Tweet

It's Time to Stop Procrastinating

Guest post by: Linda Kester

Article Overview: Reasons why we procrastinate and tips to assist in overcoming those obstacles

It's Time to Stop Procrastinating

“Procrastination is the thief of time.” - Edward Young





In 2002 I signed a contract with Leasing Power Tools Press to write a book on equipment leasing sales. Four years later, there was no book. I tried. I’d write, criticize myself, crinkle the paper up and throw it in the trash. I’d sit down with the intention of writing and then any other activity that popped into my mind would take precedence. Clipping my toenails suddenly became urgent!

We all know that procrastination can be a killer. It kills ideas, dreams and opportunities. Some people consistently avoid difficult tasks and play Words With Friends on their smart phones rather than taking steps that will bring them closer to their goals. Avoiding a difficult activity actually drains your energy. It usually takes a lot less time to complete the task then we imagine. Thinking that we will do something someday because now is too soon—often moves into: now it’s too late.

The easiest way for me to explain this is to give you a case study of how I dissolved my procrastination and finally published the book.

Case Study

Why did I procrastinate?

• Fear of Failure — I was afraid. Worried that people wouldn't like my work. Thinking “who do I think I am to write a book?”

• Boredom — The actual writing seemed monotonous and tedious.

• Confusion — Where do I start? What do I do next? I was overwhelmed with the size and complexity of the task.

• Poor Time Management — I’d think, “I’ll write after yoga class, I’ll write after I eat this sandwich...I’ll write after I tweeze this annoying chin hair”...you get the idea!

• Laziness — I couldn’t get moving on the project and discovered that procrastination is reinforcing - every time I delayed, it reinforced my negative attitude toward writing. Every time I put it off, I strengthened the habit of not doing it.



How did I Produce the Book?

I was training a leasing company in California, and one of the sales reps had published a book. Throughout the training I’m looking at this guy and thinking, “if he could do it I can do it.” Then I got my butt in gear and:

1. Made the Commitment to Get it Done - I called the publisher (took action) and asked if he was still interested in the project. He was interested and he wanted it to be a “tips” book. Easy for sales people to read. This I could do! I made the commitment and the very next day I met someone on an airplane who told me about the perfect software program to use. It’s amazing that once you commit, the right people appear.

2. Developed a Healthy, Positive Attitude about the Book - I wondered what were the best tips to share. “Many of the world’s inventions don’t come from people simply working hard and throwing themselves at a project,” says Kathlyn Hendericks, PhD. “They come from wonder. The best way to shake free of usual thinking patterns is to make the hmmm sound aloud. It’s impossible to criticize yourself when you’re making that sound. Follow it up with a question: ‘Hmmm, I wonder what the company logo should look like?’” I asked myself questions that started with hmmm, came up with good ideas, and just focused on helping people.

3. Visualize - I made a mock cover of the book and hung it above my desk. I pictured the book helping 5000 people.

4. Divide into Small Chunks - I love the idea of taking baby steps. I made the task look small and easy in my mind. ("I've written lots of excellent articles; this is just one more article.") Taking one baby step a day is achievable.

5. Five-minute plan - I’d tell myself to just work on it for five minutes. Most times I’d get involved enough to keep going.

6. Made my Commitment Public - I told my friends. The more public the commitment, the more pressure I felt to produce. By asking someone to hold me accountable in a supportive way I put “positive pressure” on myself.

7. Focused on The Not-Urgent & Important - Steven Covey in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People outlines four quadrants of time and activities: urgent & important, urgent & not important, not urgent & important, not urgent & not important. I made it a priority to carve out time to complete the book even if more activities were more urgent. Every salesperson knows that they have to prospect, but it’s not an urgent activity, same with exercise it’s very important but it’s not urgent.

8. Changed my environment - I learned to modify my environment - I couldn’t work at home...too many trips to the refrigerator. Most of the book was written at the library.

9. Set a Deadline - Deadlines are the ticket to freedom. Contrary to what most people think, a deadline can decrease stress by motivating action. Anxiety about completing a project is usually related to inaction and this anxiety uses an enormous amount of energy. Once a deadline was in place, it released the anxiety and it turned into positive energy. I set a deadline which inspired action.

