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。Dear Mr. Self Development,
How do you overcome procrastination?
Kenny
Years ago when I attended Louisiana State University (LSU), I suffered badly from procrastination -itis. Every night before a big exam, instead of studying, I would be washing clothes, cleaning my dorm, or trimming my hair.
This article is about what I have learned since then, to end my procrastination -itis.
Overcoming Procrastination Step 1:
Recognize that you currently have enough time to accomplish your task – If you needed to be connected to a dialysis machine everyday to live, would you find the time to do it, or would you say, “I’m too busy, I guess I’ll just have to die….”
I was in my doctor’s office getting a physical last year when I noticed a newspaper cartoon clipping on the wall. In the drawing was a very busy businessman in his doctor’s office….obviously overweight….talking to his doctor after getting a bad medical report on his health. The doctor said to the businessman, “What fits into your schedule better, working out one hour a day, or being dead 24 hours a day.” Although humorous, this cartoon clipping makes a great point about priorities. You must make time to accomplish your dreams.
Recognize that most things in life can be accomplished by dedicating an hour a day to it. Just one hour a day is over 360 hours per year of pure concentrated effort. In this time you could easily lose 40lbs, spend more time with your kids, start a business, or improve your golf game.
Overcoming Procrastination Step 2:
Just Do It - In the words of the Nike Corporation, “Just do it.” Doing something now is typically more important than doing it right. Doing something now gives you more time to make mistakes and thereby more time to succeed.
There’s a quote that goes something like this, “Great it is, to dream a dream, when you stand at youth, by the starry stream, but a greater thing, is to fight life through, and say at the end, the dream is true.” There has to be that fighting life through process, and there’s no time like the present to start fighting.
Remember: Successful people do what unsuccessful people are unwilling to do, so get into action now.
Overcoming Procrastination Step 3:
Do the important things, postpone everything else - Make a list of what’s most important to you (e.g. starting a business, finding a spouse, etc.) and make sure you do something that takes you closer to that goal everyday. If you wanted to go to Chicago and you lived in Los Angeles, as long as you made steps in that direction of Chicago everyday, you would eventually get there. So don’t waste time, planning and planning and planning.
Planning is important, and it has its place, but if you’re not careful, you can get caught up in the comfort of planning and never get out there and do it in the real world. After you create your initial plan, get started. You can learn the details along the way, if you wait until tomorrow, you may be waiting a long time.
Overcoming Procrastination Step 4:
Create Short Goals with Timelines – Three to six month goals toward your main goal can help you build momentum and keep you on track. When you only have five year goals, it can cause you to procrastinate.
Long term goals give you too much time to play with and they postpone pleasure. Come up with short term goals that lead up to the accomplishment of your long term goals.
You should review these short term goals at least weekly, preferably daily.
Overcoming Procrastination Step 5:
Determine the time that works best for
you and schedule it – Some people work well in the morning, like
me, some people work well in the evening, and some strange people work well at
night 
Overcoming Procrastination Step 6:
Keep a notepad nearby – You should always keep a notepad near you when working on important tasks. When I would start studying (at LSU), I would always have ideas of other things I could be doing. A thought would come that said, “You should probably clean your room, because you think better in a cleaner environment.” That thought was important, and it was also true, but cleaning my room the night before an exam is certainly not a priority. Another thought would come and say, “Call your parents, you hadn’t talked to them in a few days,” and although true, also not a priority.
You should keep a notepad with you (most cell phones have notepads in them) to write down these thoughts, and an appropriate time to accomplish them. Writing these ideas down, and briefly scheduling them (e.g. Wash clothes tomorrow at 6:00pm), gives you clarity on the tasks, and puts you back in control. It clears your mind and allows you to focus on the task at hand.
Now that you have the six steps to overcome procrastination, get into action right now.
Remember, all successful people become masters of taking action, so take action TODAY…right now…go do something, because change, isn’t change, until you change.
Thank you for reading mrselfdevelopment.com where every article expands your mind, increases your faith, and changes your life.
