Have you ever procrastinated on something before?
Have you ever wondered why you procrastinate on some things and not others? For those of you who are familiar with procrastination, the issue is how can you stop procrastinating and start taking action? Before you read over some common tips, first try and analyze your own circumstances. Remember that most cases of procrastination are caused by some primary motivations.
First, the person may be carrying self-limiting beliefs. When a person has a self-limiting belief he or she will make excuses on why the idea for change wouldn’t work and why it’s not even worth trying. You might say that procrastination is the last resort to avoid taking action. Stop procrastinating and start taking action so you can achieve your goals and experience the kind of life you truly want.
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This is What it Takes!
I was reading an email by Richard Weylman today and thought you would get value from his message also. He wrote:
“Recently I spotted a young lady going door to door in my small town passing out her resume to every business. She marched in, dressed for success and asked to see the manager. Then, with dignity and maturity beyond her years (she is a junior in our local high school) she presented her resume and her value statement to every manager. When I approached her about why she was going door to door, her answer was simple. “I need a job and I have to get in front of those who hire!” Wow!
Two days later a local farmer pulled into our office parking lot selling fruits and vegetables. I asked him why he wasn’t just parked on a corner selling his products. His answer was simple “that’s what everybody else does. Me, I make it happen. I’m not waiting until it happens.” Another Wow!
In both cases, these individuals chose to break out, get out and reach their prospects face to face. The lesson here is simple; to grow your business you have to reach, see and meet more people. In this market, people need to know you and trust you. This can only happen if you delegate running the business to a limited number of hours each week and spend at least two days a week out of the office meeting, greeting and becoming known and trusted.
The school girl was going door to door on Saturday because she is in school until 4:00pm M-F. The farmer has to grow it to sell it. Yet in both cases they saw what it takes to be successful in this market. The same applies to each of us in this business. Or to put it another way, as Milton Berle said, “If opportunity isn’t knocking, build a door.””
WOW is right! This is what it takes to be successful. What are you doing today, tomorrow, next week, next month that puts you in the highest probability position to reach your next level of success?
Are you planning to work on Friday, July 3?
Success-oriented people do whatever it takes and work on “holidays” when needed. Some people use the company holiday as a day off, the snow day as a day to stay home and not work, and other various excuses to make themselves feel good about not doing what they know they need to do to achieve their goals. With the 4th of July being on Friday, and for many companies this is a holiday so their office is closed, how many people view this as a three day weekend and not consider working 2 or 3 hours early in the morning before their family gets up? How many people actually have Friday planned as a partial work day to get more done and make headway towards achievement of their goals for the year?
I’m not suggesting that you should work all the time and not have balance in your life. I am suggesting that for many who aren’t on track to achieving their goals for the year, that perhaps working 2-5 hours on a “holiday” that falls on a weekday could help them make progress on activities necessary for them to be on the path of goal achievement. You can work for a portion of your day and still spend quality time with you family doing something fun for the rest of the day.
I guess it comes down to, how committed are you to achieving your goals this year. Are you going to make the excuse at the end of the year that it was the economy and that is why you didn’t achieve what you said you wanted? How badly do you really want to achieve your goals? Are your goals a ‘nice to have’ should you get lucky or are you serious about what you say you want to achieve?
Wow! What a Difference Getting in the Pool Makes
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to avoid doing the very things we know will get us the results we say we want? Have you ever avoided doing something you knew was absolutely necessary, but had no idea why you were avoiding it? Me too.
In every endeavor, there are certain immutable requirements or “natural laws” of success. Yet sometimes, in attempts to avoid discomfort or achieve our goals with less effort or anxiety, we spend too much time and energy hoping to flout those laws. But it can’t, won’t, simply doesn’t work. That’s why they’re called laws. Break them and you lose.
In December of 1997 my husband, Bill, began training for the 1998 Hawaii Ironman Triathlon, which was held on October 3, 1998. Nine to 10 months is not a long time to prepare for a 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike ride (humid and very windy), and 26.2-mile marathon run. But it’s achievable if you create a good plan and stick to it (which my husband did).
Swimming has never been his strength, and he hadn’t been in the pool in a decade. The rest of his training program started out pretty well. He began running again by steadily building up his mileage. He pulled his bike off the hooks in the garage where it had been hanging upside down for a long time, dusted it off, got it tuned up, and began riding. He even started pumping iron twice a week to build his strength. But the swimming…
December passed, then January, and by February, Bill knew he was behind in his swimming program. We’d heard that 70% of being a good swimmer is technique, so he bought a swimming technique book. Next he bought the swimming video. (Could he really have been foolish enough to think he could read and watch his way through the Ironman swim? Or was his judgment clouded by pure and simple denial?) By the end of February, he had still managed to avoid getting wet and I was getting worried. Bill enrolled in a swim clinic being held the last weekend in March. I guess he thought there was no point getting in the water until he learned the proper technique!
