Thank God it’s Monday,

One of the most undermining human behaviors is procrastination. The inability to start or to take action on the tasks that are likely to yield great results in your life is by definition, procrastination. So why do we struggle with procrastination? Do we enjoy suffering and struggling? When we procrastinate, that is what we experience.

Everyone one experiences procrastination to some degree.

As humans, we often avoid things that are likely to cause us pain. This is a good thing if it prevents us from getting hurt, but not so much if it is going to have a negative impact on our lives. If a task is going to require us to get uncomfortable and put us in a vulnerable position, we will procrastinate. Most of the time, we will look at the list of things we need to do and tackle the easiest of tasks first. We then use the excuse, “I was to busy to get to it.” When in reality, we purposely chose to avoid what was going to make us uncomfortable.

A recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article pointed out that we do this in every aspect of our society. Even our leaders are procrastinating doing what is required to protect our very future as a country in the face of catastrophic financial ruin. Why is it that everyone knows that the amount of the national debt is unsustainable and eventually will lead to a lot of pain for our country (SEE GREECE) and yet no one has the courage to do anything about it? This is the path our country is on.

Even though we can’t do anything about our national debt we certainly can control our world. Here are some of the suggestions that were made in the WSJ article to avoid procrastination.

Here are some of my favorites, as published by the WSJ:

•  Break a long-term project down into specific sub-goals. State the exact start time and how long you plan to work on the task. (not just “tomorrow”, be more specific)

•  Just get started. It isn’t necessary to write a long list of tasks, or each intermediate step.

•  Remind yourself that finishing the task now, helps you in the future. Putting off the task won’t make it more enjoyable.

•  Reward yourself not only for completing the entire project but also the sub-goals.

I would also add, avoiding procrastination requires you to have clearly defined goals, a passion, and a desire to grow and not be ok with mediocrity. You need leverage on yourself. Why do you want to accomplish your goal? Whose life will be improved and why? Does this fulfill your purpose? Is your cause greater then yourself? You also need an accountability partner who will be there to offer support.

Get started today. Put your most important task at the top. Do it first thing in the morning. Once completed, it will increase your self-worth and increase your “can do” attitude. Do this daily and soon procrastination will never dominate your life.

Have an abundant and inspired week,