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Ten Tips for Tackling Procrastination Tendencies (pt 2)

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Why is it that you can’t get everything done? Is it because time just seems to fly, or you’ve set unreasonable goals,  or are you just not good at managing your time?  Did you know that there is a procrastination equation?  Piers Steel, PhD, one of the world’s foremost researchers and speakers on the science of motivation and procrastination writes, “There are two ways to find out where you land in the ranks of procrastination. Are you a garden-variety dilly dallier or are you hardcore with “tomorrow” tattooed across your back?” Take his survey and get specific information on how much of a procrastinator you are and what you can do about it.

My final five tips for tackling your procrastination tendencies are below.  If you missed first five tips be sure to check them out too.

My Final Five Tips for Tackling Procrastination Tendencies

  1. Make the goal a priority. If it’s not a priority and not as important as other things, stop beating yourself up.  Take it off your list and discard or delay until it is the highest priority.  If it is a priority, be disciplined at putting it first and putting off those things that are not as important to your success.  It’s also a good idea to start working on that plan when you are most alert and productive.  Why sabotage your goal by trying to jump-start it when you are deflated yourself.
  2. Know what your next step is. Sometimes looking at all we have to do is overwhelming.  So you might want to just identify the next step.  From that step you’ll more easily see the next step and so on and so on.  Commit to just doing the next step when the whole project overwhelms you.  Once you get started it’s easier to keep going.
  3. Get Yourself an Accountability Partner. Some people just aren’t self-motivated and need a progress partner. If  you need a muse, mentor, or friend to encourage you, hold you accountable, or to guide, get one or get all three.
  4. Specify a regular time to work on your goal and make it a habit. Habits only happen with regularity and action.  Do something regarding your goal every day, even if it is just to remind yourself of its importance and the time you’ve scheduled to act on it.  For example, I set a goal to pray at midnight.  I’ve found that if I do the same thing every single day around the same time, it becomes habit.  Once working on your goal becomes a habit, then it’s only a matter of time before you finish.
  5. Be clear about how procrastination is affecting you. Have you lost opportunities because you procrastinated?  Have you lost money and had to pay more or fees or jeopardized your credit because you waited until the last minute?  What about your relationships.  Has your chronic lateness caused problems with those you care about?  If you said yes to most of these questions,  your procrastination causing you stress and is a problem.  Your response to any problem should be….do something about it!

“In scientific terms, a person’s intention alone is not enough to see anything through–a condition called “preference reversal.” That means that unless an individual has some knowledge of his or her motivational weaknesses and can create a plan to counteract them, those promises of losing weight or writing a novel will fall to the wayside, Steel said.”  Steele came up with a mathematical formula to overcome procrastination.   Read more: http://news.cnet.com/2100-1008_3-6149636.html#ixzz1ECAsoP9T

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

Ten Tips for Tackling Procrastination Tendencies

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It’s human nature to do the easiest, the most enjoyable, or the work we feel the most confident doing, but that doesn’t make it the most important.  Denis Waitley describes procrastination as, “The fear of success. People procrastinate because they are afraid of the success that they know will result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the “someday I’ll” philosophy.” Ten tips for tackling procrastination tendencies are below:

  1. Have a compelling WHY?–  Are the reasons for working on this particular goal more compelling than what you are already doing?  Because if what you are doing is more important, there really is no good reason to abandon what you are doing to do something else.  If you don’t have a compelling enough reason to start, persevere, and to finish, you won’t!
  2. Create a plan to keep that reason visible and front and foremost in your consciousness.  If you have a compelling WHY and still find yourself procrastinating or forgetting, get a plan.   Constantly remind yourself of why you chose this goal.  Write the reasons on index cards, place them in strategic locations where you know you will see them, affirm your goals, and spend time thinking and acting on them.
  3. Tease yourself. Sometimes the hard part is to just get started.  In this case, give yourself a simple doable time limit, say fifteen minutes.  Usually you will get a momentum going and continue past the time initially proposed.
  4. Be clear about the benefits of achieving this goal and the consequences of not doing anything. Sometimes it is that clear vision of the benefits that provides the motivation to keep moving in the direction of your goals. While positive motivation is my preference, some people are motivated more by fear.  The fear of failure or the fear of the negative consequences is enough to get them motivated and continually motivated.
  5. Have a plan  of what you need to do. Just having  a vague idea of what you want and how you are to do it is not enough. – It’s easy to get distracted or sidetracked, a plan of action is critical to making sure that you stay on task.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

Dream Derailer#2a: Ignoring the Body’s Real Needs

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Your dreams and goals can be derailed if you forget to take care of business.  I’m not talking about getting your hair and nails done, clothing yourself with the best, entertaining the body, or even the abode, trinkets, or transportation you work so hard for to make the body comfortable. “There are only three gross substances that we consciously take in to support our life process: food, air, and water,” wrote Gabriel Cousens in his best-selling book ‘Spiritual Nutrition.’

