New Discovery Reveals How To End Procrastination

When I look back at my life, I shudder at just how much time I have lost by putting things off. Do you feel that way too? I have sometimes become so tired of seeing the same thing on my list week after week and month after month, that I would decide to not do it altogether. I have even scratched it off in hopes of forgetting it altogether.

One day I became fed up with breaking promises and commitments to myself and I decided that it was time to stop my procrastination. I made a contract with myself because I could not stand the feeling of looking back at things left undone any longer.

Now the opposite of that horrid feeling is the magnificent feeling of completion and the energy of accomplishment!

I have inner peace when I have accomplished something I really wanted. That feeling, that energy of completion, propels you further in life than the actual thing you accomplished and it beats any momentary pleasure that procrastination can ever bring about.

How to End Procrastination

Procrastination can happen to the best of us. You can have your tasks all written down and dated.  You can be nice and organized and it just does not happen. You pull excuses out of thin air to avoid them. You cannot start on them for the life of you, and before you know it, two weeks have gone by and nothing.

I believe that there are three reasons as to why we procrastinate even though we are driven and ambitious and intelligent people and how we can change that behavior.

Here are the three reasons we procrastinate and ideas on changing it:  

#1:  Lack of interest or passion

Do you ever procrastinate things you LOVE to do? Probably not. When you do not have passion and interest though, you tend to slow down.  If you lack this feeling around your tasks and projects, you will procrastinate. It is simply human nature!

So can you be more selective about those tasks? Can you be more purposeful in aligning your to-do to things you care about? If you have a lot of resistance, do not blame procrastination right away. Take a step back and examine the resistance. Ask yourself why you feel this way and can you change things up in such a way that you are more excited about the task first?

#2:  Not Enough Clarity

If you do not define your tasks clearly and just put down vague notions of what you should do, such as:

• "Be more productive"

• "Get a better job"

• "Save some money"

• "Work on your relationship"

it is not surprising that you cannot make any progress. Nothing is defined fully or clearly.

Place focus on clarity first. Define every task or the project clearly first. This will not take time–it will give you time back in the long run. For example:

"Release 10 pounds by October with cycling three times a week at the downtown studio and yoga two times a week at home, plus a vegan diet between now and then."

#3:  Fearful and Unprepared for Success

Any change from status quo is initially scary, even if you desparately want it. It is just human nature but did you know that you can even fear great changes, such as becoming a super successful and wealthy person? It is absolutely true.

Sometimes we procrastinate because we are afraid of success. To battle this one, just prepare in advance for your success. Visualize it, daydream it, live it in your mind. Maybe you are not ready to have your big break and well, doing nothing – procrastination – is the safest bet that it will not be happening.

Take some time for some introspection. Review those tasks and projects that you are sitting on right now. Choose one singular task that has been weighing on you for months. Go through the reasons above and see which one can apply to your situation.

If you find the reason for your procrastination, then you can start to work toward a solution. And if you can do it once, you can do it again. 

William James said: