this video is just a small piece of what you will get in McRaney’s book “You’re Not So Smart”

Don’t procrastinate, get it today!

You may be thinking, “Great, another article about being productive, when I could be doing something productive!” You might be right, but I hope you come away from this article with a different feeling and insight on procrastination than usual.

“Anyone can do any amount of work providing it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment.” – Robert Benchley

I Am A Procrastinator

I do not speak to you from a balcony of cold judgement my friends. I speak to you from the grips of a 12-step program I am in.

Procrastination runs in my blood. I come from a long line of procrastinators. I am talking about the human race. In truth, procrastinators aren’t born, they are made. That means what is done can be undone, but it will not be easy.

Why we procrastinate

To be clear, there is no definitive answer. In research, we see a lot of speculation, but always interesting discussions, on the psychology of procrastination. Most self-help books speak about perfectionism and anxiety, but in research this is rarely seen when put to the test.

Dr. Piers Steel released an epic research review in 2007 titled – The nature of procrastination: a meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure.

A bit of a joke to Steel, it took 10 years to finish the study. It is one of the best breakdowns of research in the area of procrastination. It is also my understanding that Dr. Steel will be releasing a book soon through Random House. You can bet I will not delay picking it up.

The research suggests a lot of what was speculative before were merely pieces of the overall puzzle (perhaps the wrong puzzle). There are different types of procrastinators and different avoiding measures. Lastly, there are different reasons.

The prime reason thought by researchers is based upon a very basic concept:

Task VS Reward = Delay.

The technical term is - Temporal Motivation Theory or TMT.

Steel produces a formula based off the classic E=MC2. It factors expectancy for succeeding at a task (E) or self-confidence; the value of completing the task (V); its immediacy or availability (Gamma); and the person’s sensitivity to delay (D) to come up with the desirability of the task (Utility).

I bet you enjoyed that, didn’t you? You don’t need to worry about formula’s here. There appears to be logical (and simple) actions to the problems of procrastination.

Solution #1 – Trade Vague For Specific

I am sure you have notepads and task sheets scarcely jotted with general goals.

“Lose 20 pounds” “Write articles for blog” “Clear inbox”

The first thing you need to do is write down specific goals. If you write down general goals you are putting general reactions into action. If your general reaction is procrastination, you will never achieve your goals in the timely manner you want. Instead of general – be specific.

“Lose 1 pound this week” “Write the first article on my article list by tonight” “Finish my email in 20 minutes”

At first, it might feel like a lot of writing and crossing out of lines. How many of those lines get crossed when you make specific actions, is all that matters.

Solution #2 – Set Urgent And Timed Deadlines

The best saying I have heard on procrastination is: “You want to keep a clean house? Invite you mother over every week.”

Brilliant. In two sentences, you basically sum up 60% of study conclusions from Dr. Steel’s 30- page review of procrastination. This has nothing to do with me having mom issues…

Putting a time constraint to short goals is the important part, otherwise you just have a bunch of little goals you aren’t likely to complete. Be very specific (but realistic) about your timed goals. If you think you can legitimately complete a task in 30 minutes while giving it your full attention – go for it.

Solution #3 – Make Plans You Can’t Break

Every month I offer my members a cookbook. Each month it is a different cookbook. Occasionally I might change the item to a program or something they are asking for, but the point is they expect something every month. Their happiness is my happiness. They are technically paying me to get the job done. I don’t have a choice. If I want the members, I create the book.

Tell you subscribers, readers, members or customers you will do something for them on a regular basis. Pick something you know will ultimately benefit them, and perhaps is something you are having a hard time sticking to. Maybe it is weekly emails or a monthly bonus? Whatever it is, say it out loud and say it to them to make yourself accountable.

Solution #4 – Shut Out The World

I am sure you know this. I am sure you by-passed this solution. I know you hear me, but do you really hear me?

I used to get in this trap (and I still have to battle it) of not being able to do my writing until I had the right song playing, after I checked email, facebook, forums, etc. This turned me to reading articles had me wondering the sanity of the world. The next thing I know, two hours have passed. My article on binge eating turned into a rant (I never published) over a Yahoo article.

Before I began my article I felt the weight of the world. I was drained, frustrated, and depressed. This is no way to evoke concentration and inspiration. For the procrastinator, lack of reward leads to defeat. To me, people are the reward and so is change for the better. How am I going to inspire people by reading comments on youtube. This could still be a small problem, but like I said, this is a “12-step program.”

Solution #5 – Praise Your Victory

I believe strongly in cognitive patterns shaping our minds and who we are to ourselves. The more you see yourself as a failure – the more you believe it. Sooner or later you start to recycle defeat before you give yourself a fighting chance.

Break the pattern. When you cross something off of your list and achieve a victory against the battle of procrastination – acknowledge it. It doesn’t have to be overly dramatic or time consuming, but it should be a genuine moment. For myself, after I finish a hard task or an article I take 10 minutes and play my guitar or have a play fest with my pup. I make sure to remove myself from the area, take a deep breath and gain a sense of pride for my job well done. After that, I start my next specific goal and try to stay on track.

