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• Felix Mack

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PROCRASTINATION ELIMINATION 101 TIPS AND STRATEGIES FOR GETTING RID OF PROCRASTINATION ONCE AND FOR ALL Copyright © Felix Mack. All rights reserved You can connect with Felix at http://FelixMack.Net

 

 

Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 4  Acknowledge Procrastination ................................................................................................................... 6  Identifying Your Procrastination Style .................................................................................................... 8  101 Tips and Strategies ............................................................................................................................ 11  Prioritize ................................................................................................................................................ 12  Schedule................................................................................................................................................. 15  Organize ................................................................................................................................................. 17  Reminders ............................................................................................................................................. 19  Task Management ................................................................................................................................ 22  Accountability ....................................................................................................................................... 26  Just a Game ........................................................................................................................................... 29  Association ............................................................................................................................................ 32  Mindset .................................................................................................................................................. 33  Get Social ............................................................................................................................................... 38  Core Habits ........................................................................................................................................... 39  Motivation ............................................................................................................................................. 42  Get Rid of Procrastination Once and For All ........................................................................................ 45  Additional Resources ............................................................................................................................... 46   

 

 

Introduction “Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.” ~Pablo Picasso Are you always putting off things you have to get done? Do you often avoid doing tasks because you feel stuck, stressed or overwhelmed by the need to finish them? Do you wait until the last minute to complete tasks? Welcome to the world of procrastination. You are one of thousands of people who take joy in the expression, “Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?” This includes personal chores, completing projects at work, doing assignments, going to the gym and just about every other task you want or need to complete. The feeling to needlessly delay things or skip out on tasks is something most of us deal with every day. “I’ll do it some other time” may seem like a harmless statement. However, when you have built a habit of not getting things done, procrastination can have a significant impact on your happiness and success. In fact, procrastination may not only affect you but also those who depend on you to complete a task. At its worst, the habit of procrastinating can become so dangerous that it may have a negative impact on your relationships, wealth, and even your health. Because you are reading this book and likely already know that you procrastinate, my objective is to focus on solutions rather than the consequences of procrastinating. This book will explore numerous tips and strategies for eliminating the procrastination habit.

 

 

You may be asking yourself, “How can I change my procrastinating habit?” or “Can I really stop procrastinating?” The fact that you downloaded this book is evidence that you are ready to stop procrastinating. As you read on, keep in mind that there is practically nothing that is impossible if you are willing to put in the effort to accomplish it. Indeed, you were not born a procrastinator and you have within you the ability to stop procrastinating. It is a habit we develop by continuously putting things off one day after another, one task after another. In order to reverse that trend and do away with procrastination, once and for all, we need to: • Acknowledge that we have a procrastination habit. • Identify and recognize the reasons we procrastinate. • Implement simple strategies to help minimize and eliminate procrastination. Acknowledgement is half the battle, so you are already ahead of the game. Many people simply do not admit they procrastinate and therefore are not able to attack the root of the problem. Once you acknowledge, you can then identify and recognize your reasons for procrastinating. Next, you can implement some of the simple strategies in this book specific to your own reasons for procrastinating. My goal is for this book to empower you with the best ideas and strategies to move forward in life, without procrastinating. So let us dive right in and get things done!

 

 

Acknowledge Procrastination  

Procrastination is a habit, which means you do it regularly, in such a way that it feels like a normal way of doing things. In fact, some people do not even recognize they are doing it. Yet, excuses and running away from responsibilities and accomplishing tasks dictate their day-to-day actions. The first step for eliminating procrastination once and for all is for you to take charge and accept complete responsibility for where you are today. Forget about excuses or taking a defensive attitude when it comes to procrastination. When you find yourself putting off a task or falling into the procrastination trap, accept that you are procrastinating. Only then can you easily move on to identifying the reasons why and move forward toward a solution. The following are warning signs that procrastination is sneaking in. Know the warning signs so that you can instinctively understand when you are procrastinating: • Meeting a project deadline or accomplishing a task makes you feel burdened, and you begin to believe it cannot be done. You feel powerless or no sense of control over a specific task. You consider putting off the activity a better choice than the little time or effort it takes to cross it off your to-do list. • You seem unable to manage time. When thinking about your list of tasks or things you need to do, it seems there is not enough time on your hands to get them done. You are constantly in conflict with the time on the clock.

 

 

• You are indecisive about a task. You may think, “It may or may not really need to be done.” You are unable to make strong commitments about a task, losing focus and shifting easily from one to the other. • You get worried, frustrated or depressed about getting something done. There is a feeling that things will not get done as expected or the results will not be to your satisfaction.

The bottom line is that when you understand and acknowledge the warning signs of procrastination, you become better and better at anticipating them and can develop a plan of attack. This understanding has a strong influence on your thinking and mental attitude. It will also have an effect on how much effort you put into actually identifying the underlying reasons and subsequently applying solutions.

