Procrastination Buster – It Just Can’t Wait!

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It was 6:30 a.m. and my eyes had popped open.

My alarm was set for 7:00 and I deliberated on whether to snatch another half hour of sleep, or turn off the alarm and just get going right then and there. (Yes, I sometimes think about going back to sleep too, I just don’t make it a habit.)

Easy decision to make this morning even though it is a Saturday. I thought about what I had going on, visualized myself confidently completing everything and how I felt when I finished what I had planned. You know this only takes a couple of minutes, our brains work FAST! Besides, that was a whole better and more productive than thinking about how tired I thought I was…

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I don’t mean that you should think through everything you are going to do, just the top 1-2 things you’ll love doing that day. Visualizing it only takes seconds, and feeling it comes with the visualizing, the thinking about it happening for you.

It’s simple when you have practiced it enough, just get through the rough part of starting anything new. Remember this is just about jump starting your day, getting your juices running early.

That was it! I turned off the alarm early and sprang into action. The extra few minutes of sleep wouldn’t change anything, and I could use the extra time today to get things out of the way earlier. I had commited myself to an 8:00 – 8:15 a.m. appointment with a customer that would suck up the whole morning and I really wanted to get this job done.

Two things that will always get me moving are commitment to others, and my desire to complete a job or task. I always set up early appointments because of this. It gets my juices going quickly and I can’t easily turn my back on someone once I’ve commited myself. Self-policing at it’s best.

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Also, when I chunk jobs and projects down into manageable actions, I get a real feeling of accomplishment when I complete them. I just find it easier to manage small parts of a large task and then feel great every time I move them forward. Less chance of going into overwhelm that way, and I find that it works well for me. If you don’t already do this, you should try it.

Do you have a plan for getting yourself to do the things you need to do? Or are you second-guessing yourself when you should be taking action? This is where the feeling of procrastination can gather power and take advantage in your situation.

When you leave your actions to chance, there is always the possibility that you might not feel the energy like you did the night before, or when you set up your schedule. If I don’t plan my moves out, the same happens to me.

When you have goals that are important to you, and you have built up the desire to move towards them, there will still be times when you need something more to turn the power on, so to speak. Realize that this is normal and plan proactively to handle these times before they can take hold.

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Find out what moves you to action. Think about it. What can you do that will move you forward each and every time because it is so important to you that you wouldn’t even consider not following through. It is there, look for it.

This is critically important, spend as much time as you need to get this right. What do you value? What is critically important to you? How can you align this with what you have to do?

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Do you need to schedule a fun activity first thing or when you are feeling a lack of momentum? Do you need to make a commitment to someone you wouldn’t dream of letting down? Is there a way that you can get fulfillment from splitting tasks up into smaller actions so that you can look forward to getting them done, so much so that you can’t wait to get at them?

This is another favorite strategy of mine, to feel so strongly about a completion that I can’t wait to move it forward and off my plate. I get so excited about what I am doing that I happily make whatever adjustments necessary to bring it about, and I sincerely enjoy the process.

I call this my ‘I just can’t wait to get this done’ strategy, and it makes a huge difference in activity from the ‘I don’t feel like doing this right now’ syndrome. I affirm this to myself constantly. I just can’t wait to get at it! This is where you want to be. How can you make this feeling a regular part of your life?

If you aren’t feeling this feeling every day, the chances are that you are not getting all of the juice in life, the joy of accomplishment, the passion felt from positive change and variety, and the chances are that you are not getting those things done that need doing.

Creating-empowering-habits2The brute force of willpower will work for you temporarily, but you must create and cultivate positive and proactive habits that will propel you forward so easily it will seem that you are not even trying. It takes much less effort on our part.

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I love getting things done and every habit I can add to my life arsenal that puts my goal achievement on auto pilot is definitely desired, so I can then focus on what’s important to me.

Try this for a few days, make the first activity of the day something that you enjoy immensely, or at the very least, something you can look forward to completing. Sprinkle these throughout your day and affirm to yourself that ‘I just can’t wait to get at these.’

Really mean it! You will spend your days doing what is important and satisfying to you. Please find a way to make this happen, you can’t know what it feels like until you truly experience this.