You should have real down time. You should celebrate the effort and work you make. Your mind and body will get used to the pattern of success and only good things can come from that. For the record, after this article I will grab my guitar, sit next to my dog, and do a rendition of My Morning Jacket’s – One Big Holiday.

[Leigh Peele via Entrepreneurs Journey]

Procrastination is one of those topics that, it seems, I can’t write enough about. There isn’t a person among us who doesn’t procrastinate, and that’s a fact of life.

[photo credit DjangoTricks]

It’s deep within us. We think we’re going to do something later, or read that classic novel later, or learn French later. But we always overestimate how much we can do later, and we overestimate the ability of our later selves to beat procrastination.

If our current self can’t beat procrastination, why will our future self do it?

I thought I should cover some of the best procrastination-beating strategies, in light of my recent book, focus.  People seem to want ways to beat procrastination, so they can actually get down to focusing.

Here’s a quick guide.

Why We Procrastinate

Let’s take a quick look at what makes us procrastinate. There are several reasons, which are related in various ways:

1. We want instant gratification. Resting on the couch is thought of as nicer, right now, than going on a run. Reading blogs is easier, right now, than reading a classic novel. Checking email or Facebook is easier, now, than doing that project you’ve been putting off. Eating chocolate cake is tastier, right now, than eating veggies.

2. We fear/dread something. We might not write that chapter in our book because there are problems with the writing that we haven’t figured out (often because we haven’t thought it through). Or we might be afraid we’re going to fail, or look ignorant or stupid. We’re most often afraid of the unknown, which has more power because we don’t examine this fear — it just lurks in the back of our minds. Dreading or fearing something makes us want to put it off, to postpone even thinking about it, and to do something easy and safe instead.

3. It’s easy – no negative consequences right now. When we were in school and had a teacher looking over our shoulders and scolding us if we didn’t do our work, we tended to do the work (until some of us learned that we could tune out the scolding, that is). But when we got home, sometimes no one would be looking over our shoulders … so there wasn’t any immediate negative consequence to watching TV or playing games instead. Sure, we’d get a bad grade tomorrow, but that’s not right now. The same is true of using the Internet or doing other kinds of procrastination tasks — we’ll pay for it later, but right now, no one is getting mad at us.

4. We overestimate our future self. We often have a long list of things we plan to do, because we think we can do a lot in the future. The reality is usually a little worse than we expected, but that doesn’t stop us from thinking the future will be different yet again. For the same reason, we think it’s OK to procrastinate, because we’re going to do it later, for sure. Our future self will be incredibly productive and focused! Except, our future self is also lazy, and doesn’t do it either. Damn future self.

Four Powerful Solutions

Now that we know the problems, the solutions aren’t that hard to figure out. Just don’t put them off, OK?

1. Stop and think. When we allow the above thoughts to go on without really being conscious of them, we procrastinate. When we actually pause and think about those thoughts, we can rationally see that they’re wrong. Instant gratification in the form of goofing off or eating junk food can lead to problems later. Fears are overblown and shouldn’t stand in our way. Not having negative consequences now doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences later. Our future self isn’t as bad-ass as we like to think. So think about what you’re doing, and start to do the more rational thing. Use the strategies below as well, but thinking is the start.

2. Enjoy the process. When we dread something, we put it off — but instead, if we can learn to enjoy it, it won’t be as hard or dreadful. Put yourself in the moment, and enjoy every action. For example, if you want to go out to run, don’t think about the hard run ahead, but about putting on your shoes — enjoy the simplicity of that action. Then focus on getting out the door — that’s not hard. Then focus on warming up with a fast walk or light jog — that can be nice and enjoyable. Then feel your legs warm up as you start running a little faster, and enjoy the beautiful outdoors. This process can be done with anything, from washing dishes to reading to writing. Enjoy yourself in the moment, without thinking of future things you dread, and the activity can be very pleasant and even fun. And if it is, you won’t put it off.

3. Set up accountability. If no one is looking over our shoulder, we tend to let ourselves slack off. So set up a procrastination-proof environment — find people to hold you accountable. I joined an online fitness challenge this month, for example, so that I’d report my workouts to the forum. I’ve done the same thing for running, quitting smoking, writing a novel. You can even just use your friends and family on Facebook or email.

4. Block your future self. Your future self is just as likely to put things off. So block that sucker. Use a program like Freedom to block your Internet access for a predetermined amount of time, so your future self has to actually focus instead of reading blogs. Turn off your cable TV, get rid of the junk food in your house, cut up your credit cards … do whatever it takes to make it really hard for your future self to procrastinate or give in to temptation, or at least force your future self to pause and think before he does anything dumb.

A Different Mindset

Three other things that must be said about procrastination:

1. Do what excites you. If you do what you’re excited about most of the time, you’ll be less likely to put it off. Focus on why it excites you, rather than the dreaded aspects of the activity. I do this and my procrastination is lower than ever.

2. Productively procrastinate. If you’re going to procrastinate, do other productive things instead. So if you don’t want to do your project, at least get some smaller tasks done.

3. Sometimes, procrastination is OK. I’m not anti-procrastination, at all. This guide is for those who want to beat it, but in my book, lazing around can be a beautiful thing. Reading stuff on the Internet that I’m interested in isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes, give in to procrastination. But other times, you might want to get off that lazy butt and actually accomplish something.