Overcoming Procrastination

Everyone procrastinates sometimes. The problem with procrastination is it causes you to take tasks that could’ve and should’ve been done yesterday and brings them into today. Over time, these tasks become baggage that you carry with you where ever you go in the form of stress and failure. I’ve found that procrastination is caused by one of two feelings, fear or dread.

Notice I said feelings. Your brain uses these feelings to keep you from getting outside your comfort zone or routine because your brain’s main purpose is survival and it likes to conserve energy which is why you have a comfort zone. You get up at the same time, get dressed the same way, eat the same thing, drive the same way to work, do the same thing you did yesterday, drive home, eat the same things for dinner, watch TV, and then go to bed about the same time each and every day. Your brain loves cruise control. Anytime you think of doing something new or different, within five seconds, your brain uses feelings to prevent you from moving forward with you procrastinating as the desired result.

Dread occurs when you don’t like the task you need to perform so you put it off, and put it off, and put it off until it becomes an emergency and then you have to deal with it (can anyone say taxes?). You spend so much time thinking about your distaste of the task at hand you just never do it, letting yourself and others down in the process.

There’s an easy three-step fix for this that I’d like to share with you that has really worked wonders for me and I think it will for you too. Before I share this with you though, I need you to see that right now you’re focused on the feelings your brain is telling you to feel. Once you’re aware of this, you can take control simply by changing your focus. Instead of focusing on feelings like the fear of failing or the dread of doing the task, I want you to start thinking of the result instead using this process:

1. Say – tell yourself how good it’s going to be when you’re on the other side of this task. What benefits do you gain? How does it make you feel accomplishing the task?
2. See – see yourself completing the task and receiving the rewards that you’ve told yourself about. This step is all about imagery in your mind. See yourself smiling and giving you a big High-Five for getting it done.
3. Feel – feel the feelings you’ll feel for getting the task off your plate and enjoying the benefits of what you did. Personally, when I do steps 2 and 3, I close my eyes and build such a clear image inside along with the feelings that I’m going to feel. This really pumps me up!

It astounds me at just how simple this process is and the amazing results I’ve achieved in a very short time by implementing it in my life. In the beginning, it took some conscious effort to go through the steps in just a minute or two. In less than two weeks, I find it happens almost instantaneously without conscious thought on my part. Now, this is a habit that’s worth having! Now it’s your turn to show the people around you just how AMAZING you are by kicking procrastination to the curb and creating the life of your dreams!