With this twisted logic, we could say it’s too bad the clinic wasn’t even further off — or even after Ironman — maybe he could have gotten by with no swimming at all. Yeah, right! Are there activities you don’t enjoy or aren’t the best at, yet which are absolutely required for you to excel at a higher level? And which you delude yourself into thinking you could put off altogether?
Fortunate for my husband, he has a friend in Mark Allen, the six-time Hawaii Ironman champion. In the first week of March, Bill was helping Mark work on his presentation skills for his motivational speaking career when he asked about Bill’s training. Bill gave him the full report about his running progress, cycling development, and weight training regimen. He rambled on, hoping Mark wouldn’t notice that Bill had left out the swimming part.
But Mark’s question was inevitable: “So, how’s the swimming going?” he asked Bill. So much for Bill’s fancy footwork (which my husband is known to do and is very good at).
Bill said (as he smiled weakly), “Uh, well … I’ve been reading this book and, uh, watching this video about proper technique. And I’m signed up for a swim clinic.”
“Great. How’s it going in the pool?” Mark asked.
Caught, Bill gave it up. “I haven’t actually been in the pool yet,” Bill said.
“You know, Bill,” Mark said slowly and pointedly, “you really should get in the pool.”
Duh. The simple truth has amazing power. Just hearing Mark utter those words shattered Bill’s avoidance behavior pattern. Mark was right, of course. Bill had to get in the pool. Not in March. Not next week. Right now. Today.
You may be putting yourself through mental gymnastics to avoid the very things that will take you where you want to go. The sooner you get in the pool, the sooner you will be on your way to your next level of success.
Apply Coaching to Your Life and Realize Your True Potential
Coaching is a form of teaching, with the directive of instructing and training a person to develop a specific ability. There are various ways to approach coaching since every coach brings a unique perspective to learning.
Life coaching helps clients to organize their life and pursue their life’s ambitions – professional and personal. Life coaches use a variety of methods to help give their clients confidence and guide them to take initiative that leads to action and results. Life coaches do not treat psychological disorders nor do they serve as therapists or special consultants. They train people for the pursuit of life and happiness, and to help bring balance in people’s lives. Their programs usually center on positive thinking, behavior modification, setting goals, and some form of belief practice.
The most common forms of coaching programs are self-coaching, peer (or group) coaching, seminars, and one-on-one coaching. There are advantages and disadvantages to each style. You can review various coaching methods at http://www.accountabilitycoach.com/bw/coaching.php. Review them and pick the one that you think will have the biggest impact on your life – personally and professionally.
What is the best method of coaching for you? What is the best way to train your staff and team members to be more efficient and effective in their performance? The answer is: whatever works. You may have to try one or more methods in order to find a system that is helpful. Research and review the options that are best for you to achieve your goals in the time frame you desire. Pick one and implement that system as it is designed and it will make a difference in your life.
Go to http://www.accountabilitycoach.com/bw/coaching.php and review the various options available to you.
If Nothing is on your calendar you probably are doing Nothing…
What are the chances of you doing your highest payoff activities and the activities that will put you in the highest probability position to achieve your goals if nothing is on your calendar, or the things on the calendar aren’t the ‘right’ activities? Is every minute of your day accounted for toward something? It needs to be if you want to be as successful as possible. Schedule every minute of your day for those activities that will help you achieve your goals. Schedule email time (recommend not having it first thing in the morning), lunch time, exercise time, revenue generation time, client service time, break time (run around the building or do some sit-ups and push-ups), etc.
Schedule as many recurring events on your calendar as possible. Schedule as many similar activities together as possible. How much time do you want to spend on revenue generation versus client service versus administrative things?
How would you feel coming in to each day and each week with your calendar full of the ‘right’ activities? How would this impact your results? How will you know for sure? TRY IT! Begin today! Schedule activities on your calendar for next week, or even the next 30 days.
For additional assistance with this click on the following link and obtain the tele-seminar (Focus on Your High Pay-off Activities and Achieve Your Goals Using Effective Time Management)
http://www.accountabilitycoach.com/coaching-store/audio-store/
Understanding the Psychology of Procrastination and Overcoming It
Procrastination is defined as the act of “putting off or delaying an action to a later time.” Most people know the term procrastination and have been guilty of this behavior at some point. Unfortunately, procrastination is not an effective coping behavior. The most severe cases of procrastination can result in strong feelings of guilt, compromised productivity, anxiety, disapproval from others, and in the end, much more stress. Of course the idea of all this negativity is worrisome to the anxious personality—in fact, it may drive he or she into even further procrastination.
What can be done about procrastination? It largely depends on whether it is considered a temporary defense, a self-limiting condition or even a behavioral disorder. Everyone does experience some episodes of procrastination. Thankfully, they are able to identify this behavior and overcome it by setting some goals, and some even might incorporate others in the mix to help them follow-through.
