Highly Effective Strategies to Stop Procrastinating

Highly Effective Strategies For Overcoming Procrastination

In this day and age we are so inundated with choice and opportunity that you might even say that we are spoiled for choice. There is just so much that we could do that we often end up not doing anything at all. Procrastination is one of the biggest dream killers. In a world where there is so much demand on your attention it is becoming ever more difficult to stay focussed and act on the things that would truly give you an extraordinary quality of life. Time is, was and will always be your most valuable asset and the way you use it will determine what you create or fail to create with and for your life. Having an effective strategy for overcoming procrastination is critical if you truly want to push past short term obstacles to create a life of fulfilment.

The abundance that modern life offers us tends to overwhelm us which leads to an emotional overload that will distract you and scatter your effort and concentration. There simply isn't enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time for the most important things in your life. Success at anything in life, whether it be your finances, your relationships or your body, requires an investment of time and effort from you. You need to focus and concentrate your physical and emotional resources on creating a desired result.

The first step in overcoming procrastination it to get really clear on exactly what you want from every area of your life. This clarity will give you the power to look past distractions that may throw you off course. It gives you a direction and a target and will help to build a mental picture for your life. One of the most destructive effects of procrastination is that it makes you feel out of control; like the events of your life is controlling you. If you don't know what you want it is all too easy to jump from the one task to the next. Apart from knowing what you want you should also develop some strong reasons why you want it. This will give you a sense of purpose and motivation that is critical for staying focussed long term.

The truth is that most people know what they need to do to create their life the way they want it. The challenge is not with knowing what to do, but in doing what you know. The only way you will create any result in your life is by taking action and procrastination is what prevents you from acting on the very things you know would give you a greater quality of life. The reason why people procrastinate is primarily because of fear, especially fear of failure. By not taking action and postponing important actions you avoid the potential for failing. The only reason why you procrastinate about anything is because at some level you link more pain to taking action than to not taking action. The ridiculous truth is that these "links" are mostly conjured up (by you) in your mind and they are not even real. When you make a task too big in your mind it will overwhelm you and it would seem too difficult and too big and you will end up procrastinating.

One of the most powerful strategies for overcoming procrastination is to learn how to break your tasks up into bite size pieces. Any task, no matter how big can be broken down into small manageable tasks that is easy to do. If you focus on climbing Mount Everest it will probably put you off immediately, but if you focus on climbing seven small mountain sections it becomes more believable. The power of chunking down your "big" tasks empowers you to take back control of any overwhelming situation – you cut it down to size. Your size.

One of the quickest ways to overcoming procrastination is to learn and utilize the power of immediacy. What can you do immediately? What action can you take right now that will move you closer to your goal? Doing something, no matter how small, will immediately break your mental pattern of procrastination and put you back in control. Taking the first step, even if it is small will create momentum and you will almost automatically be driven to take another step. Don't wait for everything to be perfect before you take the first step. Just do it. Just get it going. Often you will only know what to do next after taking that first step.

There are many strategies and skills you can use for overcoming procrastination. You don not have to be stuck or spinning your wheels. Like any skill you need to learn and practise it until you get good at it. Eventually it will become an automatic response and you will develop the habit of taking action despite your fears and apparent limitations.

By: This article is published with the permission of the author, Deon Du Plessis. He is the founder of The Self Improvement Gym, and author (in)action, a groundbreaking new action guide on eliminating procrastination. For more of his in-depth insights into personal development and access to his free self improvement library visit www.The Self Improvement Gym.com

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

How To Conquer Your Procrastination Addiction Fast

How To Conquer Your Procrastination Addiction Fast

Procrastination can be an addiction. It stops you from achieving your best and it disrupts your career. Procrastination is putting off or deferring an action. You can even procrastinate procrastination!

It is a problem that affects many entrepreneurs and employees alike. It affects work and personal life. And it can't be treated until you recognize you have it. Procrastination is a habit. And once you understand why you feed this destructive habit, you can take steps to manage your time and your outcomes. Do you want to give procrastination control over your life?

People who procrastinate work just as many hours in the day as everyone else, and sometimes longer. But, they invest their time doing the wrong tasks. They end the day feeling discouraged or disappointed in the amount of work they finished.

There can be many reasons why people procrastinate:

• The task is unpleasant
• The person making the most noise gets attention
• The task is overwhelming
• You doubt your skills
• It's not the ‘right time'
• Fear of failure (or success)
• Poor time management skills
• You suffer from ‘Perfectionism' – if it can't be perfect, it shouldn't be done.

Everyone can identify with a one or more of these reasons but procrastinators act on them daily. The two main motives that most relate to are: the task is unpleasant or overwhelming.

Whatever the cause behind procrastination, it must be recognized, dealt with and controlled before you miss opportunities and your career goes off track.

Most times, you know when you're procrastinating. However, the habit may be so well developed that even you don't recognize the signs! So, take caution if you are ignoring priority tasks, reading emails two or three times, leaving important jobs on your ‘to-do' list, and saying yes to other people when your list is already full.

If you are putting off a specific task and that is creating a roadblock to your success, you have a choice. If you can't delegate it to someone else, then you need to motivate yourself to just get going. Below are several techniques to motivate your actions and improve your attention to the task.

Make up a reward for yourself in advance for completing the task. Rewards are great motivators – especially when they mean something to you personally. Choosing your own reward is much better than someone else's paperweight with their name on it!

Accountability partners are a great way to stay on task. Ask someone to keep track of your progress, but set the rules ahead of time. Ensure that they stay on task too. You don't want to be accountable to someone who distracts you from the task at hand.

Write down what will happen if you don't finish the project. Being faced with unpleasant consequences can be a great motivator.

Break the project up into small, more manageable pieces. Start with a quick task that will boost your motivation as you finish it. When you work from a daily to-do-list, the whole project won't be so overwhelming.

If you really want to conquer procrastination, first admit that you have a problem, identify when you are doing it and take action to overcome it. It won't be long before your productivity increases and your boss notices – even if your boss is you!

By: Rasheed Ali
Rasheed Ali was once a homeless & penniless teenager on the streets of New York is now helping to change the lives of thousands people from all over the world through his innovative and thought-provoking newsletters and websites. He publishes the Power of Concentration Newsletter and provides a complimentary copy of the timeless classic by Theron Dumont at www.FreePowerOfConcentration.com

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

Just Get It Going

Just Get It Going by Sam Crowley

How many people do you know that are waiting for everything to be just right before they make that big move in their life? I can tell you from experience that the only way you will ever realize true success is to get it going. What do I mean by get it going? I mean exactly that.

I have seen more people procrastinate their lives away than I care to mention. Others simply do nothing and talk about all their friends who got lucky. Let me tell you something, there is nothing lucky about success. I know there are lotto winners and people who were born into wealth and all that stuff. I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about the other 99% of people who are successful, the ones who paid the price.

They are successful because they were able to make a decision. They took action. They didn't sit by and watch their friends or co-workers take action then say they could have done the same thing, or that so-and-so happened to be at the right place at the right time. The ability to get it going made the difference.

I can think of many times in my life when I was paralyzed by fear. I was afraid of failing, afraid of what people might say. Now I look back at my failures with as much fondness as my successes. The beauty of failing is that it teaches such a valuable lesson. People who don't take action are the real failures. As I say in all my speeches, life is not a dress rehearsal, you only get one shot.

I want you to think about what the worst thing would be if you stepped out in faith and tried your new idea. What is so catastrophic that you couldn't recover from? Your mind is a powerful tool. It can trigger fear that will leave you sleepless at night. It can tell you that you're not good enough to be a successful person. You have to overcome that crazy thinking because that's exactly what it is - crazy. I ask this question: Why not you? Why can't you be the person others are saying got lucky? Why can't you be free to do what you want, when you want and with whom you want?

There isn't a good reason. You have to stop waiting and wondering and get going. It is much easier to run toward something than run away from it. Run towards your dream and stop procrastinating. As one of my early mentors used to say "God don't make no junk." It's better to get going rather than wait for the perfect time. Let me fill you in on a little millionaire secret: the timing will never be perfect.

Go after your dream Champion. You'll be the one they talk about when they say "There's another person who was at the right place at the right time, they got lucky."