 

 

Identifying Your Procrastination Style Procrastination comes in a number of different styles. After you have acknowledged that procrastination is taking place, the next step is to identify the underlying reasons. This varies depending on the individual. However, one way to quickly identify your reasons for the habit is to briefly learn about the different procrastination styles. In which of these styles do you find yourself?

The Perfectionist If you are hesitant to start or finish a task only because you want a perfect result, you are likely a perfectionist procrastinator. You expect that everything will be accomplished to perfection and you work hard to set a high criterion for getting things done. While it is normal to feel particular about your tasks and feel like you can achieve perfection in everything you do, sometimes a perfectionist attitude will get in the way of completing something due to the tiniest details. This may cause repetition of tasks, taking several times to improve further and further while refusing to finally accept the results.

The Rebel A rebel procrastinator believes that following someone else’s rules and deadlines makes them powerless. Although you can rebel against your own will, this procrastination style mostly applies to tasks you need to accomplish for someone else. If you are given a particular set of actions for completing a task, you may decide to set your own time tables and expectations for the task, and in turn delay its completion.

 

 

Do you often put things off because you feel that doing something will give someone else power over you? Perhaps you have been asked by a family member, friend or coworker to do something for them. However, doing it may give you a feeling that they are in control over you, which gives you cause to procrastinate.

The Fearful A fearful procrastinator may be afraid, anxious or worried about how to do a task or failing at it. If you delay your assignments and other important tasks because you are unsure about the outcome, you may be procrastinating because of fear. Another characteristic of fearful procrastination is the assumption that you cannot compete with others. You avoid leaving your comfort zone, and the fear of failure holds you back from doing something that you feel others do exceptionally well.

The Dreamer Daydreaming may compel you to sit idly instead of working toward accomplishing something. In this particular style, you may always find yourself drifting off and getting distracted when you are working on a task. Daydreamers fail to get in “the zone.” Focus and concentration are the main factors that are a challenge for “dreaming procrastinators.” In fact, for many of us, the lack of focus and concentration is the root cause of ineffectiveness and lack of productivity. When you identify these factors as your cause for procrastination, you can work on precise strategies and find specific resources to help you better develop these habits.  

 

The Over-doer This procrastination style takes on a lot more work and tasks than can actually be accomplished. As an over-doer, you overwhelm yourself with too many tasks, never saying “no” to adding items to your to-do list. As a result, these items are either half-done or not completed at all. Another characteristic of the over-doer is the tendency to “multitask” and the lack of prioritization. There is a feeling that working on multiple items at the same time can actually accomplish a lot more, when the absolute opposite is true. Additionally, there is a tendency to jump from one task to the other mainly because there is rarely a sense of what needs to be done first. While procrastination styles can be grouped into even more categories, I have found that most of us procrastinate for reasons within these particular styles. Do you identify with any of these more than the others? Knowing why you procrastinate is important because you may be able to choose tips and solutions geared toward a particular style as opposed to attempting to solve procrastination with strategies that do not fit your specific reasons. For example, if you are an over-doer, then task management solutions will apply most to the reasons you procrastinate. In the next chapter, let’s begin exploring the numerous ways in which we can attack the procrastination habit.

 

 

101 Tips and Strategies Eliminating the procrastination habit will require a consistent and sustained effort on your part. In short, you have to replace the procrastination habit with the action-oriented habit. When implemented, these quick strategies can help you in that effort. Some of the strategies may seem silly, unreasonable or even challenging. Others may seem almost redundant or out of context. And that is OK. I simply wanted to give you as many tips and strategies as possible. Go through all of them and choose some of the best strategies that you feel will work in your own fight against procrastination.

 

 

Prioritize  

1. Comprehensive Life Plan This is where it all begins. Knowing where you want to go and what road you want to take to get there has the potential of running over procrastination when it shows up. Design your life and go live it, as opposed to drifting aimlessly each day. This gives you power and control over your actions, a sense of purpose, and a procrastination-free life journey. 2. Checklist This is one of the main weapons in your fight against procrastination. If you are not using lists (checklists, to-do lists), you are simply setting yourself up for failure. Trying to keep every single item you have to get done in your head clouds the mind, increases inefficiency and breeds procrastination. 3. Do One Task Per Day Huh? If the objective is to not put things off, then why only one task in a day? Because we want to build a habit of getting things done! You can get something done in a day, right? You may find this difficult to do, especially if you are an over-doer by nature, but give it a try! Commit yourself to a single task in one day. This should be the most critical task you have in a master to-do list. When you complete the task, reward yourself. Feel free to work on other tasks, but don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t get something else done. Do this for a couple of days, and then move to two tasks per day. Make it fun and see how long it takes you to build up to at least a 10-item checklist. 4. Quick Wins  

 

