OVERCOMING THE PLIGHT OF PROCRASTINATION

by Tracy Brinkmann © 2003

===========================================================

Quicker and quicker things are being accomplished in

today’s world. Computers, PDAs, cell phones, and many more

marvels of modern technology have enabled us to accomplish

more in less time then we could have imagined a mere 10-15

years ago. With all this ability to get things done at our

fingertips, why do so many put off their responsibilities

and even their dreams? Why do they put off accomplishing

tasks that would launch their careers, their relationship,

or their self-esteem to new heights? Why do they continue

to endure the pain of wondering “What if?” Let us spend a

few minutes answering those questions, as well as sharing

some steps, you can take to avoid becoming (or remaining)

at the mercy of the plight of procrastination.

Fear tops our list as we try to answer these questions.

“The main reason people procrastinate is fear,” says Neil

Fiore, Ph.D., and author of The Now Habit. Many

procrastinators fear they will not accomplish what they are

setting out to do. They fear they do not have the

necessary talent or the needed tools to complete the task.

They fear they will look foolish or amateurish in the eyes

of their peers. Most of them would prefer to be called

lazy and be seen as lacking in effort. Rather than make

consistent timely attempts, risk faltering in these

attempts, and be seen as lacking in ability. For example –

we all can name any number of students that would blame the

failing of a mid-term on only studying the night prior to

the test, rather than admit to themselves that they could

have gotten help via a tutor or simply by applying their

time to hitting the books more regularly and consistently

during the semester.

Perfectionism also ranks high on the procrastination list.

So many believe that they must create the perfect essay,

the perfect presentation, or the perfect business model.

In this push for perfection, they put off even getting

started. Insecurity plays into this as well. Those that

do their best because they have a true desire to win or to

succeed tend not to procrastinate. However, those that

think they must be perfect in order to gain acceptance, or

to please those around them, often put off important tasks.

This belief that you must do something perfectly from the

onset will cause you stress. You will then associate

stress to the task, and thus you will tend to avoid the

task to avoid the stress. Eventually when there is not

enough time to complete the task perfectly, you let

yourself off the hook. For then you will be telling

yourself, “If only I had enough time I would…”

Beliefs at times will also be the root cause of

procrastination. Beliefs such as “I work better under

pressure,” “I don’t have the knowledge (or skills) to

accomplish this task,” or “this task is such a mammoth

undertaking. Am I up to it?” all have the potential to

cause procrastination. In addition, choice stealing

thoughts/beliefs along the lines of “I must…” will push you

to put off tasks as you will feel a bit of resentment at

not having a choice. Take a moment and ask yourself what

thoughts were keeping you from your task the last time you

fell victim to the plight of procrastination?

Action is the first step to overcoming the plight of

procrastination. While that may sound simple, those that

have fallen victim to procrastination will attest, it is

easier said than done. So let us take a look at some

solutions the will empower you and help you fend off

procrastination, allowing you to reach your goals in a

timelier manner.

My first and most impassioned recommendation is to set

goals. Real goal setting will do wonders for most every

symptom that makes us sick with procrastination. Sitting

down and seriously setting out your goals for your desires,

your business, your career and even your family and social

life will reap amazing results, if you follow through.

Trust me when I say that follow through will become much

easier with a real set of laid out goals for all areas of

your life. So step one of overcoming the plight of

procrastination if becoming a goal setter. For more

information and some basic guidelines around goals setting,

please review the article “Goal Setting 101.” This article

is available via email:

mailto:successarticle_9@sendfree.com.

Use the goal setting process to address any/all of your

fears as well. If your fears reside in the area of

knowledge – then set goals to get the knowledge you seek.

If time does not allow you to get the knowledge via

conventional means – then find a resource that already has

the needed knowledge and get it from them. You would be

surprised how many people out there would love to share

their hard-earned knowledge. I find most people are even

flattered by the request.

Avoid “I must...” style statements. “I must,” and “I have

to,” style assertions affect your outlook to a mood of not

having a choice and you risk feeling resentment. Your

control over your life really starts with what you think on

a regular basis. It’s like the saying goes, “You are not

what you think you are. But, what you think, YOU ARE.”

You must recognize that you do have a choice. This

realization will enable you to move from “I must,” to “I

want to!” Do not get me wrong I know there are situations

where your choice does not seem to be yours, but if you

think it through – the choice is ultimately yours. You do

not HAVE to keep spending money to market your product –

but that CHOICE not to market your product will seriously

cramp the growth you want in your business revenue.

For all my perfectionist friends – allow yourself

permission to do a 50% solution first. Your urge to do it

100% right on the first try will be your biggest challenge.

During your goal setting process, I encourage you to make

the “quick and dirty” solution one of your sub-goals. If

your goal is cleaning the garage, then perhaps your quick

and dirty solution can be – “Getting rid of all the trash.”

Surly that does not constitute the 100% solution of a clean

garage but it at least serves a stepping stone to the level

of perfection your striving to achieve. If you break down

your overall goal, in this case cleaning the garage, into

smaller sub-goals; get out all the trash, organize the

garden tools, straighten the shelves, dust, sweep the

floor, paint the walls, etc. Then your perfectionist urge

can help – if you apply it to the smaller sub-goals

appropriately in order to accomplish the overall goal of

cleaning the garage. You have to remember you are only

human and the imperfect job completed today is far superior

to the perfect job postponed indefinitely. You can always

revise it and make it better – once it is started.

The last tip I am going to leave you with is the quickest

one you can put into action today: The 30-minute plan.

Select a small piece of work that you can commit thirty

minutes to. Next, choose a reward for yourself – one that

you will claim once you have worked on this task for the

allotted thirty minutes. No matter what you accomplish in

the thirty minutes, the reward is yours – as long as you

put in the time. The reward you choose is purely up to you

and your preferences. For me rewards such as thirty

minutes of game time on my favorite Xbox game are a

motivating reward, or watching my favorite TV program etc.

Your rewards must be meaningful to you. The idea is to

shift your focus from the displeasure of doing the task to

the pleasure of the reward. The idea here is that if the

reward is worthy, then you will be able to endure the mere

thirty minutes of real effort in order to reach it.

What will happen, most of the time, once you sit down to

put in your thirty minutes, is that you will work forty-

five, sixty, or more without giving it a second thought.

You will actually get so involved in the task, even if it

is a difficult one, that you will WANT to keep working on

it. The next thing you know, one hour or more has passed

and you have actually accomplished something. All the

while, the reward you identified was there. Once those

first thirty minutes went by you could have rightfully

claimed it. However, what happened was that once you sat

down and began working on your task your focus shifted. It

moved from the worry and fret of the task to focusing on

completing the current piece of work placed before you in

this small thirty-minute window.

Once you decide to stop working, claim your reward (as long

as you have put in your thirty minutes). Enjoy your reward

you earned it! Then quickly schedule your next thirty-

minute block of time and select the reward for that block

as well. You will quickly begin to associate more pleasure

to the task and its completion as you realize that your

rewards will immediately follow your efforts.

Well you now have a few tactics for fighting the plight of

procrastination. I would encourage you to go through the

goal setting process outlined in the article “Goal Setting

101.” Then, combine those goals, sub-goals, and action

tasks with the thirty-minute plan. With that, you will

begin to move yourself quickly along the road towards

reaching those goals one half hour at a time.

Think Successfully!

Tracy

Tracy Brinkmann is an Atlanta area based goal setting and success counselor. Through his company Success Atlas, he presents goal-setting, motivational & educational speeches, training sessions (group or 1-on-1) and products.

Sign up for his free e-Zine http://www.tracybrinkmann.bizhosting.com