About the Author
Sam Crowley is a Motivational Speaker who lives in Cincinnati, OH with his wife Angela and their three daughters. You can view Sam's website at EverydayIsSaturday.com

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

Making Practice Perfect: Changing the Way You Prepare to Meet Your Goals

Making Practice Perfect: Changing the Way You Prepare to Meet Your Goals by Colleen Francis

When my brother was a kid, he went to hockey camp every summer. One year, he came home and told us that the coach was the most demanding he'd ever had. All they did was go over the basics again and again - drill after drill, skill by skill - each time changing just one small thing about the way they played. When my brother shrugged his shoulders and said out loud to his teammates "well, I guess practice makes perfect," the coach immediately corrected him, saying: "No, Paul - perfect practice makes perfect."

That expression has stuck with me for 25 years, and I've found that it's just as true in sales as it was in hockey.

Perfect practice makes perfect. Just think about those four deceptively simple words for a moment. The sad truth is that 80% of sales people spend their days working on - practicing - the wrong things. Instead of working on the things that will make them more successful, they spend the majority of their time practicing the exact same things they did yesterday, and the day before that, which are the very things that are keeping success out of their grasp.

I've spent my professional life studying, copying and applying the habits of highly successful sales and business people. When I coach sales people in the field, what we're trying to do is replicate those same proven successful behaviors. Yet time and time again, the first reaction we encounter is resistance. In 80% of the cases, sales people tend to respond to new ideas with a defiant "that's not the way I do things!"

Ironically, the reason these people have hired me is to work with them to change their results. The top 10% of sale people know that, if you want to change your results, you have to change whatever you're doing each and every day that isn't getting you what you want. If you want to double your income, increase your commissions or take more time off, and whatever you're doing now isn't allowing you to accomplish these goals, then you have to find a new or better way of working that will enable you to reach your goals - period.

After all, we're not talking about rocket science here. I can say without a moment's doubt that I've never met a sales person who is incapable of repeating what the top 10% of the profession do. Most people only lack the desire to try, or the willingness to practice something new, and refine it to perfection.

In other words, most simply lack the discipline to practice perfectly.

Don't fall into that trap. Remember: if you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always gotten. The following are some ideas you can use to help you change the way you do business, and begin to go from simply practicing, to practicing perfectly.

3 key areas to practice perfectly The top 10% of sales people perfectly practice 3 key areas:

Finding new prospects; Qualifying their business; and Closing the business. Why? Because they know that these are the only 3 activities that directly affect their bottom line, and their success. You don't earn commissions for filling out expense reports, talking to your friends on the phone, going for coffee or planning your vacation. Top performers know that, and instinctively maximize the time they spend in front of their clients during working hours.

Unless your customers are based around the world, most sales people have a limited number of hours in which they can reach their clients - typically between around 8:30 am and 4:30 pm. So make sure you maximize the amount of time you spend working with your clients during those hours, and save the non-commission generating work for the rest of the day. If you're spending too much time during peak selling hours doing non-sales work, then you are seriously limiting your ability to earn - and your income.

One easy way to increase the amount of time you spend with customers and prospects is to keep a detailed log of your time for 2 weeks, and track everything that you do in 30-minute increments. For a sample of the one we recently completed in our office, email me or contact us.

At the end of the 2-week period, look honestly at your log, and evaluate how much time you're spending working directly with clients, whether you're prospecting, qualifying or closing. If you can do better, set yourself some goals. Make a decision to either increase your direct client time to at least 50%, or by increments of 10% a year.

Next, immediately write down 10 things you can do every day to reach your new goal, and start doing them right away, adding one new habit a day until you are consistently practicing 10 new ways to stay in front of your customers more often. Don't be surprised if, within that 10-day period, you find you've already reached or exceeded your 10% incremental goal for the year!

Get a little help from your friends Another excellent approach is to get a mentor and a coach.

Top sales people know that they need to draw on the habits of other top performers, so they work regularly with a coach or mentor to help them identify those habits that will lead to greater success - and hold them accountable for doing them.

Start by studying what your mentor does that makes them successful. Ask them what they do every day that makes them a top sales person. Then commit yourself to trying these things for yourself, even - or especially! - if they're different from what you're doing now.

Do what they do. Read what they read, and associate with the people and groups they do. Try one new thing at a time until you have perfected it, and then move on to something else. Soon you will be as successful as they are - or more!

Plus, consider hiring a professional coach to help you refine your habits and techniques, and set your goals. They could be a sales coach, a business coach or a personal coach. Either way, spend the money it takes, and commit to being better. Successful sales people don't just talk about life-long learning; they act on it. Tapes, CD's, learning systems, videos, books - and coaching - are all core parts of their regular sales workout.

Perfect practice also involves knowing when and how often to practice new ideas. Top performers practice those things that are going to improve their business first thing in the day, every day, and they practice them until the work is done. For example, the vast majority of top sales people:

Make all their prospecting calls first thing in the morning, even before answering their email. Get up early before important sales presentations to practice one last time. Spend their commute time listening to tapes and CD's in the car, learning new ideas rather than listening to the radio. Plan their vacation schedules and professional development days early in the year, so that they can plan their sales activity around the days they'll be away from the office.

Follow the leaders Finally, how often should you practice perfectly? Every day, and every hour of your sales time. Here are some examples of what top performers are doing every day to make their careers soar:

Set your goals. Set your goals each year, and review your progress on a quarterly and monthly basis. Each week, look at your list of goals, and choose 5 things you can do that week to achieve them. In doing so, you will be working towards your sales goals every day. Do it first! Yes, we all hate cold calling. That's why top performers do those things that are directly related to generating business first thing in the morning. Commit yourself to making your calls before you open your email, and don't stop until all your prospecting calls are finished for the day. Listen to your gut. If there's one thing in your business life that you have been putting off - one thing that you dread more than any other - then it's highly probable that it is the single most important thing you should be doing. Stop procrastinating, stop being afraid, and (with thanks to Nike) just do it! If you're still having trouble, read "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield for a great kick in the pants. Document your successes - and your failures. Repeat the things that are working, and discard those that aren't. Keep refining until you get the responses that will lead you to your goals. Make time every day for professional development. I don't mean quiet time to read the newspaper or watch TV, either. Find time every day to learn something new related to perfect practice, or to achieving your goals. Stay focused on the end result. Commit yourself to being relentless in doing what needs to get done. If a colleague approaches you for a coffee break while you're in the middle of making your prospecting calls, tell them that you'll be happy to join them later. If your parent, spouse, partner, best friend, or Tom Cruise or Angelina Jolie calls while you're busy closing business, tell them that you'll call them back after 5:00 pm. Unless they're going to buy something from you, you can't maximize your revenue goals by taking time out of your day for chit chat (well, okay, maybe if it's Tom Cruise - but that's it!). Remember: top performers - the top 10% - maximize every hour of every day, by spending it all and only with their prospects and qualified buyers.

Let's face it - it's not difficult to become a top performer. In fact, it's easy! You simply have to want it.

I've never met anyone who I'd judge incapable of doing those things that top performers do. I have, however, met many people who are unwilling to make the commitment to do it.

Remember what my brother's coach said: perfect practice makes perfect. Start perfecting your practice today, and by this time next year, I promise you'll be closer than ever to hitting your goals, and achieving everything you want to accomplish.

About the Author
Colleen Francis, Sales Expert, is Founder and President of Engage Selling Solutions, which delivers sales solutions that realize immediate results, achieve lasting success and permanently raise the client's bottom line. Engage Selling - Everything you need to sell more, in less time and make more money! For more great sales tips, articles, resources: http://www.EngageSelling.com.

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

Goal Setting 101: Getting Started

Goal Setting 101: Getting Started

We all have goals. Some goals are long-term and some are short-term. Some are goals we have shelved for so long they are dusty and covered with cobwebs. Some are freshly minted. However for those of us who are not as successful in life as we would wish we often despair of achieving our goals. Some goals seem out-of-reach and unattainable. This does not have to be what actually happens. We have the power within ourselves to change our lives and the place to begin is when we are setting our goals.

There are simple rules that make it more likely for us to achieve our goals and the first is to follow the K.I.S.S. principle. In other words, keep it simple stupid. The more elaborate and complicated we make our goals then the less likely we will be to follow through with them.

The best way to simplify your goal setting is to only set one goal -- the ultimate goal. After that then everything else is just details. What is the ultimate goal? What is your final destination? When you are on your deathbed and you cast a look back over your life then what do you want to see accomplished there? When you look around you what do you want to see? That vision is your ultimate goal.

We all know that having a destination in mind makes traveling easier. Knowledge of that destination helps us plan what to pack and controls our transportation decisions. The same is true when it comes to setting goals and achieving those goals. If we know our destination then we know what to pack (and what to leave behind) and we can make better decisions about how to reach that destination. Simplifying our goals to that one ultimate goal also helps us focus on that one destination rather than constantly detouring and losing our way. It also makes it easier to measure the importance and relevance of so many other decisions that impact our daily life when we have the measuring stick. If we take Path A or Path B which will be more effective in reaching that ultimate destination?