If we don’t eat, we die.

So, obviously eating is critically important.  And if eating is critically important, it stands to reason that what we eat is critically important as well. There are healthy foods and unhealthy foods.  Just as you would not put any type of gas into your car, you should not put just anything into your body.  There are super-foods and junk foods.  There are live foods and dead foods. We must make eating a conscious affair and be aware of what we are putting into our temples if we want to be healthy, energized, and pain-free.

If we don’t breathe, we die.

If breath is vital to life, and it is, clearly the quality and quantity of the air we take in is also vitally important.  How many times have you caught yourself holding your breath?  Our body needs oxygen to live.  We must get outside and breathe fresh air.  I love yoga because it forces me to breathe deeply, to send oxygen to all parts of my body, to relax, to tune into my spirit life force, and to mentally let go of the negative forces around me. Everyone is aware of the negative impact of pollution and air quality, but few are willing to acknowledge their contribution. Check out Annie Leonard’s video for a wake-up call on our role in trashing our planet.  Then answer the question, “Are you contributing to or fighting against the polluting of our planet?  Finally, we must be conscious of the water we are drinking.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

My Success Formula (pt 6) Action

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(Continued from part 5: Expectations)

You’ve got it all: the vision, knowledge, belief in yourself, positive thoughts, and you’re ready to act.  So, you get ready, get set, get set, get set…

Why is it so hard sometime to just get going?  Why do you find yourself coming up with new excuses? Why are you second-guessing yourself?  You’re thinking maybe you are not smart enough, don’t have enough money, or don’t feel you deserve to succeed.  If this is the case, you must first work on yourself and the best way is to get going, face your fear, and prove to yourself that you have what it takes.

If You Dream a Dream It’s Possible

Creating a vision is an action.  It starts the process, but you can’t stop there otherwise it’s just wishful thinking.  We live in a creative universe and that’s what we were designed to do. It’s in our DNA to Dream, Note that dream, and Act on it.  I firmly believe that we would not have a vision or inspiring dream unless it were possible for us to achieve it.  The reason is we are all different, have different talents, and want different things.  So if you are dragging your feet, Stop!  Take the first step.  Do something, even a little something everyday.  If you don’t act, all the work you’ve done so far is for naught.  Nobody can read the book unpublished, watch the play without an ending, or enjoy the song unfinished.

But, What If Something Is Still Missing?

But let’s assume that you have achieved all of the elements in our success formula, that you have visualized the outcome, that you have the knowledge you need to start, and that you are motivated by the right thoughts and expectations.  Now what?  Check out the one thing that can derail any dream or plan in my series on Dream Derailers .  It is so critical that if you don’t take it into consideration, failure is assured.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

My Success Formula (pt 5d)- Expectations and Emotional Congruency

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(From 5c: Emotions and Expectations)

When Our Emotions and Expectations Are Congruent, We Excel!

Do you expect success?  Do you feel successful?  You attract what you feel.  Are your thoughts affirming of your success?  Are your conversations focused on your successful outcome, devoid of fear and instead confident of the outcome?  Are your actions congruent with your dreams, thoughts, and words?  If not, you can sabotage your results.  And while most people can understand the rationale for making sure that their thoughts, words, and actions are congruent, they rarely think about or understand the importance of emotional congruence.   Expectations have an emotional component.  A quick Google search of emotions and success revealed over 17 millions results!

You Can’t Fake It.

You might fool others, but you can’t fool yourself.  Emotions are our internal honesty meter.  When we’re moving closer to our dreams we are happier; when moving away from them, we’re sadder.  We know the difference between excitement and fear, between expectation and dread, and between confidence and doubt.  Emotions are our guides to living authentically.  Don’t ignore your feelings for they provide you important feedback about your current state.  That’s why some say, “If it feels right and moral, keep doing it.”  If doesn’t feel right, pause, reflect, investigate and be in a constant mood of learning and flexibility.  We should be like our GPS systems that say, “Recalculating,” whenever we’ve missed a turn and not berate ourselves when we get off track.

Our Emotions and Expectations Should Match

Emotions emit a certain frequency and have the power of attraction. Our emotions should match our beliefs and expectations.  You could think, speak, and act in a certain way, and not feel it and this would be hypocrisy.  Our feelings are the only part of the formula that must be real.  You can’t fake excitement.  You either are or you aren’t.  You can’t fake anticipation; either you are expecting something to happen or you aren’t!  In fact, our feelings are in many cases the real drivers in our journey towards success.  They can get us there quickly or cause us to get lost.   Our feelings influence our thoughts, words, and deeds.  If we feel good, feel confident, feel invincible, or feel certain, our thoughts, words, and actions are one way.  However, if we feel doubtful, weak, or fearful, we are very likely thinking very different kinds of  thoughts. (Continue to Part 6 of My Success Formula: ACTION!

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.