I have a great book on procrastination and some day I am going to stop putting it off and find time to read it!  They say knowing your weaknesses is the first step in overcoming them! I know I am an outstanding procrastinator!  I am also great at rationalizing! I tell myself I work great under deadline pressure that’s why I put things off! Which also brings on stress, of course, which should be reason enough to stop procrastinating.

You might know the feeling!  Did you ever cram for an exam in high school or college? As you stared at your books in the wee hours of the morning, your eyes blurring up from lack of sleep (I was never into no-doze), you made yourself a promise right then and there!  YOU WOULD NEVER DO THIS AGAIN! Next time you would improve your study habits and be consistent throughout the semester so it would never again come to this!  Then next semester would come around and you found yourself right back at your desk in the wee hours of the morning promising the same thing!

Some people never learn! As I grow older, I grow wiser! Or maybe just less dumber! I have learned how to deal with procrastination!  Basically, it’s a simple four-step process.  The hard part is just doing it! 

I have already talked about the first step. If you procrastinate, admit it! You need to look in the mirror, hold up your hand and say “My name is (please insert your name here) and I am a procrastinator!”   Like I said earlier, you cannot correct a weakness without acknowledging it.  If you don’t think you have a problem, there’s nothing to work on now, is there?

The second step is to make up “a things-to-do list.” Whether it’s computerized (there are many time-management programs that do this) or just on a plain old tablet of writing paper, it doesn’t matter, just make one immediately!  

A little warning here. We all know that one of the greatest thrills in making up a list is crossing off items! Be careful that you don’t fool yourself into thinking you are being productive by crossing out those little things your need to do and avoiding the really important items that are on your list.

There are times I find myself crossing out items like (4) sharpen pencils, (5) buy copy paper and (6) clean off my desk, while items like (1) prepare keynote speech, (2) design seminar overheads and (3) write website newsletter are still there, as you tell yourself “I can do those tomorrow.”  

Like the famous song says, “tomorrow is a day away!” You see, “tomorrow” never comes, because “today” shows up instead.  Don’t get caught in this trap, because I have been there!  You give yourself a false sense of accomplishment!

That’s why we need the third and fourth steps! Highlight the things you put off!  And then DO THEM IMMEDIATELY!  Believe me, it works. I am a prime example of it.

In case your are wondering, the reason I wrote about procrastination as the topic of my first newsletter, it was another example of my constant battle to overcome one of my major weaknesses.  I’ve been working on this part of my website for three months and I finally accomplished it!

If it works for me, anyone can overcome it.  Take my word for it!

"Be A Hit and Have A Ball!"