Naming that ultimate goal for ourselves is a tremendously powerful tool for our own success because so often we spend our time and energy focusing on managing the details of our lives. We are simply reacting to whatever is thrown at us by others or simply by daily life. However in order to truly achieve success and achieve our goals then we must take the lead and that means acting. Simply by setting our ultimate goal and focusing our energy and time on that goal means that instead of reacting we are now taking action. That action means we have taken a leadership role in our own success. Simply by taking that action we are taking control of our own life and that is a very powerful step toward success.

If you want to achieve more success in your life then you must set one simple goal -- the ultimate goal for your life -- and you must get out in front of the goal to take action with your life instead of reacting all your life.

By: Deanna Mascle
Deanna Mascle shares more motivational and inspirational messages through her Advice Column blog at justfolks.net

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

Effective Goal Setting Made Easy

Effective Goal Setting Made Easy by Max Kezooki

The next time somebody tells you that setting goals is really a lot of hype, tell him this: if life is a journey, how will you get there if you don't have an itinerary?

Break down a single goal into little pieces

Regardless of your goal's size, you should have a plan of attack. Ask yourself: What do I know about this? What information do I have? What information do I need? Where can I get it? What skills do I need to master? What other resources should I use? Is this the best way to do it, or is there some other way?

If you start looking at a goal as something that can be approached from many sides, you will not be too intimidated by it. Plus, you will also keep a more realistic frame of mind, knowing what you are capable of and in what area you'll need help with.

Stop procrastinating

So you've heard this before. Big deal. Well, it is. Time wastage is one of the greatest crimes in history. If Henry Ford put off studying and tinkering with machines for another time, someone else would have improved on automobiles and he wouldn't have gone down in history as a pioneer.

If you're used to procrastination, being bullheaded about a goal can seem scary at first. Try to set a schedule and then reward yourself each time you meet it.

If you like putting off reconciling your accounts, try marking your calendar for two or three days and set a time limit for each day, say 15 minutes and then spend those minutes doing nothing but reconciling your accounts.

If you don't finish the job, no sweat - you only allotted a quarter of an hour anyway. But try to make some progress within the time frame you set. Once you condition your mind that you can actually do it within a certain time period, you won't find it too difficult to make schedules in the future.

Start small, but keep walking

Goals don't necessarily have to be big ones. When you set your goal too high, you might find it too overwhelming and time consuming and just give up, or make another one, just as big. It's akin to quitting cold turkey - there are setbacks.

To make goals believable and achievable, set them in small increments, complete with time, dates, amount, some details.

If you tell yourself, "I'm going to be an opera singer" and then sit around and wait for it to suddenly happen, you could be waiting all your life. Start with singing lessons for a month, and then a year and expose yourself to opera music. You can then progress to more singing lessons year after year.

By breaking down your goals in smaller, workable units, you are more likely to make them come true. Remember, even the great ones had to start somewhere.

Be positive when stating your goals

Instead of saying, "I am not going to mess my exercise routine today," say "I'm really busy, so I'll probably just make time for 20 minutes on the treadmill." Stating your goal positively will help you view it as a good thing to do, and not as a byproduct of what you had to avoid.

Spread out your goals

So maybe we do have certain general goals that apply to all areas of our lives like, "I want to be successful" or "I want to be rich" but those would seem as far away as the Niagara Falls viewed from Hawaii. Instead, try making tiny goals for different aspects of your life, one or two for each, even more if you like.

These areas are: family and home, career, social, physical, mental and spiritual. If you say, "I want to be a successful dad," then try to make goals towards the development of your family life while still keeping an eye out for ways to improve your career and other areas of your life.

Don't underestimate yourself

It's tempting to sometimes just slack off, or let yourself off too easy. If you want to write the definitive American novel, then don't try to churn out just a page or two a day when you know you are more than capable of writing five pages, even ten.

The fear of failure is sometimes to blame for setting our goals too low. How often have we said, "I don't really want to volunteer for that project 'cause I might screw it. And then my colleagues will make fun of me."

Remember that some fears are unfounded. How do you know you'll actually ruin it? And how do you know for sure your coworkers will laugh at your effort? If you try to reason with your fears, more often than not, you'll realize that there really is no reason for you to be reluctant and that in fact, you can do it.

Write it down

Putting your goal down on paper is more than just memorizing it. You are actually confirming your willingness to make it come true. A written list of goals is also an effective reminder of what you need to do and once you're done, a good review of your accomplishment.

Affirm it

Affirmation is really more than writing down, "I am going to buy my $750,000 home by Christmas" twenty times. It's actually being conscious not only of your thought processes, but also of your acts during the day.

If you're trying to save money and then you pass by a shop window where a great pair of shoes seems to have your name on it, think, "If I buy those shoes, would I be making my goal of saving easier? Will I be able to meet my deadline if I splurge just this once? A few months from now if I don't meet my deadline because I didn't save enough, would I feel good about it?"

Small decisions can have a great impact on you working towards your goal. Remember that your goals are your road maps to success in life. Without them, you can lose your way. Although you can always retrace your steps, you might not have the time, opportunity, energy or resources you once had when you could have made your goals happen one by one.

About the Author
Max Kezooki is passionate about helping others succeed in their career & personal life. For more tips on self-improvement, success & insomnia help, visit http://www.kezooki.com/blog

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

What Are You Waiting For?

What Are You Waiting For?

What are you waiting for? Statistically, we have an average life expectancy of just 75-80 years. In terms of history, that is not a great deal of time. Many of us will agree that those years seem to be flying by at warp speed. Depending upon your current age and perspective, the preceeding statistics may either seem like forever or the end may feel rather eminent.

Whatever your age, or position on your life's storyboard, there are seldom enough years to satisfy us, especially in terms of quality life expectancy. We always want more time. The paradox here is that we also believe that we have more than enough time to procrstinate, to tackle things later. We seem to have a long list of topics that we want to do or accomplish, however, in the absence of an action plan, we seldom are successful in accomplishing many of them.

So...What are you waiting for? How many people at the point just prior to their death will say "if only I" something. Life is short indeed. James 4:14 states that our lifetime is "but a vapor that appears for a little while then vanishes away." We obviously have little time to waste. We need to discover what is important to us, take immediate action and stay busy!

"I will start exercising tomorrow; Lost is on tonight." How often do we say something similar to that? Are you wasting your life away as a couch potato? Television offers little real, intrinsic benefit to us in the long run. In fact, it may be one of your biggest obstacles and time consumers. What else is standing in your way? What is causing you to remain static? What holds you back?

You simply do not have enough time to keep saying "someday I will." Someday must become today. Decide now to formulate a plan, take action and pursue your dreams today. You may not have tomorrow.

"If only I could travel, it would make me so happy. I feel so sluggish. If only I was younger, I would join a gym and get in shape. I have too much work to do. I'll play with the kids next weekend. One of these days, I am going to plant that garden I have always wanted. I would like to learn Spanish, but I'm too old to learn anything new." ... and so on it goes.

Can you find any real, compelling reasons as to why you are unable make any of the above kinds of dreams a reality? Life is too short. It passes-by quickly. Do not squander it? Do not live a life of regret. Do not set yourself up for punishment later saying "if only I had…"

Get busy and remain active. Make things happen. Learn new skills. Get educated. Become a player, not a spectator. Live life to the fullest and find new adventures everyday. Find the joy in what you do. This new paradigm, this change of thought, will jump-start your happiness, your career, your relationships and every other facet of your being. What more compelling reasons are there?

Daniel Sitter, author of both the popular e-book, Learning For Profit, and the highly anticipated book, Superior Selling Skills, has extensive experience in sales, training, marketing and personal development over a successful 25 year career. www.learningforprofit.com Experience his blog at ideaseller.typepad.com

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

4 Essentials to Stop Procrastinating

4 Essentials to Stop Procrastinating

“I have learned that most regrets come from the things I DIDN’T do. I have learned that regret lasts forever.” Simply Brilliant

Procrastination- putting off what you can do today until tomorrow. 7 years, 5 months, and 2 days later you’re wondering why you never started that book. It would have been completed. You could be reaping the rewards and writing full time. You see yourself sitting on the garden patio of your dream home surrounded by towering palms and luxurious flowers. As the ocean breeze glides across your face the telephone rings. You made the Best Seller List. In regret the vision is bright. In procrastination it’s doom and gloom. Back in the present you may be saying, ”There’s too much competition. No one will publish my book”. What if you flip flop the picture so you are pulled towards the intense vision you had in regret like it was a magnet. Why not create that vision sooner rather than later. Procrastination leads to stress, poor health, and regrets that last for life. Action results in fulfillment, life experience, and wisdom. Get the 4 steps to break through procrastination below.

