I have put a lot of work and research into goal setting, and working towards achieving goals I have set. Unfortunately, I seem to always end up making excuses for myself like: I don’t have enough time, I’m busy with other things, I can’t concentrate in this environment, etc.

Now that I have graduated college, and I am living on my own, I have a ton of free time that I could be using to work towards my goals, but nothing has changed. It is now blatantly clear that the only thing standing in front of me achieving my goals is myself.

It’s not that I don’t feel motivated at all — quite the contrary. I get motivation in spurts in which I feel really excited and inspired about what I want to do with my life. Unfortunately, there seems to be some kind of mental wall that blocks me from just starting up some practice or studying. It’s almost like something in my subconscious wants to prevent me from working on my goals so I can achieve a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure (really depressing, eh?)

When I finally kick myself in the rear and start working on something, I tend to lose focus after a while. After reading for about 30 minutes, I will start spacing out. If I end up sitting in front of the computer, I will start looking at some kind of useless junk, or checking my email every 10 seconds (quite literally, in some cases). I will do something for about 15 minutes then convince myself I am too hungry, too cold, too antsy, then set things down.

I have read a lot of books on trying to fix these issues, but I seem to still have problems. Does anyone here have strategies that they think would work in my situation? Do you have any idea what may be the cause of my chronic unproductivity? Any advice or suggestions is greatly welcomed.

Suggested Reading:

Goal Setting: How to Create an Action Plan and Achieve Your Goals (Worksmart)Why is that some people consistently seem to get more done than others? The answer is that they know how to set specific, achievable goals for themsel... Read More >