Is there any good advice on overcoming procrastination due to social anxiety? Things like phone calls, dealing with unknown people, etc. I have a fear that I am not very knowledgeable about something (like law, or buying some stuff or service) and that others will cheat me, and it causes me problems. Interestingly, if I schedule a meeting, I am willing to handle it, but if I won't, I will try to postpone a lot. And even if I gain more experience in one area, it will then creep again in in another.
This may be unrelated, but if your social anxiety is caused by fear that your social skills are inadequate, it could be helpful to recognize that the content of what you say matters much more than your presentation. When I'm nervous about my delivery in an upcoming, important conversation, it helps me to remember that some of the most fascinating and accomplished people do not always speak fluently or present well. These people include Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and Paul Graham, and they certainly have not been held back by any supposed weakness in speaking style. See pg's essay, "Writing and Speaking." http://www.paulgraham.com/speak.html
I have two: if your issue is related to your business I would add a "commercial person" to manage the meetings and the conversations. Even if this person is just a decoration. The other typical recommendation about improving yourself is good but will take time.
Regarding your fears about your knowledge you can always say in the meeting: "I need to talk to my lawyer about this" and think in background.
I used to be in the same boat when I was self employed. My solution was to rely heavily on email (when possible). In cases where a phone call was necessary, I would mentally plot out the first 30 or so seconds. I found that 30 second prep was enough to get me over the hump of actually making the call. On those items where you are not knowledgeable, you can say "I will look into that and get back to you". I found 99% of people were fine with that answer.
edit: Remember, nobody likes to talking to random people on the phone. The other end of your conversation is probably feeling very similar to you.
