Why do something today that you can do "some other time?"

We all do it. Procrastinate. Delay. Put off. Wait for the right moment. Await perfection.

I don't know about you, but whenever I catch myself doing it, in addition to NOT getting things done, it adds a level of frustration that can really get in the way of how you feel about the stuff you're working on. And the more you procrastinate, the less you get done, and the worse you feel about yourself. It is a downward spiral that can get out of control.

To reverse this downward spiral, which I call the "procrastination spiral," here are number of things you can do.

1. Become clearer on your priorities. When you know which tasks are the most important, you can actually decide to "let go" of some of those other items that are cluttering your list.
2. Honor your priorities. Once you are clear on those priorities, take steps to work on the tasks that will advance those priorities. Having too many items on your to do list can prompt you to pay attention to the smaller and easier ones, just to have the satisfaction of checking them off the list.
3. Commit to a deadline. When you know something important needs to get done, give yourself a hard stop deadline. To make the deadline even stronger, committed in writing to someone else or declarant to someone impacted by that task.
4. Make time for the task. Make an appointment with yourself to work on that item that keeps slipping out of your grasp. Clear the calendar. And keep your appointment.
5. Break larger tasks into chunks. Many times, people procrastinate because they feel like they can't get it ALL done — that it seems too big for them to ever achieve. Break it up! Give yourself milestones. And pat yourself on the back when you've completed each milestone.
6. Mind your Circadian Rhythm. We all have energy levels that fluctuate during the day. The more in touch you are with your energy level cycles, the more appropriately you can schedule working on that task you've been procrastinating. Here's a log you can use to track yours: Energy – Rhythm assessment log
7. Give up "perfect." Perfection is the enemy of forward progress. Too many of us continue to tweak, and tweak and, tweak some more striving for the perfect product. Those delays can be very risky for your career, your business, your project. I like to say "Done is better than perfect."
8. What fear? Many times, the basis for inaction is a fear of something. "I'm afraid it won't be good enough... I'm afraid it will be rejected... I'm afraid of what people will think of me..." The list can go on. If you figure out what fear may be holding you back, gather your courage, face it, and move forward.
9. Avoid confusing activity with result. If you knock off 25 "easy" emails, yet you haven't started that mission-critical task, you will still be in the same backlog and stress level you were at the beginning of your day or week.
10. Get the airplane off the ground. Most of the energy and thrust to get an airliner off the ground is in the take off and following few minutes. Said another way, an object in motion stays in motion. Take the first step! You'll be glad you did.

Much of this newsletter is devoted to the subject of procrastination, and always about helping you be even more successful than you ever dreamed, so please — read on!

Here is a tip to help you avoid procrastinating actions in your inbox:

When viewing your inbox, start either at the top or the bottom, and handle or sort or discard the first item BEFORE you allow yourself to move to the next item. Once handled, remove it from your inbox. DO NOT move on to the next item until the first item is moved elsewhere. And before you think I'm crazy, this actually works. Here is a more extensive explanation of why and how.

Nine Secrets of Super Productive People (20 second read)

Why Do It Today? Procrastinate! (15 second read)

How to Decide What to Work on Next (3 minute podcast)

If you know you're going to have to do it, why wait until the last minute?

If you have put it off repeatedly, is it really all that important?

Here's your challenge for the month:

Write down three tasks you have procrastinated. For the each, WRITE the answers to these questions:

1. On a scale of 1 to 5, with five being "most important," how important is this task?
2. How much time will the completion of this task take?
3. What is the very first next action you need to take to move this task forward?
4. When will you again "make time" to take this first next action?
5. What is your hard stop deadline for the completion of this task?