Click To Tweet
I don’t have much proof of that except for my own intuition, so you can take that with a grain of salt ;).
There are some scriptures in particular that I think about in regards to biblical ways to overcome procrastination.
My favorite is Proverbs 6:6-11 which says:
Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
7 It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
8 yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.
9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
11 and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.
I've long admired the work ethic of an ant. I mean they just work day and night...it's truly amazing. Procrastination is not a thing for them, I'm sure.
Ants do what they need to do without having to set goals or reminders, without having to overcome psychological barriers.
They just do it.
They motivate me because I’m not good with the idea of a tiny little insect outworking me, are you?
I love that God uses them as an example of how we should be. It’s a like a challenge…are you going to let a bug accomplish more than you lol?
I’m hoping your answer is no!
Summary of the 7 Steps To Stop Procrastinating
Just to recap let’s go over the action steps one more time:
Action Plan 1: Bookmark this page or add to your home screen.
Action Plan 2: Choose a reason for your procrastination from the list above or come up with your own reason.
Action Plan 3: Go to your city’s public library page or Amazon Kindle store and research books on procrastination or on whatever it is you think is holding you back.
For instance, if you think fear is what is holding you back look up books on how to overcome fear). Put a book on hold at the library ( and actually pick it up) or purchase a book ( and read it).
Action Plan 4: Write down a smart goal in relation to whatever project God is calling you to do. It can be as big or as small as you’d like. Like if God wants you to go back to school, a smart goal could be: I will request more information be mailed to me about the nursing program at 3 schools.
Action Plan 5: Just do it. Start working to fulfill your SMART goal. Just start with whatever resources you have and don’t worry about perfection.
Action Plan 6: see if you are on track to achieving your goal. If not rework it into a goal you know you will actually do.
Action Plan 7: Create more smart goals and begin executing.
Conclusion On Overcoming Procrastination To Use Christian Talents For God
Like I said this is not an overnight quick-fix list of solutions but I do believe that if you follow these steps they will work and as far as how fast they work… well that is all up to you.
You can make this process as fast or as slow as you’d like. It could be as fast as a month or as slow as a year.
Only you know where your head is at.
The bottom line is, start where you are with what you have, keep the Lord first in this process and keep going until you have started that project.
Stop dreaming about it and start living it. It just takes a little action. What action are you going to take today to start pursuing your passion? Let me know in the comments.
Thank you so much for reading! I know I basically wrote a book but I pray this has been helpful to you.
Call to action: If you have found this post helpful I would love it if you’d do the following:
- Please save the first picture to one of your Pinterest boards or share it on social media. Just click on the save button that appears when you hover over the picture. If this post helped you then it would probably help other people as well.
Doing these two things would help me so much and I would really appreciate it!
Stay in touch and God bless.
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