Step 1- What are you procrastinating on? Is it appropriate to hold off or irrational postponement? Will this make a positive impact in your life? Choose the area that you will stop procrastinating and make a renewed commitment.

Step 2- Discover the source to find the solution. Consider when your car doesn’t start. You look for the source of the problem. When you find the source it is easy to take action to make the repair. Look behind procrastination to find what is restraining you. It may be an unpleasant task, lack of interest, someone else’s goal, a large overwhelming project, fear, poor time management, or indecision. Be brutally honest and get to the source.

Step 3- Based on the source; decide if this is a goal you want to keep. If so, choose a strategy that feels good to you. It may mean developing new habits. Discover the source and set up the strategy in a way that you know you will take action. Here are some possible sources and solutions to get your ideas flowing:

An Unpleasant Task/ Lack of Interest- Schedule it at the beginning of the day so it is not hanging over your head all day long. Think of how great you will feel to have it done. Reward yourself when you follow through.

Someone Else’s Goal- Set a boundary...say no or accept only the part of the job that you feel good about. If you can not say no (ex. employment situation) then you may choose to follow the above solution.

A Large Overwhelming Project- Break the project into small manageable tasks. What part can you do? What can you delegate? What is the first step? What daily steps can you take? A great solution for decluttering!

Lack of Focus Due to Multiple Projects- Prioritize the projects then break them down into small manageable tasks as in the step above. Focus on completion of one project at a time.

Fear- What is the fear telling you? Is it valid or an irrational assumption? Usually what we anticipate doesn’t occur. Picture the ideal end result. Affirmations and visualization can help. Focus on how great you will feel simply for having the courage to try. As Eleanor Roosevelt says, “you gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you stop to look fear in the face. Your must do the thing which you think you cannot do.”

Poor Time Management- Schedule a block of time daily or weekly to work only on this project. Keep the appointments. Begin with small blocks of time (whatever you can commit) until you are consistently keeping the appointments. Then consider committing more time.

Indecision- When you don’t know what to do set a deadline to make up your mind. Then get whatever support and information you need to be able to make an educated decision.

Step 4- Hold an intense vision- Think of that clear, exciting picture that shows up in regret. Allow that to pull you towards it. You have great capabilities when you take action, even if it’s learning in action. Focus on how great you will feel when you go for it! After all, it is through the journey that the great and memorable moments take place.

What project will you stop procrastinating on?
The first action I will take by _____ (date) is __________________________________(action). Starting Now!

Copyright 2006, Beth A. Tabak, All rights reserved.

By: Beth Tabak
Beth Tabak of www.startingnowcoaching.com”>www.StartingNowCoaching.com is a Business & Life Coach, speaker, columnist, & owner of Starting Now. She coaches big thinkers to move beyond limits, stand out in the crowd, and experience the vastness of their capabilities. Stop by to see all that’s available to you and say “hello”.

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

Easily Reach Your Goals With ASS

Easily Reach Your Goals With ASS by Rueben Carter

Goals are essential to creating a life filled with passion and prosperity. Whether it's obtaining financial freedom, mastering a foreign language, or being a great parent, goals provide a sense of purpose and achievement.

Okay, enough of the blabbering. You know the importance of goals, so why waste your precious time. This article was written to provide you with CONCRETE methods of goal fulfillment. By the time you've finished reading this article, you'll have learned how to reach your goals in a way that is both simple and convenient.

Reaching your goals is simple if you do it the right way. You're about to learn a method of goal reaching that'll make your goals easier to achieve, and will result in producing a sense of fulfillment and purpose. This system is based on the proven effectiveness of using your ASS.

If you aren't a complete idiot or pervert, you've probably guessed that ASS is an acronym.

So how do I use ASS to reach my goals? I'm glad you asked!

The first step in goal reaching is to ASPIRE.

Aspire to achieve something worthwhile. Something that will make a positive impact in your life or someone else's. Your goal must be noble enough to create a burning desire. You've got to be hungry for achievement. We often waste precious time by setting goals that we darn well know we won't accomplish. I hope you are at the point in your life where you know yourself well enough to know what motivates you, and what makes you excited.

I used to aspire to be a doctor. And that was one of the stupidest aspirations I've ever had. I really had no interest in all of the sciences and math that one must study in order to become a doctor. I did not want to be in school for all of my life. And I sure as hell didn't care about the ribosomes in the rough endoplasmic reticulum during protein synthesis. I was only interested in the financial benefits and social respect of becoming a doctor.

Be sure to choose a goal that you have a great interest in achieving. Most people set goals that they don't want to achieve. They only want the benefits of respect or monetary gain that comes from achieving such goals.

When you set your goal, make it something that you will be interested in a year from now. A year from now, will you still be interested in learning Spanish? Will it be relevant, useful, or worthwhile? Are you willing to work on it every day and will stop at nothing to achieve this goal? If not, you'll be wasting your time by pursuing this goal, because chances are you're not going to fulfill it.

Aspire to accomplish something that you will stop at nothing to achieve.

The next step in goal reaching is to SPECIFY.

What exactly do you want to achieve? What is your deadline for achieving it?

It's not very practical to set goals such as, "I want to have a lot of money by next year." You have to be very specific, and there's an important reason for this. The clearer you are in the definition of what you want to achieve, the easier it'll be for you to work towards achieving it. You wouldn't use a world atlas to find out how to get to Birmingham. You need a more specific map.

When you are specific in your mission, your brain is wired to become more aware of things relevant to your desires and the important things on your mind. Ever notice when you buy a new car, you start to notice all the other cars on the road just like yours? An effect similar to this is effectuated when you create specific goals. You are better able to identify the things that will help you reach your goals, and you will be more focused in achieving them.

Instead of setting general goals like "I will learn Spanish," set more specific goals with a time limit. "I will enroll in Berlitz Spanish classes by Friday of November 10th."

You will find that by creating more specific goals, a sense of urgency will ignite. This will increase your ambition and urge you to reach your goal before the deadline. A specific goal serves like your anal boss who tells you to have that project completed tomorrow if you like your job. With bills and kids to support, can you afford not to complete that project? Heck no!

Specify your goals and give yourself a time limit to accomplish them.

The last step in goal reaching is to SIMPLIFY.

Which would you rather do? Drink three gallons of breast milk, or drink 48 cups of breast milk? If you've actually answered that question, you're a weirdo.

It's often very convenient to break a large task into several smaller tasks. Let's say you have to write a term paper on the hazards of being stuck in an elevator with someone else's fart. Instead of doing the assignment all at once, you can break it down into smaller steps. First you can conduct scientific research on the properties of farts and the process of farting. Then you can weigh the significance of your findings. You might write an outline, rough draft, and then a final draft. You can even do this over a period of a few days.

Breaking tasks down not only makes the task get done quicker, but it also increases your confidence and your motivation once you accomplish each smaller task.

Simplifying your goals can also weaken the power of your number one enemy - procrastination. A very overwhelming goal can cause great procrastination, and stifle your motivation to ever attempt the goal. But a properly, simplified goal makes the venture seem not as big of a deal, and actually easier to accomplish. Henry Ford once said, "Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs."

If you have the goal of losing 24 pounds, try simplifying it to make it less daunting. Instead, tell yourself that you will lose 2 pounds a week for the next two months. This makes the goal seem more realistic and makes getting started easier.

Simplify your goals into smaller, manageable tasks.

And there you have it folks. If you use your ASS to set your goals, you'll be a super butt-kicking, goal-achieving machine. Aspire to achieve something worthwhile that creates a burning desire to succeed. Specify what it is you want to accomplish, and give yourself a deadline. Simplify your goal into smaller, easier jobs.

The only thing standing in the way of you and your goal is a choice. Choose to succeed.


About the Author
Discover The Power Of Thought
www.powerofthought.net

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

How To Avoid Procrastination

How To Avoid Procrastination

Are you like many people who put off what you know you should do in your daily life? We all delay doing some chores, but if you are finding yourself with more and more undone projects, maybe you are a victim of "procrastination". This gets to be a really demoralizing situation. If you accept the challenges that life provides, then you are more likely to live many years longer than those who spend their lives stressing about "getting things done" and never making the necessary moves to accomplish what needs doing.

