Here’s the scene: You're sitting on the couch, munching away, watching your favorite shows while in the back of your mind you hear “you really should be taking care of such and such instead of sitting here…” Has this voice ever reared its ugly (but true) head?

One of the issues we are all currently dealing with this week is PROCRASTINATION. Here’s something funny I’ll share with you – I usually write these articles on Sunday’s, but wasn’t feeling it last night so I did what? I PROCRASTINATED. I consider the delay as doing research on my topic

So, the first question that pops into my crazy head is: “Why do we procrastinate?” Why do we put things off that we KNOW we need to do? Why do we AVOID doing that project? Why do we bury our heads in the sand? Do we really think that if we ignore it that it will go away? Perhaps someone else will take care of it?

Well, here is just a brief list of common problems I have found during my time as a Life Coach as to why procrastination happens:

- WE ARE LAZY (number one reason when it boils down to it)
- We wait until the time is “right”
- We associate pain/displeasure with doing the task
- We fear failure
- No one is there to hold us accountable (that’s where I come in!)
- We don’t’ know where to start
- We fear the potential success that may result
- We lack discipline to continue to completion
- We have poor time-management skills
- We have poor organizational skills

This is by no means a complete list, but are the primary excuses, uh...I mean reasons we tell ourselves. So how do we break the cycle and get to completion?

Well, the first key factor to identify is the result you want to get from completing the project. Take a piece of paper out and write down the positive benefits you will gain upon completing the mission. Identify if this is something you WANT or HAVE to do. If it is something you HAVE to do, then I encourage you to find the positives (there is always something) and relate that to your ultimate happiness. If nothing else, focus on the happiness that it will be over and can move onto something you WANT to do.

I had a client who came to me and said, “Chris, I know I HAVE to lose weight, but I really don’t WANT too. Can you help me change my way of thinking?” After a few discussions, I realized they really did WANT to lose weight; they just didn’t want to SACRAFICE anything to get it. In most cases, we have to sacrifice something in order to get what we really want in life. When we think of giving something up, we immediately associate negative feelings with the loss. Can I get an AMEN if you like to have negative feelings?

The funny thing we do is rationalize in our minds that we’ll put it off until a more convenient time when we will handle the sacrifice better. Do we really ever get better at giving something up we enjoy (time, food, money, freedom)? The jury say’s NO!

So, if the task never goes away and we never get better at dealing with what we have to exchange to get it (working out, going to school, giving up a Saturday on the couch), then what is a person to do? Well, this column is going on a bit longer than usual so I will try and sum up some suggestions here:

- Write down the positive results you will achieve upon completion
- Break the task into smaller more manageable bites
- Make appointments with yourself on your calendar and keep them
- Hire a Life Coach
- Seek out the training you need to complete the task
- Find someone to hold you accountable
- Set a reward for yourself that you get when you are done
- Identify why you fear being a failure? (see my previous post “Overcoming Fear & Anxiety here on Achieve Your Dreams)

Alright already…I could go on for hours, but if you need additional feedback to your personal situation, please send me a private message and I’ll do my best to help you create a personal plan for success.

Until next time, please be good to yourself…and to others (bonus points if you tell me who signs off their show with that saying!)

All my best,

Christopher