Do you use tasks that take long to complete as excuses for not completing smaller tasks? Go for the quick wins first. On your to-do list, identify those tasks that will be easiest to complete and get those over with at the beginning of your day. 5. Tackle the Challenge First On the other hand, if you find that you procrastinate on tasks because they seem insurmountable, get to work on those first. With these tasks, the key is to get started and implement some of the accountability and tracking strategies to ensure you get the job done.   6. Critical Tasks First When everything is urgent, you become disorganized and overwhelmed. This is why prioritizing your tasks is a must. When you prioritize your tasks, identifying and working on what is absolutely critical first can help you control procrastination. Looking at a to-do list with all the items having similar importance will only confuse and delay. 7. Due Date We all have things that we work on from day to day. However, for those tasks that are not part of a daily routine, assign a due date so that you know when it must be completed. Ideally, you will work on those items that have a closer due date. 8. What Is the Objective? Avoid working on tasks that do not align with a larger goal or objective. There are tasks that we may have to complete on a regular basis (such as  

 

laundry or car maintenance, for example) that are not part of a larger goal. However, for items that fall outside of this category, be sure they align with your goal of exercising, spending more time with family, starting a business, or any other goal that you have set for yourself. 9. How Long Will It Take? If I know a task will take 1 hour to complete, I would rather work on that task first, as opposed to one that will take me 10 minutes. For others, it may be the other way around, and that is OK. Just implement a system and stick to it. If working on items that are quick to finish makes you more effective, then go ahead and implement that strategy and move forward!  

 



 

Schedule 10. Stick to the Schedule As you know, being disorganized can cause chaos. It can also impede progress and bring on procrastination. An effective way to stay organized is to stick to a schedule. When someone or something threatens to disrupt your focus, always refer to your schedule in order to stay on track. 11. Have a Deadline Your goals and objectives, along with associated tasks, should have a deadline. If you find that your procrastination habits continue despite having deadlines, be sure to combine this with some sort of accountability. 12. Time Blocks This is a common technique often suggested to help manage time and boost productivity. The idea is to set aside a continuous block of time to complete a specific task. For example, you might block 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. to finally complete that report you have been procrastinating on for the past two weeks. Consequently, you know your focus during that time should be nothing else but that specific task. Schedule your tasks and begin using time blocking as another strategy to help win the battle against procrastination. 13. Time Reallocation: The 1 Hour Prior Strategy What time do you typically wake up in the morning? If you have a specific task you keep procrastinating on, set an alarm for one hour before the time

 

 

you typically wake up, just to work on that task. In fact, you effectively add an entire hour to your day as an additional benefit. 14. Time Reallocation: The 1 More Hour Strategy Perhaps you do not like to wake up an hour earlier. If that is the case, when you get to the end of your day, add the extra hour there instead. Set a timer for 1 hour and commit to only working on that one task that keeps getting delayed by procrastination. 15. Postpone Lunch Procrastination loves to creep in when other “scheduled” activities, such as lunch, are approaching. Develop the habit of beating procrastination at this game. How? Commit and continue to work on items until they are finished before going to lunch (or dinner). A technique that helps in this area is working on tasks that will actually be completed before lunch. If you usually go to lunch at noon, and you begin a task that takes 1 hour at 11:30, you are setting yourself up to procrastinate.

16. Avoid that Due Date Strive for completing tasks prior to their due date. Procrastination does not even appear when you get into the habit of early completion. In fact, when you assign a due date to specific tasks or to-do items, make it a day earlier from the actual day it must be completed.  

 



 

Organize 17. Break It Up For example, if you have “start a website” on your to-do list, you can break it down into several tasks such as “get a domain name,” “find a web hosting company,” “find a designer,” “select a website template,” and other tasks that relate to launching your website. As you achieve each milestone, celebrate success, cross it off the list and move on. Procrastination is much more likely to leave you alone when you approach tasks in smaller, focused segments. 18. Group Tasks In addition to helping you get things done, this can help you get them done faster and become more efficient. Do all your emails at the same time, all your phone calls together, all your writing in one sitting. When you bunch tasks together, you increase your focus and get rid of any worries about going back to similar tasks. 19. Track Your Progress With ongoing projects or action items that require multiple sub-tasks, use a tracking sheet to chart your progress. Being able to see yourself moving closer to an objective may reverse any procrastination trends when you are working on a major goal. 20. Delegate Tasks Handing off a task to someone else not only shrinks your to-do list and improves your time management, but it also prevents you from

 

 

procrastinating. After all, can you procrastinate on a task if you are not the one doing it? 21. Eliminate Look through your master list of action items. Are there tasks that actually seem unnecessary? Because I constantly offload things I have to get done from my head onto a master list, I often find that some of those “things” are actually passing thoughts that do not require action. If it is something that does not really need to get done, get rid of it. If you get rid of it, you cannot put off doing it! 22. Consolidate This is a technique I use to reduce the number of items on my to-do list. Take a look at what action items can actually be combined into one. For example, you may have “wash the car” and “change car oil” on your to-do list. You can consolidate these items (and delegate at the same time) by taking your car to a location that will take care of both! This eliminates the tendency to procrastinate on one of these tasks. 23. Change the Routine Do you have routine tasks that you always procrastinate on? For example, do you have to take out the trash on Wednesdays but always fail to do it because of procrastination? Change your routine and take out the trash on Tuesdays instead. A little change in your schedule can spark a new habit of getting things done.  

