By Bruno Logreco

Everyone procrastinates. It is a common fact, with more than 95% of the population freely admitting they will put off some task or challenge today that they feel they have time to complete tomorrow. The number of people who continually put off that exact same task for a second or even third day is a whopping 20%, making one-fifth of the population chronic procrastinators. If you are one of this large percentage, you probably have tons of good excuses why things can wait – whether it be how much time you actually have to how creative you feel, to how much motivation you can drum up. You put things off and you always have a good excuse.

Studies have been conducted for years on procrastination and the results of those individuals who repeatedly put off important tasks in their lives. Some studies go so far as to correlate procrastination to a person’s innate fear of success, using it as a coping mechanism to combat anxiety that comes with starting any new task.

What happens is that, when faced with a challenging task, a procrastinator will look at their skillset, their confidence in their skillset, and their general measurement of success in completing the task. Many times, they find they have little or no confidence that they can be successful in completing the task at hand and they then proceed to put the task off for a number of days. A prime example is the annual New Year’s Resolution – a challenging goal set by millions every year in an attempt to improve their quality of life. Subsequently, millions break their resolutions because they just can’t make themselves complete the task.

Many times, individuals will simply make decisions without thinking ahead. Procrastinators are not afraid of becoming involved – they want to be part of multiple tasks, proving to themselves and those around them that they can be successful. But, this impulse to constantly be involved more often than not only makes things worse as they start putting things off, building upon their fears and doubts and dealing blow after blow to their confidence.

At this point, it takes very little in the way of distractions to trigger a procrastinator’s innate response to a challenging task. Their anxiety continues to grow and they look for any excuse to put off their task and convince themselves it just isn’t time to complete it yet.

With all of this negative self-talk, fear of failure, and complete lack of confidence, many people lose inspiration and motivation to do much of anything. They hope that the next day will be a better day and that they will feel what they think they need to be successful then instead of today. All that happens is that the cycle picks back up again where it left off and procrastination continues.

Are you born with the procrastination gene or is procrastination a learned behavior?

There are multiple theories on why so many people become chronic procrastinators and the truth could go either way. Regardless of whether you grew up in an environment where you were constantly controlled and not allowed to develop necessary life skills, or whether your family just puts things off a lot, you must learn to overcome procrastination. Below you will find 6 key steps to doing just that:

6 Steps To Overcome Procrastination:
1. Write out all of the challenges and tasks you’ve been putting off – this might include everything from projects at work, to losing weight, or work around the house. Write them all down.
2. For everything you’re afraid to complete, ask yourself three quests: What am I afraid of? What outcome do I fear the most? What can I do to change the outcomes so that they will be in my favor?
3. Create a plan that will work – Break down all of the tasks you have to small chunks you can manage and then break them down even smaller into easily completable steps.
4. Think positively and ignore your negative self-talk.
5. Finish one task each day – Check off everything as you complete and don’t expect too much of yourself.
6. Monitor your progress and continue building on your plans – Look for three keys to success here: Motivation, Confidence, and Self-Esteem.

When you break down your procrastination and approach it one step at a time, you can start to overcome the factors that have been making your life that much harder for so many years.

Take the first step towards breaking your procrastination habit while you build confidence and self esteem. Visit http://www.brunologreco.com today to learn how Master Life Coach, Toronto (http://www.brunologreco.com )native Bruno LoGreco could hep you with your procrastination.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bruno_Logreco

For more information and support for creating more time for yourself and what’s important to you, visit http://www.GalileoLS.com/consult.html for a free coaching consultation.

By Gary Simpson

There are few conditions that can paralyze a person’s future more than the disease of procrastination.

Procrastination is the paralysis of action for fear of making a mistake. It will ensure that whomever is afflicted with such a condition will live a life of inactivity and regret.

Millions, perhaps billions, of people are stricken with this condition. For them, the fear of failure outweighs the joy of success so strongly that they cannot start or finish any project.

Could you imagine how much further advanced this world would be if everybody were able to throw away the shackles of mediocrity and achieve what they were infinitely capable of doing? We would have cures for cancer, diabetes and the common cold to name just a few medical advances.