What really prevents you from taking action and making necessary changes in your life? Do you have a bit of a perfectionist streak? This is a common cause of procrastination, and is not a reason for concern. Do you tend to negatively evaluate your own performance as well as the outcome of an endeavor? Examine your surroundings…are you surrounded by hobbies, personal achievement records and completed books? Doesn’t this evidence prove that you can accomplish something if you set your mind to it? All most people need is a little help to get moving in the “right” direction.
Overcoming procrastination will always involve taking action—whether it is action coming from you, or from the help of others. Take action now, and start living, and enjoying the life that you really want. You can do almost anything you set your mind to achieve.
Put your Big Boy and Girl Pants on and Get Busy
People who are sucking it up, putting their heads down, getting focused, and doing whatever it takes are laying the groundwork and foundation for when we get out of this economic situation, they will be further ahead – obviously. I have some people telling me clients are coming to them from all over the place. They aren’t even sure where some of them are coming from but they are seeking them out. Some people are working harder and are also getting lots of great results. Their business is doing well compared to many others.
Then you have many people who are doing nothing and are acting like a deer in the headlights. They are getting ready to get ready for when things turn around or get easier. They are complaining and not obtaining business as a result.
Which category do you fall into? Which category do you want to be in? What do you have to do, and who do you have to become to get your share of the business today? Stop getting ready to get ready and just do what you know you need to do. I didn’t say it would be easy but it will pay off in the short-term and the long-term. Create your game plan and execute!
“Change comes from within. When you believe in yourself, you can change your life.” –Kerri Kelly, Yoga instructor
Live Life with NO Regrets
The other day, I met a lady (Susie) while here on vacation in Mazatlan Mexico. She is working for a timeshare. Susie didn´t appear to be originally from Mexico so I asked her where she is from. She said she is from Canada and has been here in Mazatlan for 13 years now. She told me how much she loves living here. I asked her what brought her to Mazatlan and why she moved. She said she came to visit over 13 years ago and went back to Canada before deciding to move to Mazatlan. She said she thinks that for many people it is the things they don´t do that they regret in life and not the things we actually do that we regret. She didn´t want to not move to Mazatlan and regret that decision for the rest of her life. She has never looked back on her decision or regretted it for a second. I think she has a great attitude and that more of us should apply this approach to our life.
Have you ever not done something that you wish you had done? How can you apply Susie´s philosophy to your life and not have any regrets for things you don´t do going forward? Let´s try to live our life with no regrets from here on out.
To Change or Not To Change?
Can People Change?
Change can also refer to an individual’s own mission to become different. An individual’s change can happen quickly, gradually, or over a long-term period of time. It may be a conscious decision by a person to change, or be a personality change only perceivable by others who compare the two distinctive personalities, one past and one present. Changes can also be made for the positive or negative. Most people won’t perceive that they are “changing” for the worse—they may believe in their minds they are improving on certain individual qualities, all the while losing sight of their overall persona. Perhaps they have abandoned their previously upheld values or have altered their own perceptions of happiness and morality.
Knowing the definition of change, as well as the human understanding of change, may enlighten you as you start to make changes in your own life. What kinds of changes do you believe are necessary? First decide why you believe a change is called for. Do you wish to change something about yourself or do others remark to you that you should change? Are you judging yourself from your own perspective or the feelings and expressions of others? Do you think some change might be necessary to get from where you are now to where you want to be because what you are currently doing isn’t working or isn’t as effective as it used to be? If you perceive that your current behavior is self-destructive and ultimately leaves you unhappy then it may well be a time to change. Even so, it’s wise to first consider what qualities are helpful and what qualities can be unhealthy.
The Pros and Cons of Change
Some analysts have stated that when you consider “change”, whether in the context of society or individual improvement, that there are a few factors to consider—the pros and cons of change, as it were. The pros of change are indeed powerful and too many to list them all here. Change can correct a sense of injustice. It can instill faith and hope in humanity and improve human relationships. It can lead to better efficiency in production and lifestyle. At best, change could even save the lives of many people.
What are the cons of change, if there are any? There are definitely some negative consequences that could result from change. You never know, in most cases, exactly what will happen until you try it. When you enter into change, you must believe it will produce the desired results, or why change? What got you to where you are today probably isn’t going to take you to where you want to be without some degree of change. We all grow as we get older. We experience new things and learn new things that help us to make changes accordingly.
Don’t be afraid to change just because you don’t know how the change will affect things. I heard it said, if you continually do things the same way you will always get what you have gotten. Explore what might be. Ask yourself, what’s the worst thing that can happen? In most cases, it will be something desired and something good. You may not do it perfect the first time, but you will get better each time you do it. Try changing something that you have been putting off and experience the results for yourself. Enjoy!