 



 

Reminders 24. Your Own Voice A bona fide “remind yourself” technique! That is, the sound of your own voice. Are you the auditory type? Do you prefer hearing things rather than feeling or seeing them? Record your to-do list and put it on your CD, iPod, mobile phone, laptop, tablet, desktop computer or home stereo! Don’t like your voice? Even better! 25. Alarm Clock Nowadays, if you have a mobile phone, you have an alarm clock. Use it as a strategy to wipe out procrastination. Set the alarm to keep reminding you of that task you absolutely have to get done. Commit to not using the snooze button more than 3 times. When you complete a task, set the alarm reminder for the next task! 26. Use Calendar Reminders Yes, they are not just there to tell you the date of a particular birthday or holiday. Add action items to your calendar on the date it must be completed along with a reminder/alert to notify you of the event. Adding items to your calendar helps cement the item into your subconscious and get you into action mode! 27. Email Reminders You likely use it every day! Send yourself emails that remind you to stop procrastinating on specific tasks. If you find yourself deleting those emails

 

 

(bad procrastinator!), put a system in place that sends you emails every 30, 15 or even 5 minutes! 28. Text Alerts As if calendar and email reminders were not enough, you can also set up alerts to be sent to your mobile phone. If you are prone to procrastination, take advantage of every means of technology at your disposal! A text reminder can be the difference between you getting that small task done or letting it linger another day on your to-do list. 29. A Small String When procrastination starts to take hold of a particular task, tie a small string to your index finger until the task is done. Unless you like walking around with a string tied to your finger, you will no doubt work to finish that task, without procrastinating. 30. Carry An Item It could be a rock, a few pennies, a marker, or anything else. Carry something in your pocket or hold it in your hand and commit to not releasing it until the task is done. Of course, this works best for tasks that will not take hours to complete! 31. Use Your Mirror Keep what you have to do in front of you, literally! If you look at yourself in the mirror every morning or evening, that will be an excellent place to put up a notice to yourself. In fact, sometimes writing your to-do list ON the mirror can be an effective strategy to smother procrastination.

 

 

32. The Refrigerator Take the fight to the kitchen. That is, to the refrigerator, where you post all those pictures and grocery lists. Make some space for your to-do list and make it bigger than everything else on the fridge. The bigger, the better. Ideally, you will get sick and tired of looking at items left undone every time you need something from the refrigerator. 33. Do You Drive? If you own and drive a car, use the dashboard as a Post-it note repository! Especially with those tasks that you find yourself putting off time and time again. In fact, make it a rule that every time you do not complete a task, you (or someone you assign) will add another note to the dashboard! Make it a goal to keep your dashboard Post-it note-free.  

 



 

Task Management 34. Switch it Up Procrastination can sometimes kick in when you feel that a task is taking too long to complete. If you pause, procrastination sets in and you have a hard time getting back to the task. When you are faced with this situation, switch to a different task on your checklist that you are able to complete more quickly. Often, the good feeling of crossing something else off your checklist will give you the boost needed to move forward on the original task. 35. Bend the Rules Explore different ways of accomplishing a task. If something needs to be done a particular way, it may cause you to procrastinate. But if you find a more exciting way of doing that same task, you may find yourself jumping at the opportunity to get it done. When you feel like saying: “I don’t want to do this now,” ask yourself, “Is there a way I can do this differently so I can get it over with right now?” 36. Reset the Clock Remain flexible about your deadlines to help avoid stress and procrastination. When you come upon a deadline for a task, too much worry about finishing can lead to a total shutdown on your productivity and cause you to “give up.” Rather than stress about it, move the deadline an hour or two and keep working on the task. 37. Take On the Achievable

 

 

Seemingly insurmountable action items can often lead to procrastination. Imagine you have to lose 100 pounds. While this would be a fantastic goal that in itself is very achievable, a goal of first losing 5 or 10 pounds may lead to more action and less procrastination! 38. Understand the Outcome Know exactly what you are working toward. When you know the outcome (or desired outcome) of doing a particular task, you have a sense of direction and a better chance at avoiding procrastination. Avoid doing things “just because” you think they need to be done. Know your purpose. 39. Be Prepared Unpreparedness leads to interruptions and eventually procrastination. You can prevent this by having everything you need available to you in order to complete a task. When you begin doing something from your to-do list, you want to avoid having to stop because you were not prepared. Actionoriented individuals have a plan and are prepared, and as a result they execute efficiently and avoid procrastination. 40. Stop Multitasking The fact is, so-called “multitasking” is not a realistic method for creating efficiency. When you attempt to do two or more things at once, you are actually shifting your attention from one task to the other. In doing so, you lose momentum, effectiveness and productivity. When you begin to lose any of those three factors, procrastination sneaks in to make sure tasks are left undone. Prevent this from happening by focusing on one task at a time.