If you are not being challenged in your daily life by your work or your living situation, then maybe it is just fear holding you back and you need to accomplish much more. Fear grips you so that you are not able to accomplish what you desire and so you put it off, making excuses not to accomplish the project. Eventually this can become a habit throughout all your facets of living.

Take these steps immediately:

1. Be organized - Start out small to accomplish the larger goal. Keep it simple one day at a time. Make a project chart for your larger jobs and put the smaller projects on your daily chart. Organize your day with a "TO DO LIST" and put the items down as rapidly as possible and do not worry about what order until the page is filled up. Then go back and rank what is most important . This way you can let the other items fall below what is most important and you can get to them later. What you do not get done one day can be added to the next day's list. I know this can be a hard habit to get into, but once you do it for a week or two, you will find it will be hard to get to sleep without your list made for the next day.

2. Divide Major Projects - If a project seems overwhelming,divide your major project into little pieces. It is all a matter of doing little bits of associated action and keep moving to the final goal.

3. Just get started - When you find yourself making excuses and putting things off, then you know that you are letting yourself go down the road to being a prisoner of procrastination. Just do not let yourself provide excuses. Start with your easiest task and proceed from there. You will have a greater sense of accomplishment when you make small insteps to the greater project than if you do nothing at all.

4. Outside help - Enlist outside help if you find it necessary to finish a project. There is nothing wrong with having help, whether you have to hire outside help or whether you encourage your family members to help on some projects. The idea is to make a goal sheet and keep on the projects you know are needed around your place and pick a start date so everyone knows how to schedule their time to be involved.

5. Reward Yourself - Finally, reward yourself and your crew when you finish a project. Getting a job done has taken a lot of effort, and you need to be good to yourself for fighting the procrastination demon. There is a wonderful feeling which comes over us when we know we have done a good job and can see the fruits of our labor. That is how the world works. As it has been said, this is a kill and eat world. You have to know how to make yourself set goals, work through the human desire to put things off, and finally to feel the sense of accomplishment and reward with completion of a project.

Do not put off having the things you want in life because you procrastinate. Give yourself the satisfaction of accomplishing the things you need and doing them within your goal period.
Remember You are always walking some path, whether you like it or not.

It is now or never - Get up and JUST START! DO IT!

By: Gisela Santibanez -
For more details visit: www.StartYourOwnBusinessOnline.com Gisela Santibanez

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

How To Start Small And End Big!

How To Start Small And End Big! by Mohamed Tohami

Attention please!

In this issue I am going to share with you one of the top secrets to maximum achievement.

Today is your last day of procrastination.

Today is your day of action.

Today is your day that leads to your bright future.

Are you excited?!

This secret has changed my life.

It transformed me from a big procrastinator to a man of action. And my actions led to big achievements.

It all started with discovering...

** The law of accumulation

...Which states that short term activities with time will lead to long term accomplishments.

When I first got to know this great natural law I was shocked of how easy long term accomplishments can be achieved!

Before I knew this law I was always looking at every task as a big bulk that should be started and finished in one shot.

But how far truth is from that!

Every great accomplishment started small and with incremental steps forward it turned into big achievements and massive success.

All what you need is to start. Start with the smallest possible action and build upon it.

Action that is as small as a short phone call, or reading one page in your favorite book.

With consistency and steady movement you will get to your destination where you will celebrate your massive success.

Start small and end big. This is the secret of greatness.

Now a word of caution!

**You have to be sure that you are moving in the right direction!

"Oh, that is very important!!", you are saying.

Because you may discover that after taking small actions one after the other and after some good long time you end up in a place where you never wanted to be in.

So, before you start you have to know your destination and to be sure that this is where you want to go, what you want to do and who you want to be.

Don't be like those who float with the winds!

Use the power of purpose. Knowing your purpose in life is the first step in building an extraordinary life and creating everlasting success.

I couldn't find illustration of that secret better than that of Matt Morris the CEO of "The Success University"...

*** "It's the consistent and steady movement in the right direction that makes the small incremental investments fairly painless and also creates the confidence and excitement to be truly self-motivated and driven toward your ultimate goals and purpose"

Yes! Nothing can be more truthful than that.

So it is all about knowing your purpose and your right direction, making incremental investments, and being consistent and steady.

These three unique facets make up the way to a guaranteed everlasting success and huge achievements.

NOW is a great time to embrace change.

My friend, it's your time to transform your life from making a living to making a difference.

Eliminate procrastination.

Start taking action now; small action after the other. A little bit does make a difference.

You're running a marathon, and you have to make sure that YOU WILL END IT BIG.

My friend you can make a difference.

I believe in you.

About the Author
Receive more free success tips and strategies with 8 special gifts when you sign up for "Make a Difference" Ezine at http://www.tohami.com. Mohamed Tohami (http://www.tohami.com) is a success mentor helping thousands of people worldwide to live a purposeful life and achieve their goals.

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

Time and Stress Management: Stop Procrastinating

Time and Stress Management: Stop Procrastinating

Time management and stress management—is there a relationship? Lack of time may not be the only thing that creates stress for people, but it certainly ranks as one of the highest in its frequency of occurrences. Also consider another situation where stress and time are related, but not due to lack of time. Here the stress stems from simply procrastinating, even when time is available. And...if you procrastinate on enough matters, then lack of time comes back into play again.

There is an old saying that eating a live frog first thing every morning will usually make the rest of the day seem pretty easy. That frog is your biggest project- the one that will produce the results that lead to your goals. It also tends to be the one on which you are most likely to procrastinate.

Summer months are a time that people often schedule projects. Sometimes the change of pace during this season leads people to plan catch-up days both at the office and at home. In some geographical locations it is because it is too hot to be outdoors, and in other cases it might be because work slows down during this period. Think back to your past summer:

*Did you have plans to work on tasks that you had been postponing until this time?
*Did you plan on someone else getting things done during these month?
*Were the chores that you had hoped to get done actually completed?
*If not, why?

If you had jobs scheduled and did not get them done, could procrastination be an issue? It is easy to always blame lack of time, but the truth is that you often have times when you could be working on those delayed tasks and you simply put them off.

Examine some of the reasons why people procrastinate.

There is no sense of urgency.
When a task does not come with a deadline, it can be easy to postpone, but that item will still nag at you. You start feeling guilty about not getting enough done, and the accumulation of incomplete activities in turn ends up adding to your daily stress.

Solution: Think of positive outcomes and set your own deadline.

You do not know where to begin.
The project is so large and detailed that you do not have a clear picture of the processes. It might have been fairly simple at the beginning but, by delaying, the project has now become overwhelming.

Solution: Write down, in order, the steps that need to be taken. You are more likely to tackle a small task than commit to a large block of time. Be sure to schedule each of the steps on your calendar.

It is not where your interests or skill levels lie.
You may dislike the chore, like filing or yard work, or it could be a project that you do not know how to do and have no interest in learning. You stall for days or weeks. Then when you finally have no choice, it is even worse than you expected.

Solution: Can you hire someone, or trade services? When you are interested in the work, you are certainly more efficient in accomplishing that task. If it is something you hate to do, try to find an alternative rather than allowing it to loom.

Do not let that frog get away for the day. Instead, leap right in, deal with the frog early in the morning and then jump to the next task. After all, eating that frog is often the means of providing you with your bread and butter.

By: Denise Landers
Denise Landers, a productivity trainer, is the author of Destination: Organization (www.keyorganization.com/destination.asp) and the owner of Key Organization Systems, Inc. (www.keyorganization.com).

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

A Solution For Laziness!

A Solution For Laziness! by Gary Tooth

To find a cure for laziness you first have to know what the problem is. Like anything in life, a solution can only be found once the problem is identified. Now you may think that lazy people simply need to get their backsides into gear and just get and go somewhere or do something, but quite often, it goes a lot deeper than that.

Laziness is often due to fear and insecurity. Now although that may sound a little crazy to start with, just think about it for a second. Why is it that so many folks complain about their jobs yet never take the time and effort to do anything about it? Fear! Plain and simply they are afraid of rejection, afraid of appearing inferior to the interviewers, afraid of what others may think if they fail to get the job and so on.

But the job scenario is just one example. Fear of failure can apply to just about anything, from ironing a shirt to baking a cake. It's often easier for many people to just sit around and do nothing than it is to face up to their fears and inferiorities. In fact, many lazy people don't even know they have a problem as denial justifies their non committal lifestyle.

