Don’t say “I don’t have the time”. Say “it is not priority”.
The most important priority will always get time. Always. When you are underwater and need air to breathe, you will not procrastinate, you will not evaluate it vs other ‘priorities’, you will not make a plan and compare a pro-con list. There will be just one thought, one focus – to get to the surface and breathe.
When you don’t have time for something, what you are overtly telling yourself and others is that it’s not important enough. It can wait, it can be dealt with later. And the ‘later’ never comes, and the cycle continues.
The next time you procrastinate on an important project, don’t beat yourself up. Ask the question, “Why do I think this is not priority?”. You will get to the root cause quickly, and that will help you take the immediate next step to move the project forward.
You’ll be amazed to see the big change in perspective that comes with this small shift in vocabulary. It brings the locus of control from external (not having time) to internal (you not making it a priority). Then you can do something about it.