 

 

41. Get Into a Rhythm It becomes easier to complete a task when you get into motion and build up to a consistent rhythm. When you stop or experience a disruption, you often have to start all over again. This is when procrastination will attack. Build a habit of staying in rhythm until a task is complete. This not only helps beat procrastination, but also increases your effectiveness and productivity. 42. Think Phases If you are a perfectionist, one strategy you can employ is phases. When you finish a task but are not satisfied with the result, think about it as Phase 1, or Alpha. Then, add Phase 2 (or Beta) to your to-do list and move on to something else. Always keep moving forward and keep the momentum going. If you keep going back to the same task because it is not perfect, you will find yourself on the same task or project month after month without progress. 43. Next Step Sometimes, procrastination comes from not knowing what to do next. Keep the next step in front of you, or at least know what it is. If you have broken down your task into different steps, forgetting what they are will cause you to use this as an excuse to delay and put off completing action items. 44. Don’t Look Back As mentioned in the “Think Phases” strategies, do not look back once you get started on a task. There may be times when you do so, but for the most part, keep moving forward until the task is complete. This minimizes the

 

 

tendency to tack on additional milestones to your task, which could lead to procrastination. 45. Play to Your Strengths Do what you do best and let the experts do the rest. When you focus on your strengths and let others handle the rest, you remove the possibility of procrastinating on those tasks.  

 



 

Accountability 46. Self-Accountability Hold yourself accountable for getting it done. Ask yourself, “Why didn’t I get this done?” Listen to yourself as you come up with a number of excuses, and then refute them! Don’t go jumping off a bridge. However, if you didn’t finish a task, hold off on watching that favorite TV show you wanted to watch so badly, or skip that movie you needed to see this weekend. As you consistently hold yourself more accountable, your attitude and approach toward completing tasks will change dramatically. 47. Partner Accountability Find someone who will hold you accountable to completing tasks, preferably someone you look up to. The fact that you have to answer to someone may give you that extra push you need to finally get it done. Tip: Meet once a week with your accountability partner and let them know exactly what will be done by the following week. 48. Hire a Coach If you have a job, you probably have a boss. If you play sports (or played sports in the past), you have a coach that pushes you to practice hard. Your chances of procrastinating on tasks given to you by your boss or coach are usually pretty slim. Similarly, having a personal, relationship, spiritual or fitness coach can increase your chances of success dramatically in any of those areas and help you eliminate procrastination once and for all. 49. Mastermind Group

 

 

If you are in business, find or create a small Mastermind group. Similar to having an accountability partner, the group is composed of a few members that meet regularly and hold each other accountable for accomplishing their objective. 50. What’s Your Grade? Give your procrastination a daily grade and make it public. It could be an A, B, C, D, or F or it could be on a 1-5 or 1-10 scale. Give yourself an honest grade at the end of the day. If you see a 1 or an F, you will only want to get better the next day. Work yourself up to straight As or 10s! 51. Become an Accountability Partner If you know someone who procrastinates, just like you do, offer to be their “referee.” When you start to hold someone else accountable for their tasks, you may begin “checking yourself” and taking your own procrastination issues more seriously. 52. Head of the Class There are classes and small courses available to help you build better habits or increase productivity. If you are a chronic procrastinator, completing one of these training sessions or courses can launch you on the road to recovery. 53. Stop the Showers Commit yourself to not taking a shower until a particular task (or list of tasks) is completely done and crossed off your list. If you do not get it done today, you do not take a shower tomorrow. If you do not get it done

 

 

tomorrow, you do not shower the next day. How long can you go without taking a shower? Let’s get it done. 54. Today’s Theme A fun strategy you can implement from time to time to help reduce procrastination is the idea of “theme days.” For example, for this week, Monday is to work on website tasks only. Or, Tuesday’s focus is on house tasks and nothing else. Sprinkle in a theme day every now and then to knock off some related tasks that have been lingering in your procrastination bucket. 55. Teaching A simple strategy that motivates and eradicates procrastination is teaching someone else the very same activity that you need to get done. For example, if you need to change the oil in your car, but you keep procrastinating, why not teach someone how to do it? You can cross the item off your list and spend some time teaching someone else the task at the same time! 56. Watch Me A similar strategy to teaching someone—you can just ask someone to physically watch you complete what you have to get done. This strategy may not work for you if you are easily pressured or annoyed by someone’s presence when you are trying to get work done!  