The bottom line is that few bone idle people are truly happy procrastinating day in day out. Everyone knows the great feeling that comes with achievement, whether that's from cleaning the car, completing a marathon, or reaching some goal in life. Willpower alone is no cure for laziness, nor is forcefully and painfully trudging towards an aim. The only natural way to conquer laziness is by identifying those fears and learning how to face up to them either with or without professional help, but either way, they must be identified first in order to move forward.

Remember, f-e-a-r stands for False Evidence Appearing Real, and quite often it's a condition of the mind rather than a healthy concern over someone, some place, or something. Therefore, the answers can only come from within the idle one in order to find a cure for laziness. The question that the procrastinator has to ask themselves is simply this; 'What is it that I'm afraid of?' Once they can honestly pinpoint the problem they can jot it down on a piece of paper and move onto the next fear. Before long they should be able to see a pattern.

Once their fears are listed, it's time to know what to do about them, but that's for another article. There are also plenty of free resources online which can help guide someone through the next stage, or they could seek help from a professional who is trained in helping folks build up self esteem in the areas necessary.

Whether it's you or someone you are concerned about, I hope this short piece has given you a little insight into why people procrastinate and has inspired you to take, or to help someone else take, that first step towards conquering this awful and unnecessary condition.

About the Author
Gary Tooth is a proficient writer for Oriental Cures Dot Com where he has articles on Acupuncture School and Wart Cures. He also has other 'Cure & Remedy' related pieces on the site.

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

Are You Motivated But Stuck?

Are You Motivated But Stuck? by Caroline Jalango

Imagine this:

That assignment you have been waiting for has finally been handed over to you. Yet, for some reason, you find yourself literally struggling to accomplish the task. You just can't seem to be able to get the work done. You keep spinning your wheels and making no progress. You are stuck. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking and the deadline is fast approaching. The more you try to focus on the task at hand, the more anxious and stressed out you get.

It's not that you don't feel motivated, you do and it's not that the work isn't exciting or is something that you don't want...it is! You are aware of how important the task is and that it needs to get done as soon as possible. However, every time you try to work on it, you become confused, your eyes glaze over and your mind goes blank. You start second guessing yourself and questioning your competence. You even begin to wish for external reassurance that you are doing the right thing! Suddenly, this exciting opportunity seems like a bad idea and you feel like kicking yourself in the foot for accepting the assignment.

There is a lot riding on your commitment to complete the task and your "inner critic" swings into action reminding you of all the negative consequences awaiting you should you fail to accomplish the task. You realize that this unproductive state of affairs needs to end. Therefore, in an attempt to motivate yourself more and prevent procrastination from escalating, you silently scream to yourself..."I can do this! I can do this! I can get this done!"

Hey, wait a minute! Why are you so stressed out over something you really wanted?

What could possibly be going on?

* Fear of entering into new and uncharted territories. This is the first time you are doing something like this and you are nervous.

* Fear of not being competent enough to handle the task. You are not qualified to perform the task and you feel like an imposter.

* Not knowing what you need to do to accomplish the project. You have accepted the assignment without the necessary experience or knowledge about how to execute it.

* Fear of failing to meet the expectations. You are not confident that your work will meet the high standards of those who have assigned the task.

* Unclear expectations. You don't know what exactly it is that is expected of you and what the final result of your actions should look like.

* Working with the wrong people. You don't like or trust the person who has entrusted you with the task or feel that he/she is taking advantage of you.

* Working on the wrong goal. The project is appealing and you think you want it. However, it's not in alignment with your core values and beliefs and your conscious just won't let you get on with it.

What to do to resolve this situation.

* Collaborate with others. Get help from people who can help you complete the task. Delegate the work you can't do on your own.

* Ask for clarification on the matters that remain unclear. How can you possibly move forward with confidence if you don't know where you are headed?

* Ask for a deadline extension so you can get yourself together, resolve issues, get to know who it is you are working with and seek clarity or revisions on the contract if any.

* Break down the project into bite-sized pieces and schedule specific days to work on specific parts. This will prevent the overwhelm factor and make the project manageable.

* Conquer any internal fears you may have and just do it. Deal with the fear and see what happens. Learn from the experience and grow from it.

* Gather information and read books that focus on the area of your assignment. Find out how others are resolving the issues you are facing and apply those principles to your work.

* Tell the truth. Tell the person who has assigned the task that it appears that you miscalculated the magnitude of the project and that you may not be able to handle it all on your own. They may offer a solution or ask you to work on a specific area you can handle.

* Dump the project altogether if it's causing you excessive stress and if you truly believe you can't do it.

About the Author
Caroline is a life coach for women who are ready to take steps toward living an exceptional life. She helps women strike the match that sets them ablaze to discover who they are, explore and expand on what they can do and take action to achieve their goals. Are you settling for less than you deserve because you are stuck or are you stuck because you are settling for less than you deserve? Send your responses to Caroline@motivationzone.com or

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

Motivation – The Energy Behind Action

Motivation – The Energy Behind Action

Many people think motivation is just an emotion, or a thought. Its not! Motivation is the energy behind action.

No motivation and your actions are empty; without substance. However, if you add motivation to your actions, they become powerful and effective.

Motivation is the sister of intent, and together, they make us effective or ineffective people.

How is Motivation Energy?

Motivation begins with a thought or a desire. These thoughts or desires have real energy within them, and they energize whatever they touch. If these are in conversation, they energize your speech and the hearing of those that listen to them. This is a fact.

Every good salesman knows he cannot sell anything unless he is motivated and believes what he is doing is also good for those who buy. If the salesman is not “sold”, he will never sell. Being sold is his motivation energizing his thoughts, speech and finally actions.

The fact that motivation is energy is seen most easily in those people whose task it is, to convince others. You simply cannot convince others unless you are convinced. You cannot be convinced unless you are motivated.

Motivation Dispels Procrastination

Putting things off; a common human trait, is also a cause of a great many human ills and unhappy situations. If you are motivated, however, you “just do it” as the slogan goes, and step by step you eventually progress.

Do not procrastinate. If you do, you’re ideas, your thoughts become impotent, and you become impotent with them.

How to Become Motivated

There is an old prayer, where a saint is walking along with road in his bare feet, his shoes long ruined and discarded. He prayed for shoes. Just then he saw a man without feet! He withdrew his prayer, and thanked God for all his blessings.

You need no more to become motivated than to realize if you are reasonably healthy, and have the basics of life, you are more than well off. Your motivation then should be to be better in what you do, how you look, what you say, and most of all, how you are.

One needs no more than to realize most of the people in the world do not have the basics of life, yet they survive. If you ponded that thought, your motivation comes of itself.

Turning Motivation into Action

This is the easiest part of the discussion. One turns motivation into action by setting goals. Your goals must be somehow realistic, and somehow achievable. They should be (in part anyway) achievable in a reasonable amount of time. Motivation somehow needs some reward, like a horse needing a bit of sugar after working a while.

Your actions, now charged with motivation, and having a destination (goal) are the stuff that built empires. The stuff that put man on the moon, and every other wonderful achievement in man’s history.

You can apply these simple facts in your life, and you will see it improve for the better, no matter what. You must be motivated, and your motivation will energize your actions. An action, energized by motivation, and having a goal has a very large chance of success, regardless of its magnitude.

By: Sacha Tarkovsky
MORE FREE INFO for more information on motivation and all other areas of how to improve your life visit our website for a variety of features articles at www.net-planet.org/index.html

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

Are You Motivated But Stuck? Stop Procrastinating Today!

Are You Motivated But Stuck? Stop Procrastinating Today! by Caroline Jalango

Imagine this:

That assignment you have been waiting for has finally been handed over to you. Yet, for some reason, you find yourself literally struggling to accomplish the task. You just can't seem to be able to get the work done. You keep spinning your wheels and making no progress. You are stuck. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking and the deadline is fast approaching. The more you try to focus on the task at hand, the more anxious and stressed out you get.

It's not that you don't feel motivated, you do and it's not that the work isn't exciting or is something that you don't want...it is! You are aware of how important the task is and that it needs to get done as soon as possible. However, every time you try to work on it, you become confused, your eyes glaze over and your mind goes blank. You start second guessing yourself and questioning your competence. You even begin to wish for external reassurance that you are doing the right thing! Suddenly, this exciting opportunity seems like a bad idea and you feel like kicking yourself in the foot for accepting the assignment.

There is a lot riding on your commitment to complete the task and your "inner critic" swings into action reminding you of all the negative consequences awaiting you should you fail to accomplish the task. You realize that this unproductive state of affairs needs to end. Therefore, in an attempt to motivate yourself more and prevent procrastination from escalating, you silently scream to yourself..."I can do this! I can do this! I can get this done!"

