Acknowledge and accept your thoughts. Our thoughts can easily persuade us to procrastinate as we get locked up in a negative, self-critical cycle – without us even realizing what we’re doing. Your cycle may sound like this: I don’t really want to do this right now. Wow, I’m so lazy. I never get anything done. I’m such a loser. So the first step is to spot this litany of negative thoughts. The second step is to accept them. Accept that you don’t want to tackle the task right now and that it’s upsetting to you. But rather than trying to wrestle these thoughts and eliminate them – which saps your energy even more – take a few slow, deep breaths and have compassion for yourself. Everyone procrastinates; the key is to accept it and move on.