> It is very difficult if you are in the circumstance of having to learn things as you go and having to prodding at things and trying things to figure out how things work.

With respect, it sounds like you are describing a problem caused by not knowing the technology/tooling well enough to begin completing the task, rather than a problem directly caused by procrastination.

That being said, one can easily procrastinate the task of learning too :-)

In cases like this, the first item on the to-do list could be a time-limited R&D task where the goal is to learn enough so that you can compose a more concrete plan.