Hey, wait a minute! Why are you so stressed out over something you really wanted?

What could possibly be going on?

* Fear of entering into new and uncharted territories. This is the first time you are doing something like this and you are nervous.

* Fear of not being competent enough to handle the task. You are not qualified to perform the task and you feel like an imposter.

* Not knowing what you need to do to accomplish the project. You have accepted the assignment without the necessary experience or knowledge about how to execute it.

* Fear of failing to meet the expectations. You are not confident that your work will meet the high standards of those who have assigned the task.

* Unclear expectations. You don't know what exactly it is that is expected of you and what the final result of your actions should look like.

* Working with the wrong people. You don't like or trust the person who has entrusted you with the task or feel that he/she is taking advantage of you.

* Working on the wrong goal. The project is appealing and you think you want it. However, it's not in alignment with your core values and beliefs and your conscious just won't let you get on with it.

What to do to resolve this situation.

* Collaborate with others. Get help from people who can help you complete the task. Delegate the work you can't do on your own.

* Ask for clarification on the matters that remain unclear. How can you possibly move forward with confidence if you don't know where you are headed?

* Ask for a deadline extension so you can get yourself together, resolve issues, get to know who it is you are working with and seek clarity or revisions on the contract if any.

* Break down the project into bite-sized pieces and schedule specific days to work on specific parts. This will prevent the overwhelm factor and make the project manageable.

* Conquer any internal fears you may have and just do it. Deal with the fear and see what happens. Learn from the experience and grow from it.

* Gather information and read books that focus on the area of your assignment. Find out how others are resolving the issues you are facing and apply those principles to your work.

* Tell the truth. Tell the person who has assigned the task that it appears that you miscalculated the magnitude of the project and that you may not be able to handle it all on your own. They may offer a solution or ask you to work on a specific area you can handle.

* Dump the project altogether if it's causing you excessive stress and if you truly believe you can't do it.


About the Author
Caroline is a life coach for women who are ready to take steps toward living an exceptional life. She helps women strike the match that sets them ablaze to discover who they are, explore and expand on what they can do and take action to achieve their goals. Are you settling for less than you deserve because you are stuck or are you stuck because you are settling for less than you deserve? Send your responses to Caroline@motivationzone.com.

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

Accomplishing Anything Through Goal Setting.

Accomplishing Anything Through Goal Setting.

Often in life we are faced with projects or tasks that simply appear to be insurmountable. When we are given a project of this magnitude it is important that we know how to go about dealing with it.

Any task that we have to tackle can be compared to the action of building a house. You don't go out and build a house in a day, do you? No, you build it up one thing at a time until you have a completed structure. This simple principle holds true for any other task that you may face. To accomplish anything, you simply break it down into a set of smaller tasks.

Okay, this may sound simple beyond anything you have ever heard said before, but the most important part of accomplishing your goals is to simply set them as goals. Unfortunately, many people fail to do even this simple task. When asked what are they working towards, they may not even have an answer!

Maintaining Focus By Accomplishing Manageable Pieces

It is important that if you do not already have the skill of maintaining focus that you learn it. Look at your current project; ask what needs to be done? Then pick a task. Pick any one of the tasks that need to be completed in order to finish the larger goal that you are working towards.

Did you notice in the previous section that I said ONE? Not a handful, not a dozen or two. Just one. This is very important. By focusing on just one task at a time you will actually make some headway, and ultimately end up completing the task you are working on.

Some of you may balk at the thought of only having one task to work on. I can hear your protests, you feel you will get bored or that your abilities are best used tackling the whole project. If you feel that you need to have more than one thing on the go, and that you need to switch between tasks to "Stay Fresh", then I strongly suggest that you limit yourself to just two tasks. I understand that some people need to do this in order to remain productive. But by limiting yourself to just two tasks at a time you will be able to make much more significant headway, while still being able to switch back and forth between tasks.

If you decide not to use this approach, and instead tackle the entire project head on, What you will likely end up with is twenty or thirty parts of the project that are in varying stages of completion. But most likely not even one of these parts will have been completed.

Instead of taking the project on head first, try to focus on only a few, preferably just one or two, really specific tasks until they are completed. Once they are completed you can then move onto other tasks, secure in the knowledge that you are making progress.

Setting Deadlines and Sticking With Them

It is vital to your success that you set realistic deadlines for the tasks that you are working on, and for the project as a whole. Setting appropriate deadlines is a "Science" all on its own, and we won't go into how it is done here. It is just important for you to understand a few very basic principles for setting deadlines. Make them realistic, but also make sure they add pressure to getting the task done.

It is important that you find the right balance between these two. Otherwise you will either cause yourself too much stress, or you will set goals that do not add enough pressure to the tasks at hand.

Lets use writing a book as an example. Lets say you are going to write a novel in one month (nanowrimo.org). Now, writing a novel is a huge task. But when you break it down into smaller pieces it quickly becomes achievable. The NaNoWriMo challenge, held every year in November, is a great lesson in setting deadlines and sticking with them. You set the ultimate goal, write a 50000-word novel. You set the absolute deadline, one month - November.

And then you have at it.

By breaking the task down into daily portions, many thousands of people, who otherwise would be unlikely to do so, are able to succeed at writing a complete novel in a one-month period.

Completing The Project and Rewarding Yourself

The great thing about breaking a large task down into a bunch of smaller tasks is that it also allows you to give yourself smaller rewards as you work through the project. Each time you finish one of the tasks, take some time and reward yourself with a special treat. This will help to keep you motivated, and will reinforce your understanding that you are infact making progress.

But don't forget, once you have completed the project, one step at a time, and everything is done that is the time when it is really important that you reward yourself for a job well done. Celebrate your accomplishments! Bask in the glory! Pat yourself on the back!

And now that you have completely finished your project, you can begin that next project that you have been itching to get started.

Visit The Scruffy Scribe for more discussion about productivity techniques and improving your writing.

By: Scruffy Scribe
ScruffyScribe.com is a great place to pick up tips and advice to help you improve your writing. You Can Also Get Free Gifts.

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

Tips & Methods to Stop Procrastinating!

Tips & Methods to Stop Procrastinating!

Rationalize!
Rationalize things! This is one of the best methods to overcome most physiological problems that you may have.

Now, that you know how procrastination works and what its causes are, you can easily do this exercise…Here are the simple steps:

1. Realize that you are procrastinating!
2. Try to understand why exactly you are procrastinating
3. Rationalize those reasons and over come them…
4. Begin the task!

It pretty simple, you do not really need 4 steps! We have just mentioned them so that you understand what you are doing. What you need to do is, first understand that you are procrastinating, figure out WHY you are doing it, convince yourself that you are acting foolish and stop! Then begin the work.

Here is something you can use to write your thoughts. It will take 5 mins to actually do this, but it will save you all the time you spend procrastinating. So, I am suggesting that you "actually" fill out this form! I know it feels stupid, but just give it a shot…

I am delaying on _____________ because…

Reasons for delay:
1. _________________________
2. _________________________
3. _________________________
4. _________________________
5. _________________________

Arguments against delay:
1. _________________________
2. _________________________
3. _________________________
4. _________________________
5. _________________________

And so I was just procrastinating and I must begin the task!




Here are some other tools that will help with procrastination…

Make the tasks look small and easy in your mind. ("I've written lots of excellent papers; this is just one more paper.")

Do only a small part of the task each time. ("I'll just check out the books tonight. Later on, I'll glance through them.")

Five-minute plan: Work on something for just five minutes. At the end of five minutes, switch to something else if you want. Chances are, you'll get involved enough to keep going.

Advertise your plans to accomplish something, and let peer pressure push you forward. ("I told everyone that I was going to finish this tonight.")

Use a good friend as a positive role model. If you have trouble concentrating, study in the presence of someone who doesn't.

Modify your environment - if you can't study at home, find a place where you can study; or, change your study situation at home.

Some people find that simply writing down reasonable starting and stopping times help them get going.

Finally, you must understand that, in it's most fundamental form, you procrastinate to avoid frustration. Procrastinators, postpone to avoid frustration. So, you will have to understand and accept this. You will have to train yourself to have a higher level of frustration taking capacity. All this is easier said than done, I know! But work on it. Solve your problems….If you do you will get a whole lot of work done and will be a much much happier person guaranteed!

Personal Note: Generally, the information I provide on indiahowto.com is all from recognized and established sources. They are never personal opinions. However, here I would like to share with you a personal tip I have used to help me with procrastination or any problem that I have...

