Breaking Chains of Procrastination

I was planning to write a piece on how to break the chains of procrastination, get free, and accomplish a goal, but I did not get around to it until now.

Having established that this is a common problem, let us all learn a few secrets to overcoming.

This article is a testimony, in and of itself, that it is possible.

Getting Up and Getting Going

You are sitting there, quite possibly stumbling upon this blog by accident because you are surfing the internet via a stream of consciousnesses in dedicated avoidance of whatever it is that you need to be doing right now.

I say this not as a prophet as much as a practitioner.

I can avoid tasks as much as the best of them... as much as you.

I find that avoidance falls into some neat yet overlapping categories for me. Together, they spell, "AVOID."

Here they are:

A - Anxiety.

There is something irrationally or even legitimately frightening about the task to which we are committed. We are suffering from task-related anxiety. We are afraid to start.

V - Value.

We don't personally value the task. Rather, it is a burden and a duty that has been imposed on us.

O - Obstacles.

We have listed as many as we can think of, but we are sure there must be more obstacles to starting - dull pencils, not enough information on hand, bad mood, weariness, no fresh ideas. The list goes on and on.

I - Intimidation.

The task is just so big that we cannot wrap our brains around it. We are intimidated by it.

D – Defeatism.

We do not believe in our capacity to do what must be done well enough and so our perfectionism is crippling us from doing anything. We have bought into a mood of defeat.

What must we do then?

Get up and get going!

Since we are already spelling, let's continue:

GET

G - Growl at yourself.

Get your attention somehow. You have lulled yourself to sleep and you can wake yourself up.

E - Energize.

Tell your body to move and then, move. After moving around, get a snack and make a decision to start.

T - Terminate

Terminate this connection (only after bookmarking this page) and get on with the task. It is time to leave motivation and move.

UP

U – Unshackle.

Free your thinking from fear, intimidation, perfectionism, and obstacles. Get into a different mindset and focus on what you can do with what you do have right now.

P - Proceed.

There is no substitute for starting. So start. Do something. The job will organize itself as you go along. Resources will appear or you will realize what you do or do not really need.

Now, get GOING

G – Grab.

Take hold of your fear. It is your biggest enemy. The worst that can happen is a temporary failure from which you will learn lessons you could not otherwise be taught in any book.

O – Observe.

Take another look at the task and observe it in the larger context of why it is important. Find the value in it and do it.

I - Invert?and Innovate.

Turn your obstacle thinking into opportunity thinking by of ways you can be innovative with this task and place your own unique mark on it.

N – Nudge.

Whatever intimidates you about this job is a bluff. Nudge it. Push back. Don't let it be too big for you. Break it into bite size?pieces.

G - Growl AGAIN!

This time with a shout of victory over defeatism.

Get up and get going.