10. Procrastination Condemnation - Lose the Labels! All those things you call
yourself, such as lazy, scattered, disorganized, not good enough, incompetent,
or stupid, for example, aren’t helping you get things done, are they? You’ve
learned to believe them, and you think they’ve become something of a
self-fulfilling prophecy. If you look around yourself, though, you’ll see
evidence that you can accomplish quite a number of things without delay.
9. Procrastination Exaggeration – Are you really procrastinating, or are you
simply focusing on other priorities? It’s possible that those things you’re not
doing shouldn’t get done until sometimes later, perhaps not at all. Focus on
only the most significant areas first, and the rest will come.
8. Procrastination Temptation – If you hang out with people who coax you to
procrastinate, it’s time to start surrounding yourself with better examples. If
you know certain that situations are too enticing and will lure you from
following through, create a work-around plan that will help you prevent yourself
from “taking the bait”.
7. Procrastination Alienation – Recognize that you’re not alone, and are, in
fact, in excellent company. Most people procrastinate about something,
sometimes about many things. In a recent survey on procrastination, almost 1/3
of respondents who identified themselves as procrastinators had a
post-graduation or higher education.
6. Procrastination Inclination – At the moment you are about to procrastinate,
stop for just a moment to acknowledge the pattern, even if you continue on to
put off whatever you were going to do. Awareness and acceptance that these are
your current patterns is a necessary step in procrastination extermination.
5. Procrastination Perspiration – You probably think that the only way to stop
procrastinating is to use will power and discipline. While that certainly can
work, it can cost you a lot of energy and struggle. By allowing yourself to
begin recognizing what is specifically in the way of following through, and
creating simple new patterns, progress is pretty painless and immediate. For
more information, sign up for the New Leaf Systems ezine at
http://www.newleafsystems.com , and the soon-to-be-published book The Power of
Procrastination.
4. Procrastination Exploration – What is your procrastination costing you? Do
you have a procrastination reputation? Do you continually have to make
procrastination explanations or reparations to others? Are you in
procrastination isolation so nobody will know what you’re not doing? Is your
credit history in procrastination degradation because of paying bills late? Are
you in procrastination desperation because you might lose your job or
significant relationships? Sometimes understanding how badly you’re paying and
in exactly what ways can provoke you to seek assistance.
3. Procrastination Consultation – Talk with friends about how they overcame
procrastination. Buddy with them on their own projects, holding each other
accountable to get things done. Hire a procrastination coach, someone who has
worked with hundreds of people and not only knows about procrastination
generation, but has helped many veteran procrastinators with procrastination
renunciation.
2. Procrastination Transformation – nothing helps you achieve more easily than
knowing all the steps you need to take, having a plan to take them, scheduling
that plan into your calendar, creating incentives to make following through more
attractive (and consequences to make it less attractive!), and putting some
accountability supports into place. This, combined with a simple
procrastination meditation, will get you back on track quickly and easily.
1. Procrastination Emancipation – Once you’ve fully understood that one of the
big reasons you have been procrastinating is that you’re focusing only on
finishing (and that’s too daunting) you’ll begin to instead concentrate on
starting, which is a much more approachable and manageable way to get thing
done. All you need to do is keep starting, and finishing will take care of
itself.
About the Author
Kerul Kassel works with people who are procrastinators, or think they are. She is currently writing a book: "The Power of Procrastination" and is conducting a survey (which she'd love for you to take: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u32694765277...you might even win a
complimentary coaching appointment). She also offers telephone classes. For more info, please visit http://www.newleafsystems.com