10. Set Boundaries - I shut the ringer off on my phone, turned off my wireless and avoided email while I was writing.

11. Took Frequent Breaks - I started writing with a “do or die” mentality. It didn’t work. I learned to stop every hour to do something unrelated to the book like stretch, do a yoga posture, or eat a chocolate chip cookie. This gave my body (and mind) a chance to rest and it allowed me to return with a fresh set of eyes.

That’s how I did it. How can YOU stop procrastinating? Print out the following winning formula. Then, choose a project that needs to be completed and apply these steps:

1. Make a Commitment

2. Visualize

3. Take Daily Baby Steps

4. Tell Your Friends

5. Modify Your Environment

6. Set a Deadline

7. Set Boundaries

8. Take Breaks

I’m happy to report that the book has helped people. After four years of procrastinating it took eleven months to write it and in 2007 it was published. Neil Roth, from Key Credit Corporation in Atlanta, tells me that the book is always missing from his book shelf because his sales reps look to it for new ideas and pass it around the office.

There are many benefits to completing a project – the satisfaction of a job well done, the peace of mind that comes from no longer beating ourselves up for not acting, or the actual benefits, like more income. When you overcome procrastination the feeling of accomplishment and relief is amazing, life becomes a little richer, a little deeper.

Life is full of projects, make peace with the process, take action and you’ll spark new breakthroughs.

Related Articles
  Break Free from the Chains of Procrastination with Rational Self-Talk
  Begin Today to Have More Fun and Get More Done!
  How to beat procrastination
  3 Easy Tips To Stop Procrastinating And Launch Your Marketing Strategy
  Put Your Procrastination COWS Out To Pasture!
  How to Stop Procrastination and Get the Job Done
  Public Enemy Number One To Your Home Based Internet Business
  Successful People Beat Procrastination
  Real Estate Marketing Strategies - How You Can End The Habit Of Procrastination For Good
  Procrastination: Understanding the Root Causes to Bring About Productive Change
  Are you Reactive or Pro-active
  Are You Reducing Your Income Through Lack of Sleep?
  Procrastination- 4 Essentials to Break Through
  Tips on How to Avoid Procrastination
  Enough Talk
  Taking the Fear Out of Marketing so You Can Really Grow Your Business
  Sales Success Tip-Defeat Your Worst Enemies
  Procrastination to Motivation
  The Four IDDM's of Procrastination
  Outing Employee Procrastination

Article Tags: commitment, focus, goals, Procrastination, success
Referred by: http://www.yourextrahand.com



Related Forum Posts
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas! - We've also expanded the list for Contest and All-Time Leaders. It's great to now see David and Yinka on the All Time list and recognize the contributions they've made to the forums!
No B.S. Time Management - A great book I read on Time Management is No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs by Dan Kennedy.
Decide your market first - Stop for a second and decide exactly who it is that you want to sell your product to. Once you've done this you'll have a far better idea of where to find them and what it is that they're interested in Cheers
Other Great Books... - Feel The Fear And Do It AnyWay - Susan Jeffers How To Stop Worrying And Do It Anyway - Dale Carnegie ('What's the worst that could happen - the worst?' Then prepare yourself for that and reality is such a relief!).
Books that should be written - [quote:1m0dcpd7]"The Idiots Guide To Sticking With One Thing At A Time and Not Doing Something New All The Time" [/quote:1m0dcpd7] I myself am a 'constructive' procrastinator... I don't know if I'm alone in this. I have about six or seven projects I'm working on at any given time. I get one project almost done... then my interest is piqued by another project and I work on that... I get burnt out and move to another...I know I do this so I have it arranged such that once I get bored or burnt out with one project, I can step right back into project 1 - or 2 or 3, and get that a little bit more done before moving on to something else. As long as you're organized and know where all your reference material/idea sheets are when you're ready to get back to work on each project, it should be fine. I also find that by stepping away from a project - I still work on it in the recesses of my mind so that when I go back to it - it's with some good ideas that I wouldn't have had if I'd continued on with it originally. Maybe I should write a book on how to Procrastinate Constructively... I've actually thought about doing that...because most people procrastinate, don't they...and very few are ever able to stop.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Pay Per Click Advertising

Tips to Take Control of Credit Card Debt

Life, Conflict and Work

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.