Get Things Done Now by Kerul Kassel

Plagued by the temptation of procrastination? Would you like this year to be your year for procrastination renunciation? If you think overcoming procrastination is only about willpower and discipline, think again. Read The Top Ten Critical Skills To Get Things Now and Overcome Procrastination Forever and start fresh with a new perspective, and new tools for procrastination elimination.

1. Stop Procrastination Condemnation – Lose the Labels! This skill is really easy. Notice when your inner critic is saying nasty things to you. All those things you call yourself, such as lazy, scattered, disorganized, not good enough, incompetent, or stupid, for example, aren’t helping you get things done, are they?  You’ve learned to believe them, and you think they’ve become something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you look around yourself, though, you’ll see evidence that you can accomplish quite a number of things without delay.
2. End Procrastination Exaggeration – This new skill muscle involves telling the truth about your habits. About a third of the time that clients tell me they’re procrastinating, they’re really not. Are you really procrastinating, or are you simply focusing on other priorities? It’s possible that those things you’re not doing shouldn’t get done until sometimes later, perhaps not at all. Focus on only the most significant areas first, and the rest will come.
3. Overcome Procrastination Temptation – This skill requires you to notice who you’re hanging with and how they affect you. It also means you’ll be spending less time with those who are a bad influence. If you hang out with people who coax you to procrastinate, it’s time to start surrounding yourself with better examples. If you know certain situations are too enticing and will lure you from following through, create a work-around plan that will help you prevent yourself from “taking the bait”.
4. Minimize Procrastination Alienation – This is a skill that’s pretty quick to develop. You think you’re alone in your procrastination, or that it’s worse than other people’s. That makes you feel more overwhelmed, and less likely to follow through. It also makes you feel like you have something to hide. Cultivate the awareness that you’re not alone, and are, in fact, in excellent company. Most people procrastinate about something, sometimes about many things. In a recent survey on procrastination, almost 1/3 of respondents who identified themselves as procrastinators had a post-graduation or higher education.
5. Reduce Procrastination Inclination – This is a critical procrastination elimination skill! At the moment you are about to procrastinate, stop for just a moment to acknowledge the pattern, even if you continue to put off whatever you were going to do. Awareness and acceptance that these are your current patterns is a necessary step in procrastination extermination.
6. End Procrastination Perspiration – This is another pattern recognition skill. You probably think that the only way to stop procrastinating is to use willpower and discipline. While that certainly can work, it can cost you a lot of energy and struggle. And it’s not sustainable. Cultivate awareness of what is specifically in the way of following through (Difficulty? Boredom, Tedium, Conflicting desires?). Accept that you’re feeling this and that it doesn’t need to stop you. Creating simple new workaround patterns isn’t hard. When you do, progress is pretty painless and immediate. For more information, check out the Procrastination Solutions Kit at Stop Procrastinating Now.
7. Become adept at Procrastination Exploration – What is your procrastination costing you? This skill involves openness and willingness to accept the price you’re paying for putting things off. Do you have a procrastination reputation with your boss? Do you continually have to make procrastination explanations or reparations to others? Are you in procrastination isolation so nobody will know what you’re not doing? Is your credit history in procrastination degradation because of paying bills late? Are you in procrastination desperation because you might lose your job or significant relationships? Understanding how badly you’re paying and in exactly what ways can motivate you to action or provoke you to seek assistance.
8. Practice Procrastination Consultation – Invest in your success regularly and foster a desire to try new things, even if they seem silly. Talk with friends about how they overcame procrastination. Buddy with them on their own projects, holding each other accountable to get things done. Hire a procrastination coach, someone who has worked with hundreds of people and not only knows about procrastination generation, but has helped many veteran procrastinators with procrastination renunciation. Join the Procrastivity MasterMind and get the regular, ongoing motivation, awareness, support, and accountability that WILL get you to your goals: Procrastivity.
9. Get ready for Procrastination Transformation – nothing helps you achieve more easily than knowing all the steps you need to take, having a plan to take them, scheduling that plan into your calendar, creating incentives to make following through more attractive (and consequences to make it less attractive!), and putting some accountability supports into place. This, combined with a simple procrastination meditation (see the Dissolving Overwhelm Exercise in my book (Productive Procrastination – Making It Work For You, Not Against You), will get you back on track quickly and easily. This planning skill set doesn’t take much effort and reaps really big results. Like the skill of dancing, it feels a little awkward at first, but the more often you practice it the easier it gets and the better it feels.
10. Expect Procrastination Emancipation – Once you’ve fully understood that one of the big reasons you’ve been procrastinating is that you’re focusing only on finishing (and that’s too daunting) you’ll begin to instead concentrate on starting, which is a much more approachable and manageable way to get thing done. All you need to do is keep starting, and finishing will take care of itself!

© Kerul Kassel is the author of  “Productive Procrastination” and “Stop Procrastinating Now.” Her experience includes investment and real estate management as well as 20 years of leadership in for-profit and non-profit organizations. As the founder of New Leaf Systems – a consulting firm dedicated to creating higher performance outcomes and business profitability – her clients have included corporate organizations such as NASA, Sony Hilton, and Volvo. For more information or for a free special procrastivity report, visit Procrastivity.

And to help you with your productivity learn a simple system to finish your unfinished business. Experience the relief of confirming, carrying out, and completing your personal and professional commitments with the teleseminar Finish Your Unfinished Business, available for immediate download!