Procrastination

The difference between reaching our goals or quitting before we even start, is our level of enthusiasm.

Thomas Edison said, "If the only thing we leave our kids is the quality of enthusiasm, we will have given them an estate of incalculable value."  Edison's research laboratory burned to the ground when he was 67.  As the fire consumed his world-famous "invention factory," Edison told his children, "Kids, go get your mother.  She'll never see another fire like this one." Edison knew that enthusiasm is the best antidote for tragedy, and it's the most powerful weapon to use in the war against procrastination.

My level of enthusiasm actually has nothing to do with my feelings.  My feelings change on a daily basis.  I have to start each day choosing the way I feel and not letting my feelings control me.  If you are discouraged, can you talk yourself into a positive frame of mind?  How do you keep yourself focused and motivated even when the job is tedious?

We know we should stay away from negative people.  Attitudes are contagious, if we associate with self-confident positive thinkers we will feel more confident too.

Try to schedule your most difficult tasks for the time of day when your energy is highest.  If you don't know the best time for you, try doing the worst, most unappealing jobs as early as possible.  When you get these out of the way, you will feel like you've really accomplished something and your level of enthusiasm will go through the roof.

A major cause of depression and anxiety is inactivity. (On the other hand, you can increase your energy level without eliminating other forces that cause procrastination; teenagers are particularly adept at expending enormous amounts of energy without getting anything done.) Remember that any technique is only effective when used as part of a total strategy.

When you breeze through a task with particular ease, make a note of the time of day.
Ask yourself what other factors might have contributed to making you more productive.
When you start to discover a pattern, you will have found how to operate at a higher level every day.  And when you identify the time of day when you are usually most efficient, schedule some of your least enjoyable tasks for that time.

We must continue to learn new things as if we were going to live forever, while living each day as if it were the last.  Telling myself that "Today is the first day of the rest of my life" doesn't work for me. If today were the last day of my life, how would I live it? That is the question I ask myself when I must fight against the forces of procrastination.

Always remember that enthusiasm is a choice. Mark Twain said, "Do something every day that you don't want to do; this is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain."

For more on procrastination and how to fight it, visit:
http://bridgettebell.com/procrastination