 



 

Just a Game 57. Raise the Stakes How much are you willing to bet you will get that done? $10, $50, $100? Put your money where your to-do list is! Determine how much you are not willing to lose and give that money to a close friend or family member. If you get the task done, you get the money back. If not, they keep the money. As an example, my wife recently committed to losing two pounds every week until she reaches her goal weight. I then challenged her to pay me $10 for every week that she does not lose two pounds and she accepted the challenge! She absolutely does not want to pay me, so she is now extramotivated to achieve her goal. 58. Beat the Clock Grab a stopwatch and set the countdown for five minutes. Begin a small task and see how much you can get done within those five minutes. If you complete the task, cross it off the list! Set the clock for 10 minutes. Can you complete another task within those 10 minutes? Awesome—how much can you get done in 15 minutes? Work yourself up to an hour and keep trying to beat that clock! 59. Make It a Friendly Game Like to have fun? Entertain yourself while getting things done and forget about procrastination by keeping score. In fact, many of the strategies on this list can actually be turned into friendly games that motivate you to get things done. For example, if you have to make phone calls or write blog

 

 

posts, find someone who has similar tasks and keep score on who gets more done. Loser buys dinner. 60. A Less-Friendly Game Find a true competitor that stirs up your emotions when they get things done and you do not. Procrastination has a funny way of disappearing when you want to beat someone else by getting something done before they do! 61. Reward Your Results Create a reward system for getting things done. It could be something as little as your favorite foods or watching 30 minutes of television. However, if you have a significant milestone that you have achieved, celebrate the success! Have a party, show off that completed to-do list, brag about your results and build fun memories that you can recall as motivation when working on the next checklist! 62. The Anti-Charity Penalty Is there an organization or charity you absolutely dislike? Commit to donating to that organization if you procrastinate and do not get something done. Perhaps you are a cat lover, but not so much dogs. Find the biggest dog charity you can contribute to whenever you miss an objective! 63. Solitude Procrastinate on procrastination by putting yourself on timeout! If socialization is your main distraction and reason for idleness, isolate yourself into a home office or work area and commit to not coming out until

 

 

the task is done. Easier said than done? Have someone lock the door from the outside!  

 



 

Association  

64. Soar with Eagles Instead of hanging out with crows, find and surround yourself with people who fly higher and get things done. Find those who are action-oriented and who either have similar goals or have already accomplished what you are pursuing. For the most part, procrastination lives outside of these circles, so you will be more likely to also become more action-oriented and get things done! 65. Protect Your Environment Your surroundings can have a significant impact on how much you get done. When we are constantly surrounded by distractions and mental interruptions, we tend to lose focus and get nothing done. This includes physical distractions such as noises (television or radio), people distractions and mental distractions such as daydreaming. Distractions are a friend to procrastination. They hang out together. When you eliminate distractions, you will see less procrastination.  

 



 

Mindset  

66. Mind Programming and Affirmations When it comes to procrastination, every tool in your arsenal should be leveraged. This includes programming your subconscious mind to get things done through affirmations. Whatever you affirm, with strong belief and confidence, will come to pass. A simple method is to affirm to yourself the night prior to when something must be done. Talk to yourself about what is going to be done. An example might be: “I finished writing that report.” Although exploring the ins and outs of affirmations is not in the scope of this book, there are numerous resources available that expand on this subject. I will point you to a few resources at the end of this book. 67. Consider It Done When you get a task, put it into your mind that you have already accomplished it. This is of course in conflict with your subconscious mind if you have not done it already. For example, if you have to take your dog, Buster, to the groomer but you keep procrastinating, just keep repeating to yourself, “I took Buster to the groomer.” Soon enough, your action will match your “consider it done” attitude. 68. Say No to New Refuse to add new items to your checklists. I have implemented a system where a checklist of no more than 10 prioritized items must be completed on any particular day. If something else comes up during the day, it will not make it on that list unless every other task has been completed, or the item

 

 

has a significant impact to my bottom line or relationships. This increases your clarity and focus, resulting in less procrastinating. 69. Minimize People Interruptions Are you someone who constantly gets interrupted by others with a “quick question” or “Hey, can I ask you something?” These “brief” interruptions can quickly add up to an hour or more of time that could have been used to complete a task. When someone asks you if you have time for a quick question, say, “Yes, I do—but not right now,” and let them know you will get back to them when you finish your task. 70. Visualization This strategy can go hand in hand with “Consider It Done.” Imagine what the completed task looks like and take a mental picture. Fixate your mind on how good it feels to complete that task and picture it crossed off your checklist. In fact, visualize yourself as an action-oriented individual who constantly gets things done! 71. Take Full Responsibility It is your choices and decisions that will affect how much and what you get done. Know this and accept full responsibility for those choices. Do not allow blame and excuses to become part of your world, as they only boost and promote procrastination! 72. Offload Your Daydreaming Sometimes, daydreaming can interrupt our strongest effort to get a task done. When that’s the case, write it down! Quickly come back to reality and

 

