Borrow a Plan and Begin
Sep 15, 2026
📌follow the Journal Prompt Board
This week, we borrow a plan. Literally, we are borrowing from Jon Acuff’s Procrastination Proof. (affiliate)
Often, our planning is procrastination in a cute outfit. It feels like the right thing to do. You buy a planner. You choose a pen. You make the list. You add stickers. It feels organized. Then, you don’t follow your plan. Or maybe you spent so much time creating the plan that you never make it to the doing part.
That kind of planning doesn’t help us much. It actually helps us hide from taking action. This is why I think we should borrow Jon Acuff’s “Dream. Plan. Do. Review.” process.
Procrastination loves complication because complication creates a roadblock and forces us to stop. A borrowed plan can help us take action.
Let’s look at the plan Jon Acuff encourages us to use.
Dream is what you are moving toward.
Plan is what it will take in your real life.
Do is taking action.
Review is what happened and what you learned.
I could think about coaching for years. I could take classes, choose website designs, and imagine the kind of coach I might become, but I can’t review my coaching until I coach. Same is true with writing. I could take a course, collect notebooks, buy excellent pens, and choose beautiful ink, but I can’t review the book I haven’t written.
Action gives us information. It may be awkward information, which may be why we procrastinate on taking that action. Nobody likes a “well, that didn’t work” moment. Still, it gives us more to work with than doing nothing.
A borrowed plan helps us create thoughts that will let us begin.
Jon says, “Ready is a myth.” Beginning is how readiness grows. You become a writer by writing. You become a coach by coaching. You become a woman who starts by starting.
If this is our dream, we don’t let procrastination have its way. We don’t just say, “Oh, procrastination is here, time to stop.” Isn’t that what we kind of do, though? We feel the discomfort of beginning, feel the urge to postpone, and procrastination becomes our own personal stop sign.
This is the moment that needs a trusted process. So, let’s borrow a recipe, template, or a friend’s rhythm. Borrow Jon’s Dream, Plan, Do, Review. Why? It helps you move more quickly into action. If you don’t like the results, you have data to look at. That is so much more helpful than sitting there, staring at your version of a blank screen.
Procrastination thrives when we believe the plan has to be perfect.
We thrive when we learn from what we planned, even if we have to tweak it, change it, or toss it in the trash can and try again. That’s why his idea “Make tomorrow easy today” is such a procrastination zapper. Night Me can make Morning Me’s life so much easier. She can write down one thing before bed and then start the day with that one thing. Momentum activated. Pay the bill. Order the dog food. Call about the toilet. A borrowed plan helps you tend future you when procrastination shows up. When, not if, am I right?
Tonight, choose one clear action you’ve been putting off. Write it down. Try check the tire pressure instead of deal with the car. Write chapter 3 instead of work on the book. This is a note for Tomorrow You who is going to try to convince you that you don’t know what to do.
You do know what to do.
You borrowed a plan. It’s the third step in changing your relationship with procrastination.
Notice the ink-making
See the loop.
Borrow a plan.
I’ll be cheering you on,
Interested in learning more about coaching? Don’t procrastinate! 😉 Send me a message and we’ll set up a time to talk about it. (paigekullmancoaching@gmail.com)
P.S. Since we’re borrowing a plan from Jon Acuff this week, I also want to mention is his book Soundtracks. (affiliate) If Procrastination Proof (affiliate) helps us borrow a plan, Soundtracks can help us borrow a thought. When we start noticing the thoughts in our procrastination loops, finding a new thought can feel forced, or just something we’re not ready to believe. Soundtracks is a helpful book for thoughts to practice, especially if we struggle to create our own.
