Many a person lives on Someday Isle. They’re convinced that “someday I’ll do that” or “someday I’ll go there.”
The science of physics recognizes two kinds of inertia – both of which can be related to procrastination. The first law states, “Standing objects tend to remain stationary.” The second law is the inverse: “Moving objects tend to stay in motion.” We experience these laws nearly every time we are passengers in a car. When the car accelerates again after coming to a complete stop at a stop sign, we are in a state of stationary inertia, and unless the driver puts his foot on the gas pedal, we remain stationary. We feel our mass as we are forced back into the seat when the car takes off from the light. A few miles down the highway, however, a light may turn red very suddenly, and the driver slams on the brakes. Our tendency as passengers is to keep right on going right out of our seats. Only our seat belts prevent us from moving forward. We brace ourselves to stop -putting on our own internal “brakes.”
Procrastination is stationary inertia. We aren’t moving, and we therefore don’t move!
Procrastination overcome, however, moves us into the arena where the law of motion takes over. We frequently find that once we’ve started a project or process, we stay with it until completion. One of my favorite sayings from my friend Dr. Robert Schuller is posted on my word processor: “BEGINNING IS HALF DONE!” (I’ve modified it to say, “BEGINNING IS HALF WON!”) The first step toward success will be the biggest one that most people take.
Here are seven techniques to overcome procrastination I’ve found very helpful in my life and in the lives of others who have achieved success:
1. Take five minutes to identify what you are putting off. On a blank sheet of paper, note several important activities that you realize you are delaying or have put on hold.
2. Look at your list of tasks and do one of them right now. Put the energy you’ve been directing toward excuses into the activity you’ve been avoiding. You’ll no doubt discover that action eliminates anxiety. Enjoy the satisfaction of a job completed, a chore done, a discussion held, a decision reached, a letter written, a project started.
3. If getting started is the hard part for you, set a designated time slot in the day to work on the list. For example, you may choose to mark your calendar for Tuesday at noon. Set aside thirty minutes of your lunch hour for work specifically on that one job, project, or personal goal (such as a physical workout) that you’ve been avoiding or find difficult to start. You’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish in one focused half-hour period each week.
4. Don’t worry about perfection.
What counts is quality of effort, not perfect results. Don’t let yourself get bogged down with a preoccupation for perfectionism. Recognize that nothing in life is ever going to be perfect and that your concern for perfection may significantly slow you down in reaching goals you have set for yourself. Too many people are waiting for “just the perfect setting,” “just the right situation,” or “just the right opportunity.” That perfect context may never come along! Virtually any project, job, or situation can be edited in progress. Midcourse corrections are nearly always possible. As a man once said to me, “It’s easier to steer a car that’s in motion.” Get started, and decide to manage changes in direction as the need for them may arise along the way.
5. If what you are putting off involves other people, consult with them.
Your reasons for delaying action may be imaginary. Lack of communication often turns molehills into mountains, making procrastination seem more justified and starting a project more of a chore than it really is.
6. If you fear the consequences associated with the action you’ve been avoiding, ask yourself, What’s the worst thing that could happen If I did this today?
The worst-case scenario most likely would be a minor inconvenience or a temporary setback, not a collapse of an entire relationship, project, or career.
7. Vividly picture how you’ll feel once the task is done.
You’ll have a sense of relief. Freedom from anxiety. Freedom from nagging pressures. Freedom from self-doubt. Accomplishing put-off tasks usually gives a person a great boost of confidence and energy. Use that energy to pursue yet another chore or decision about which you have been procrastinating!
Ground breaking requires TNT. It means blasting your way out of failure or apathy. It means overcoming procrastination and breaking ground necessary for you to move forward. My definition of TNT is this:
Today
Not
Tomorrow
That’s constructive TNT. Put some of it to work for you today.