 

offload your thoughts onto a diary, journal, or task list. Offloading your thoughts will help you get back on track and stop procrastination in its tracks. 73. Eliminate Limiting Beliefs Unfounded beliefs about yourself or your ability to accomplish certain things are known as “limiting beliefs.” There are numerous limiting beliefs that hold people back and cause them to procrastinate. Beliefs such as “I can’t do that,” “I’m too short,” “I’m too old,” or “I’m just not good enough” are the result of negative conditioning as you are growing up or going through certain life experiences. When you procrastinate because of a limiting belief (for example, “I just don’t know what to do”), recognize it and immediately question the thought. Eliminate it by affirming the opposite and debunking any ideas that seem to support the belief. 74. Take Pause Rather than give in to procrastination, allow yourself to take pause without putting off action. If you are building momentum, I recommend you keep going. However, if you are stuck in a particular area, take a breather or small pause to build clarity and come back to the task with even more determination. 75. Make a Decision When you get or think of new things that need to be done, make an immediate decision. Choose to: 1. Do it now, 2. Delegate it, or 3. Add it to a prioritized list. Making an immediate decision on new tasks gets it off your mind and reduces the chance that procrastination will take over.

 

 

76. Remain Cool At times, frustration and procrastination go hand in hand. Frustration can set in when you fail to achieve a certain outcome or any time things do not go as expected. This can lead to a feeling of putting your efforts on hold or giving up entirely. To avoid getting to that point, learn to take pause during frustrating situations. Sit back, relax and slowly count to 10. Then, give procrastination no thought and get back to the task at hand. 77. Recognize Procrastination Because procrastination is a habit, we may not recognize it when we do it. In many ways, putting things off has become a matter of routine. Consequently, one of the first things we should learn to do is recognize and acknowledge this bad habit. 78. Value Your Time This is a change in mindset as much as a strategy against procrastination. Change your views about time. Look at time as something you cannot get back. The fact is, time cannot be saved or bought. It can only be spent. You can reallocate time, but once it is gone, it is gone. When you change your perspective on time and start to look at it from this viewpoint, you will begin to value it more, treasure it, and take more definite action toward your goals and objectives. 79. Attitude Counts Optimism and positive thinking changes the way you approach everyday life. Only you know if you need to improve in this area. If you do, making

 

 

the shift can have a significant impact on not only your way of life, but also on your habits, including procrastination. 80. Stop Lying to Yourself Be honest with yourself when it comes to the communications going on inside your head. If you know a task is just not doable, then change your approach and cross it off your list, instead of remaining hostage to procrastination.

 

 

Get Social  

81. Facebook It Is procrastination hitting you hard? Update your Facebook status with what you have to get done, and by when. We generally like to be seen as credible. When you let everyone in your “friend list” know that you are on a mission to accomplish something, you will probably want to make sure the next related status talks about your success. You may even get some supporters and accountability partners along the way. 82. Video Superstar If you are a big YouTube or Vimeo user, consider creating and posting a video (or series of videos) related to what you have to get done. This increases your “action mode” and pushes you to keep moving forward. For example, if you want to lose 20 pounds, consider creating a weekly video that tracks your progress. Throughout the week, you will consciously think about your food and exercise choices knowing that you have to create a video. 83. Tweet Tweet Are you procrastinating on going to the gym? As you get your day started, send a Tweet to your Twitter followers letting them know you will be going today. It could be as simple as, “Going to the gym today. Running 2 miles.” Do not underestimate this technique, especially if you have many followers. Similar to writing your goals, this will help cement into your mind that you have to visit the gym today. Tweet away your procrastination!  

 



 

Core Habits 84. Build a Habit As you work to eliminate procrastination once and for all, your ultimate goal is to build the action habit. You build a habit by doing an activity over and over again, day after day, until the point where it becomes a routine and you do not even have to think about doing the activity. So, if you continually use a to-do list and get in the habit of completing the items on your to-do list every day, you will start to build the action habit. 85. Reduce Stress Procrastination causes stress, as the pressures of getting things done get to us. At the same time, stress and anxiety can be catalysts for procrastination. And while it is a challenge for most of us to eliminate it completely, we can minimize it by having an organized schedule that includes “time out” for fun and relaxation. Explore ways and solutions to deal with stress, and as a consequence you will also minimize procrastination. 86. Eliminate Over-Commitment Committing to too many projects or activities leads to being overwhelmed, disorganization, and ultimately procrastination. If you find that you procrastinate because you simply have too much to do, work to reduce or eliminate the level of commitments you currently have. 87. Build Confidence Lack of confidence is often a core reason for procrastinators. The thought of not succeeding or completing the task to your (or others’) satisfaction may

 

 

cause you to lose confidence. Procrastination is then used as a coping mechanism for this lack of confidence. You help build self-confidence and assertiveness in your approach by acquiring the necessary skills to accomplish your tasks and becoming very good at what you do. Focus on this area if you procrastinate due to lack of confidence. 88. Bury Your Fears Similar to lack of confidence, fear often holds you back from getting things done and going after what you want in life. With regard to procrastination, people often fear the outcome of doing a particular task. For example, you may procrastinate on calling someone back because you fear the particular results of the conversation. As simplistic as it sounds, the way to get over your fears is to confront them. In fact, there is no other way to soundly defeat fear and stop procrastinating because of it. 89. Increase Knowledge An increase in knowledge and understanding can become a procrastination show stopper. Many people procrastinate because they simply do not know what to do. Perhaps you do not know how to install a blog, which is the reason you procrastinate on getting one started. In this case, you may delegate or outsource this task, or increase your knowledge. When you know what to do, procrastination retreats! 90. Get Some Energy Lack of energy levels can be cause for procrastination (and laziness!). Elevate your energy and become more active by exercising regularly and