To solve my procrastination problem, I took a piece of paper and wrote on it in big bold letters, "You are a procrastinator, and you will destroy all your dreams if you do not learn to control your-self!" I stuck this paper on a wall right in front of where I sit. It is what I see when ever I look up so I am constantly aware of it. This keeps me from slipping. I am reminded that I must not procrastinate! That way, now-a-days I am able to waste very little time procrastinating! Besides that, the other techniques I have mentioned above also help a lot!

Best of luck!

Jai Hind!

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

Structured Procrastination! - New age technique to stop procrastinating

Structured Procrastination! - New age technique to stop procrastinating!
By Khoj Badami

This method for getting work done, was suggested by John Perry who is a Stanford Professor! The idea is to use procrastination to beat procrastination. How?

Pretty simple. You see, procrastinators keep postponing important / difficult / frustrating work and they convince them selves that some other work is more important. Procrastinators are not exactly time wasters. They are never doing absolutely NOTHING! They are always doing something but not the most important thing. They convince them selves that they must postpone the current task to do a more important task.

So, if you want to beat procrastination, you can get a lot of work done by always keeping your hands full. If you have 5 items on your to-do list today, make them ten items. Put tomorrows 5 items on today’s list. Now, when you sit to do stuff, you will try to start the most important work, but you will postpone it. You will decide to pick up some other work on your to-do list and do it instead. When that is done, you might still postpone the most important work, and do something else that is on the list.

So, you keep postponing the most important work by doing all the other less important work that is on your list. That way, you actually end up getting all your other work done! You will be able to get a lot of work done this way! You will get all the most important work postponed and do the less important work.

I know the idea may sound a little childish. However, it does actually work. If you keep your to-do list full at all times, you will be able to actually use procrastination to get all your work done! In-fact because you are a procrastinator, you will be able to get more done than anybody else! Don’t believe us, try it!

Now, you are probably wondering, what about the important work that you keep procrastinating? Here is the key to this technique. Choose some work that is a little difficult / frustrating / time consuming / boring etc. and convince your self that the work is a BIG CHORE! When you select this work, make sure that the work is not really important. Even if you do it much later, it will not have that much of an effect on things. But in your mind, you need to convince your self that it is an important job. Make this the activity at the top of the list that you keep procrastinating. Now, even if you do not do this "most important work" for some time, things will be fine. But you can still use this to get your other work done.

We know, that you may be reading the above paragraph and thinking that all this is very immature and childish and that it will not work. But, it will! Procrastinators have a knack for convincing them selves. That is why they are procrastinators. Now, you have to convince your-self and use this talent to your advantage.

Try it out! It works!…Everyone has their own style of structured procrastination. The basic idea is the same: Procrastinate some work by doing other work. In effect getting a lot of work done!

Next we will look at some other simple methods that you can use to overcome your procrastination!

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

Stop procrastinating and make sure your child does not become a procrastinator!

Stop procrastinating and make sure your child does not become a procrastinator! By Khoj Badami

In this section we will try to understand how one becomes a procrastinator and how you can make sure that your child does not turn into one. Even though, this explanation is small, we have given it an individual page so that you would take it seriously and try to make sure that your child does not turn into a procrastinator!

Procrastinators are made. Nobody is born a procrastinator. On of the main reasons why children turn into procrastinators is because, they have strict parents. If you have strict parents who tell you exactly what is to be done, when it is to be done and how it is to be done, you never develop the ability to do things on your own. You never develop the ability to decide what you should do and schedule your time your-self and do it. You always need to be told what is to be done. This is the root cause of procrastination. Later on in life, it takes on different forms as we discussed in the previous pages.

Another major cause of procrastination is “rebellion”. When you have strict parents, who tell you how you should do every little thing, you try to rebel against them and not do anything. This turns into procrastination. And your friends who are tolerant to the excuses you give them, further support this procrastination!

So, how do you make sure your child does not grow up to be a in-efficient procrastinator? Obvious isn’t it! Let you child learn to do things by himself/herself. Give your child the freedom to choose to do things on time or postpone things. Whenever they do things on time, reward the child. Let the child know that he/she has done something right.

If you do not do this and do all the thinking and scheduling for the child, he will never ever try to think about such things and will finally turn into a in-efficient procrastinator.

Raising children is a very delicate business. Do it properly! If you do not, the child will not grow up to be as efficient or self-confident or self-controlled as everyone else. For no fault of his, he will be at a disadvantage. When he/she understands all this, he/she will blame you.

This was an important issue and so we brought it up! Now, let us look at some techniques you can use to overcome procrastination. First, a very interesting new age procrastination overcoming technique called “Structured Procrastination”…..

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.

To Stop Procrastinating, First Learn Why We Procrastinate - Complex reasons!

To Stop Procrastinating, First Learn Why We Procrastinate - Complex reasons!
By Khoj Badami

Anger or Hostility:

When you feel anger or hostility towards the person you are doing the particular task for, you will procrastinate doing the task. Why? To get even with the person! To fight back with the person.

For example: Assume that you are a student and you are sitting in the class of a very irritating professor. Now, suppose that the professor gives you some long assignment to complete. You are very likely to procrastinate doing this assignment. You will procrastinate telling your self something like, “Haad, nai karra main uska assignment! Kya karenga woh? ”

Basically you procrastinate to rebel against the professor. But, the problem is, when the time to submit the assignment comes, you will have to rush though it and submit it last minute. You will do a bad job on it.

How do you make sure you do not make this mistake? Understand what you are feeling. Understand that if you postpone doing the task, it is going to affect you later. You do not want an irritating professor or some stupid boss destroy your future, right? So do not let your anger come in the way of things.

Low frustration tolerance:
If you do not have the capacity to take too much frustration, you will have a tendency to procrastinate things. The problem is that, whenever you sit to do a particular task, if you feel that doing the task will be frustrating, then the amount of frustration involved overwhelms you. You try to find a way to escape all that frustration. So you end up not doing that task. You postpone the task.

To overcome this, you could try to find someone who can help you doing the task. If some one is an expert on the task, they will show you the right way. This will help you do the task in the future without all the frustration involved.

But, you may not always be able to find someone. You need to have a higher tolerance to frustration. You can develop this by trying to accomplish what you are doing no matter how hard it is. Even when it is frustrating, stick to it! Do not quit. All this is easier to say than do, I know!

Self-Downing:
Some people have a tendency to continuously put them selves down. For example: These people will constantly say stuff like, “No, it was just luck!” or “No, I cannot work that fast! I am very slow at work!”

If you do this, you are most likely also a procrastinator! You do not believe in your-self and you do not believe in your success. So, to avoid success or the “lime light” you sub-consciously try not to succeed. You do this by procrastinating.

How to solve this problem? Firstly do not put your self down constantly. Except compliments about your work that people give you. If someone says, “Good job!” say “Thank You!” do not say, “It was my luck!”

Figure out why you feel uncomfortable with success. Did some important people in your life often make you feel that way? Were you taught to minimize your success? Why is success so scary? Will it make you stand out in the crowd? Do you feel as though others will not accept you if you are successful? Also, when ever you do something well, praise yourself for it! Take a few seconds to enjoy the good work that you have done!

Perfectionism:
Some people are perfectionists or are forced to be perfectionists. And because of this, they turn into procrastinators. Why? When you have a very very high standard for everything you do, all the work that you do requires a LOT of effort. Because of this, you will try to escape all the effort by simply procrastinating your work! It’s easier to just not do the work than to take all the effort and do it perfectly. Perfectionist, say things like, “I will either do it right! Or I will not do it at all!”

How to solve this problem? I am sorry to say this but, you will have to lower your standards. You will have to start excepting things that are not 100% okay! Make an effort to actually praise what work you have done. Perfectionism is a problem that comes out of self-doubt or self-esteem. So you must learn to be confident of your self and your abilities.

Now, you understand all the causes that make people procrastinate. You probably understood really well one or two of these causes because they are the specific problems that affect you. Now, it is important that when you procrastinate in your daily life, you try to identify why exactly you are procrastinating and overcome it.

Generally procrastinating is due to some physiological issue that you must resolve. The above provided tricks can help, but what will really help is if you go to a good therapist, and ask him/her to identify your problems and get them resolved. Unfortunately not everyone has the time or the money to do this. But, if you do have the resources, use them. Go to a therapist and ask him/her to help you with your procrastination problem. This will help you a lot!

Now, before we go into other ways to overcome your procrastination, let us quickly understand how you can make sure that your children do not suffer from the procrastination problem that you face…

Stop Procrastinating Now - Here's How! Discover the guaranteed methods that will immediately eliminate procrastination from your life.