We would have also solved greenhouse gases, our dependence on fossil fuels, starvation in third world countries, war and so many other problems that affect the world.

Defeating procrastination involves four things:
1. knowing where you are
2. knowing where you want to be
3. knowing how to get from where you are to where you want to be
4. getting from where you are to where you want to be

Until you learn to get procrastination under control you will never achieve anything worthwhile with your life. That would be so sad.

Procrastination is your mortal enemy.
Succumbing to procrastination is surrendering your life to something far less than what you were ultimately designed for.

Isn’t it time you discovered how to get on top of procrastination once and for all?

Gary Simpson operates the Turn Debt Into Wealth (http://www.turn-debt-into-wealth.com/wealth.html) website. To discover how to get on top of procrastination once and for all and become more successful than you ever thought possible go here: “How to Stop Wasting Your Life and Start Getting What You Want – A Guide to Help You Get to Where You Want to Be.” (http://www.turn-debt-into-wealth.com/mind.html)Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Simpson

For more information and support for creating more time for yourself and what’s important to you, visit http://www.GalileoLS.com/consult.html for a free coaching consultation.

By Peter Murphy

If you procrastinate at home you may suffer some consequences from disgruntled family members who have to carry your share of the workload.

A worst-case scenario is that your procrastination and lack of motivation may carry over to other members of your family, resulting in absolutely nothing being done.

All the disorganization and clutter in your home will most likely result in chaos and disarray to the point you have no clean clothes to wear and can’t find your books or briefcase.

However, all is not lost because you can learn how to overcome procrastination at home by following a few simple suggestions…

1. Make a list of tasks that must be done daily, weekly, monthly and so on. Then think about how each task can be simplified.

For example, the first thing you normally do when you get home is change into comfortable clothing.

You can eliminate one task right here by hanging up your clothes when you take them off instead of waiting until bedtime, when you most likely will throw them over the back of a chair.

2. Once you have made your task list, prioritize each list.

It could go something like this:
(1) talk and listen to your children and/or spouse to learn about their day;
(2) get dinner started (you already know what cook because previously you made menus and shopped for food;
(3) make some time to talk to family members while dinner is cooking;
(4) immediately after dinner clear the table and load the dishwasher instead of waiting;
(5) do other necessary chores such as laundry while helping children with homework. This list is an example only; your list may be entirely different. The important thing is to get it done.

3. Prevention is the key to having less to do around the house. Put mats down around all entrances to prevent dirt from being tracked into the house, thus making vacuuming easier.

Some other preventive measures you can take now to lighten your load and help you overcome procrastination at home are so simple you’ll wonder why you didn’t think of them sooner.

4. Ask family members to break all habits that result in messes, and minimize those that can’t be helped. Become aware of the messes around the house and analyze the reason for them.

You can coat some surfaces with a sealant to keep them looking shiny and new and make cleaning easier.

If you have surfaces that can’t be cleaned such as a wall with flat latex paint, you can repaint with a cleanable paint or cover it with a washable wallpaper. Seal off crevices and cracks that let dust and pests get into your home.

5. Other tips include avoiding high-low carpet patterns and embossed floor tile; it collects dirt and is hard to clean.

Indoor-outdoor carpet also shows every piece of lint or dirt that gets on it (and it really doesn’t add much fashion to your floor anyway).

Elaborately textured ceilings and walls collect dust and cobwebs and should be avoided.

Other elements to avoid include unfinished wood that shows stains, dark colors on floors, furniture and countertops, and large collections that have to be moved around to clean.

With a little forethought and ingenuity, you can teach yourself and family members to simplify your lives and learn how to overcome procrastination at home.

Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report that reveals how to crush procrastination and sustain lasting motivation. Apply now because it is available for a limited time only at: http://www.getmotivatedstaymotivated.com/special.htm

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Murphy

For more information and support for creating more time for yourself and what’s important to you, visit http://www.GalileoLS.com/consult.html for a free coaching consultation.