 

 

eating a proper diet. A sense of liveliness might be just what you need to do away with procrastination once and for all. 91. Self-Discipline In many ways, procrastination boils down to a lack of self-discipline. Making yourself do what you do not want to do—this is self-discipline. So to neutralize procrastination, work on building the self-discipline habit. You can start by finding the motivation and inspiration you need (within you or externally) to consistently complete tasks, even when you do not want to do them. 92. Eliminate Time-Wasters Minimize mindless entertainment as a distraction, such as television, video games, or social media. At times, these may provide a good break and relief from stress. However, for the most part, they contribute greatly to procrastination and can lead you to wasting hours and hours of otherwise productive activity.  

 



 

Motivation  

93. Is it Interesting? Everything you do is by choice. Choose to work on things that are of interest to you. If doing your own taxes excites you, then you will have no problem with procrastination. On the other hand, if the thought of doing your own taxes gives you a headache, you may want to consider delegating that task to a professional rather than procrastinating and stressing about getting it done. 94. What Motivates You? Procrastination cannot override your motivation. Find items that not only interest you (such as a hobby or industry), but that also motivate you—such as raising funds for a particular cause. For example, if you are extremely motivated to start a website that will share ideas you are passionate about, you are more likely to get it done as opposed to a website that covers something you do not enjoy. 95. Tell 3 People Tell at least 3 people some of the items you will knock off your checklist today. This is a variation of the accountability partner and mastermind techniques. Although they are not holding you accountable, just telling 3 people what you need to do and when you will get it done adds a little more “oomph” to your determination. 96. Think Consequences

 

 

In the end, you want to say “I did it” instead of “I wish I did.” When you realize you are procrastinating on a specific task or set of tasks on your checklist, take out a pencil and a piece of paper and write down the consequences for not completing the task. What will delaying a task do to your overall bottom line? How much further are you moving away from your goals? Is it really worth it? 97. Music to Your Ears While it may be a distraction for many people, some personalities work better and faster while listening to music. As weird as it sounds, some of us even concentrate better with music on! If that’s you, use it to your advantage as a tool to get things done and crush the procrastination habit. 98. Ride the Momentum I have hinted at this point throughout many of the strategies in this book. When you get going, keep going. Action is the killer of procrastination. When you have built momentum and are constantly taking action, there is no way you can stop to procrastinate. Ride that momentum! 99. Adjust Course Even when you fail to adhere to a schedule, you can keep moving forward by adjusting your course. The key is to keep moving forward. If you dwell on distractions that have come up to take you off course, then you will remain off course. Adjust your sail and keep moving forward to avoid procrastination. 100. Make a Move

 

 

When you want to procrastinate, think, “Just Move.” It may sound simple, but if you have a task that requires physically taking action, just move! For example, if you have to write a document but you keep procrastinating, just put your hand on your keyboard and start hitting keys. If you have to mow the yard, grab a hold of the lawnmower and start moving it back and forth. Eventually, your brain will catch up with your body movement. So get moving. 101. Get started. NOW. Seriously, go get it done. Select a few of these strategies and go get rid of procrastination, once and for all.

 

 

 

Get Rid of Procrastination Once and For All One of the reasons many people do not eliminate or even reduce their procrastination is because of lack of action. If you are sick and tired of procrastination taking hold of your life, then you have to make a conscious decision to change and then take action. I have presented you with at least 100 ideas that you can begin to implement and being the journey to Procrastination Elimination. I challenge you to make a commitment, starting right now, to replace procrastination once and for all with the action habit. Here are your action steps: • Acknowledge procrastination and make the commitment to get rid of it starting today. • Understand your reasons for procrastinating. What truly is keeping you from getting into action, consistently? • Identify at least 3 to 5 strategies outlined in this book that you can begin implementing into your daily life. • When one of these ideas help you succeed in your Procrastination Elimination journey, send me your success story!

 

 

Additional Resources The following resources are relevant and can further assist you in your Procrastination Elimination journey: Recommended Books: The Now Habit by Neil Fiore Getting Things Done by David Allen The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson The Power of Focus by Jack Canfield The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz Recommended Technology Resources: www.rememberthemilk.com – Online to-do list and task management. www.evernote.com – Robust online note-taking application to help you save notes and ideas. www.Astrid.com – To-do list manager for Android, iPhone and other mobile devices. www.Stickk.com – Online commitment and accountability system. These are just a few of the numerous technology tools available to help you manage tasks and eliminate procrastination. Thank you for reading!