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It is human, and natural to put off difficult and undesirable tasks “until later”. The problem is that for many people “later” never comes. Left unchecked, procrastination can cause serious problems!

Why do we procrastinate?

There are many things we associate to a task, which may cause us to procrastinate - Things like fear, profectionism, feeling of overwhelm, or not knowing what to do next. Regardless of the reason why, there is one sure way to win the war against procrastination.  

How do we gain mastery over procrastination?

The first thing we need when trying to change our behaviors, is the understanding of why we act that way to begin with. Everything we do is a result of our need to avoid pain or to gain pleasure. In other words, the reason we procrastinate is because we either associate more pain to doing it than not doing it or, we associate more pleasure to doing something else.

For example: Let’s say that you have to write a report and it is due tommorrow morning. You know that you should do it, but you want to watch the football game instead - And, you know that if you watch the game you will be too tired to finish the report.

What you actually do in this situation is determined by which feeling is more real to you in the moment that you make that decision. If at the present moment you associate more pleasure with watching the game and the pain of not completing the report doesn’t seem all that bad right now, then your going to watch the game!

If on the other hand, you think if I don’t get this report done then I’m going to fail my class or get fired and your mind starts coming up with all kinds of reasons why this is going to hurt: I will have to repeat the class, I won’t be able to pay my bills and I’ll have to live on the street, I’ll be embarassed because everyone will think I’m stupid - Then you are going to do the report!

We can use Pain Vs Pleasure to change our behavior!

When we understand what is driving our behavior, we then have the power to change our behavior. The way we do this is we mentally reverse the balance of pain vs: pleasure that we have associated to each action.

Again, using the scenerio of the report vs: watching the game: And, let’s assume that you believe you should do the report, but you really want to watch the game. You want to change your feelings about this - so that, doing the report will be less painful.

There are all sorts of ways we can do this. Some examples include:

1- Give yourself a reward for completing the report. This reward can be big or small. The important thing is that it helps to motivate you and to tip the pain vs: pleasure scale in the direction you need it to go. Sometimes, something as simple as going out for an ice cream is enough. Maybe as a reward for finishing the report you want to buy yourself some equipment, so next time you can record the game and watch it later. Whatever the tactic is, be sure it is something you believe you will follow through with. If you don’t, you won’t believe yourself next time and the tactic won’t be as successful.

2- Make a public promise that will create massive pain if you don’t follow through. I love the story of a Las Vegas Casino Boss who wanted to quit smoking. He had tried over and over to quit, and he used several different methods, all to no avail. Knowing he needed some leverage, he put up a billboard with his picture and a message, promising to pay anyone who caught him smoking $100,000.00.  

Do you think he quit? Of course, he did! He created massive leverage, which made quitting smoking a no brainer. The pain of not quitting would have been far to great! He basically left himself no choice.

3- Write a list of everything you will gain by doing the report. Include things like:  I will gain a level of self confidence; my teacher/boss will be proud of me; I will be setting myself up for success in the future; I will feel a since of pride due to the fact of taking charge of my life, regardless of how I feel in the moment.  I know this ability gives me an advantage over 99% of the world.

4- Write a list of everything you will lose by not doing the report. Include things like:  I will feel like a failure; I will look stupid; I could be kicked off the football team; I will be setting a bad example for my kids; I will get a bad review ruining any chance for a raise or promotion (get specific with this one! What will this actually cost you over the period of 2, 3, 5, or 10 years); I will be sabotaging my own confidence; and I will not be as productive in all areas of my life.

Don’t forget that every action creates momentum in either a positive or negative direction.

Every time you do anything, you create momentum in your life.  This momentum will either take you closer or futher away from success. Whenever you do something that makes you feel good about yourself, you accellerate your positive performance. Likewise, every time you do something (or don’t do something) and you feel badly about your results and your performance, then you are creating momentum in the negative direction.

If you create more positive results and feelings, than negative results and feelings, you will build your confidence. Feeling good about yourself allows your desire to keep producing these results. Ultimately, Success will be your no matter what you do - because positive momentum and action will take you there.

What happens when you “don’t” take the actions that will ultimately lead you to success? If you don’t do the report for example? Will you then not only reap the obvious consequences for not doing the report, but you feel badly about yourself. This changes your momentum toward the negative side. Over time, continuing to make negative choices that leads you to feel badly about the direction your life takes, starts the direction of failing classes, losing jobs, and not making bill payments.

When your confidence is lowered, you start to believe you can’t achieve what you want. You may think “I’m just not meant to be successful, why should I even try?” You might tell yourself that a life time career at McDonalds is not so bad. After all, you can support yourself and pay your apartment rent and your $50.00 a week car payment with your $350.00 pay check. 

Momentum is never a permanant trap!!!

The good news is that we are never trapped in a negative cycle. All we have to do to get out of it is to start taking positive actions! Yes, if you have been in a negative cycle for a long period of time, it may take a bit more work and effort on your part to turn the tide. However, it is completely possible and it doesn’t have to be done all in one chunk.

Again - Every time you do anything, you create momentum in your life.  This momentum will either take you closer or futher away from success. Whenever you do something that makes you feel good about yourself, you accellerate your positive performance.

The great thing about this is the knowledge that the last action you took is the action that is generating your current feelings of momentum. Meaning, if you want to change the direction of your life, all you have to do is take one positive action and be successful at it. This action can be as small as buying a news paper to start looking for a better job.

The key is to acknowledge and celebrate your success - Even, the small ones! If you got that paper then pat yourself on the back and say “One success for the record! The momentum is changing!” Then actually look at the paper and pick two or three numbers to call. Then celebrate that action! Keep taking one action at a time, celebrating each one as you go until you feel great! 

By using this process, over a short period of time, you will create massive positive change in your life. The results will start to become evident in your life. All of a sudden, you are on the path to success! And what did you do? You just created positive momentum - one action at a time.

And, I bet you think twice about procrastinating that next assignment!

One last key.

When you don’t know what to do, then do something anyway! Focus on starting the project, then take the first action. This starts the momentum process and each step you take after that will become easier and easier. Often times, you may need to start a project with the plan of working on it for just 5 minutes, and then half an hour later you realize that your done!