Are you a procrastinator?

Do you wait until the last minute to finish, or even start something?

Do you usually find that perfect excuse that enables you to push things off to a later date?

Take a few minutes to make a quick list of any tasks, responsibilities, or maybe a life or career goal you have put off assuming you will easily start them in the near future. Ask yourself how many of those did you actually accomplish.

This quote by Donald Gardner is extremely motivating but it can also feel like a slap in the face. At least, for me, it was because I know I am guilty of procrastination; and that can be a hard thing to come to terms with. I think I can safely say, however, that we have all been guilty of this at one time or another. No one is perfect.

I guess it comes down to, though, whether or not you allow procrastination to become a crippling force in your life. If you often say, “I will get to it in a minute” and that minute turns in to an hour, a day, a week, or beyond… It is time to make some changes now!

Remember, life does not stop because you do.

For me, personally, I had to become friends with my procrastination. I had to acknowledge and accept when he came to visit provided I stood my ground when it was time for him to go. It does take practice and although I am still working on it, I have managed to limit my procrastination time dramatically.

Here are some simple things that continue to help me stay focused when I need to get stuff done. I am sure they will make a positive impact for you as well.

Make a list

Writing down what you need to do so you see it staring back at you screaming “Hey buddy, this stuff ain’t gonna get done by itself.” This can be extremely helpful in getting your ass in gear and moving in the right direction.

It is also a great feeling being able to cross items off your list as you go. The sense of accomplishment gives you a little boost of motivation each time, building momentum.

Pick a Date

If something it going to take you some time to complete, pick a future date and stick to it. Make sure it is a realistic timeframe and set-up alerts in your email or phone to remind you. You will not be able to use excuses when you are constantly aware of what you need to work on and you know when your due date is.

Block off time

If you are browsing the internet or taking bathroom selfies for ten minutes or more a day, you can find at least ten minutes to allocate towards other, more important, things. Another idea is to get up thirty minutes earlier or go to bed thirty minutes later. Either way, dedicate time to getting the job done. Several minutes a day is better than zero minutes a day.

Reward vs Punishment

I feel it is a better strategy to have a reward system in place for little successes along the way as opposed to having a punishment for failure. Think back to when you were a kid, when you were punished and had something taken away for bad behavior. That conditioning can be more detrimental and may often lead to further negativity, discouragement, and anger.

Have a few milestone rewards in place as you move towards whatever you set out to accomplish. You will look forward to hitting those marks and you will enjoy the process much more.

I’m not giving you the green light to now slack off because there are no additional consequences other than failing to meet what you set out to do. I would think that alone would be enough to motivate you to push further. A reward system, however, will give you more motivation and establish better habits leading you down the right path.

Now, if something legitimately prevents you from your task then that is one thing. However, if your friend tells you about some television show they have been watching for the last couple of years; and now you decide to start binge watching all of the previous seasons in order to catch up, preventing you from getting shit done, well, then that is a completely different story.

It is ok to get side tracked or distracted occasionally. It happens to all of us. As long as you are able get yourself back on course, push forward, and make progress, you will be able to reduce your procrastination and be more productive.

You do not want to wake up one morning, wishing you had accomplished more in your life, and then finally realizing you could have but you chose not to.

Let today be the first day of the rest of your life and get moving!

Now it’s your turn.

How does this quote inspire you?

Tell me about one of your procrastination moments. How did you handle it? Are you still having trouble with procrastination today? What are you doing to minimize it?

Contact me or share your thoughts below in the Comments section.

Let’s get the discussion going.

Remember, you are not alone on this journey. Together we can become stronger individuals.

Educate. Engage. Evolve.