What’s harder is seeing the obstacles that lie within us.

In this podcast, Chris and Paul discuss one of the things we do that can delay our progress and ultimately, our success. We’re all guilty at times and this podcast can help you see it – and eliminate it – quickly, so you can experience the success you deserve, sooner than you would otherwise.

Unable to complete tasks due to outside forces?

Chris and Gina discuss ways in which we invite distractions (often without realising it) into our lives and the impact this has personally and professionally.

Find out how you can acknowledge your distractions and take practical steps to minimise their impact.

Does watching this video make you wonder if the creator was peeping in through your windows watching how you navigate through the day?

Well, if you’re laughing or feeling a bit uncomfortable at how much you relate to the above comments, then perhaps it’s time to really take a look at your procrastinating skills in a new light.

Being a procrastinator is not a genetic trait nor a unresolvable habit, it’s simply a result of flawed thinking and instant judgement. It’s not YOU that’s the problem, it’s just your pattern of thinking in the moment.

Ask these simple questions…and answer them with brutal and loving honesty…to shed a new light on your core issue and begin to feel more empowered to make a change.

Step 1: Think of something specific that you’re procrastinating on this week.

Step 2: What is it about this task/project that makes you uncomfortable about taking action?

Step 3: Why is that uncomfortable?

Step 4: Why is (your answer to step 3) uncomfortable?

Step 5: Why is (your answer to step 4) uncomfortable?

Step 6: Why is (your answer to step 5) uncomfortable?

Step 7: Imagine the task/project is now done. What would the ‘you of the future’ say to yourself right now?

Step 8: What small thing can you do, that will take less than 20 minutes, to break the ice, make progress and start to feel in control of the situation?

If you answered those questions openly and honestly, you now know what to do.

One-tenth of 2011 is now gone. How was it for you?

Are you off to a flying start like an Olympic sprinter? Are you really making an effort to do what you want to do? Having more fun, checking off your to-do list with a steady flow of energy and optimism?

Or are you still stuck in the starting blocks? Putting off what really matters to you or perhaps waiting for some issues to clear before starting on your goals for the year? Maybe just postponing real action until you ‘feel more motivated’?

What you do, and how you behave in the first 1/10^th of the year can create massive momentum for the remaining 90% — both positive and encouraging momentum to continue to build on, and sluggish downward-spiral momentum that’s often hard to break away from.

Either way, the past has passed, and what’s done is done. The great news is there is still 90% of the year remaining!  So if you’re not off to an inspiring start, use today as your new beginning and promise yourself not to waste another minute!

It just comes down to the decisions we make right now: do I want more out of this year than last? How would I feel this time next year if I don’t try harder now? I will accept responsibility for my own success and happiness and make sure to take the actions necessary to making this a successful, happy, fun and exciting year and finally take control of living the life I want.

If you’re not sure where to get started, stay tuned for an exciting announcement from ActionPodcast.

This year at ActionPodcast, we have made the same promise – we are going to walk more of our walk and make the most of the next 90%, here’s our commitment: to do more to help you create extreme positive momentum in your life; encourage and inspire you to stay on track and on target for your ambitions and dreams; continue to help you get back up and dust yourself off whenever you fall down and life gets overwhelming.

And of course, there are loads of new helpful blog posts and insightful podcasts on our website to make sure you stay on path for taking everyday action in order to create a year you can really be proud of.  We’ll do it together.

Decide today to do one thing, just one small action right now, that will move you closer to what you want, and soon you’ll be doing more and more things that accelerate your success.

Leave a comment to let us know how your first 10% has been – good or bad – and how you’re going to make the next 10% even better.

Apparently, psychologist Clayton Barbeau gave the world the oft-used ‘shoulding all over yourself’, taken to a more below-the belt conclusion by another couch potato – clearly a big Freud fan – who dubbed it ‘musterbation’.

But whatever moniker you give this feeling, if you’re anything like me, once the dread word ‘should’ enters your brain you have a sudden indescribable urge to do exactly the opposite. Or put it off for weeks, nay months, even years for the more stubborn ‘delayers’ among us.

So where does all this wonderful ‘shoulding’ come from? Is it parents, teachers, the Bible, News of the World? Ourselves? Clearly in life there are certain essentials that do need doing: the garbage ‘should’ be taken out, otherwise you risk a rat-attack. And it’s advisable to engage in regular ablutions to avoid a sad case of Billy No Mates. But nowhere is there a written law for adults who have left the parental nest that you have to do any of those things. You can jolly well please yourself.

Differentiating between what is essential and what isn’t is a matter of conjecture and totally subjective. However, if you feel you are ‘shoulding’ on various topics way past their sell-by date, it may help to take a closer look… And ask yourself the question… What am I resisting here? Do the benefits of doing this outweigh the non-benefits? Whose voice is this? Mine or someone else’s? Am I delaying because actually doing this ‘should’ thing will make me unhappy?

‘I should get a job to pay my mortgage’ is a sensible thought indeed if you are currently sans income. But if the thought of doing work you previously hated, just to support some unscrupulous bankster cartel fills you with dread, then perhaps it would be useful to look at what other work you can do. Or sell. Downsize. There are always alternatives.

A client of mine who has made tremendous progress in dealing with her inner gremlin self-limiting beliefs told me last week that she ‘should go back into teaching’. When I asked her what she had gained from having left the profession three months ago, she quickly gave me 20 brilliant reasons why she was so much happier now. She definitely should not be going back to the Bronx and class warfare.

Stop shoulding all over yourself!

Sam and Paul as the question of “So what?” to challenge themselves before someone else does!

If you have downloaded the podcast from iTunes remember to post a review and visit our website at ActionPodcast.com to leave a comment or contact one of the presenters directly. Sign up for our newsletter to receive the podcast directly to your inbox, plus an additional weekly blog post!

Research shows that people that are stressed and overwhelmed spend less than 25% of their time on things that are fulfilling to them. This can be at work and at home and at play. Are you being distracted from the important? Under demand from other people’s requests? Under delusion that the majority of your time on certain tasks is the best or fastest way to achieve your desired outcome? Of course, we all spend time in these phases, and indeed we need to spend time on the not-so-urgent-or-important duties during our days and weeks.

But every once in a while we need to take a step back. When is the last time you stopped? Took stock of where your time and attention is going, and should go? What is working for you (i.e. when are you at your best, where are you most productive and/or fulfilled, how are you managing your time and attention, where are you not coping as well as you’d like to)?

By the way, this doesn’t need to be a deep, soul-searching exercise. It can be a simple health check or audit of what’s happening right now in your life and what you could do to improve and increase your happiness or zest for life, work, family, friends, community, spirituality, and so on.

It’s a simple exercise of looking back on recent times and asking yourself the questions above. In just a few minutes of honest reflection your 20/20 hindsight will provide great foresight on how to easily and effortlessly take steps towards improvement and progress.

Do this without harsh judgment or beating yourself up for things that aren’t quite where you want them to be, just the process of this simple task will take you that much closer to everything you want to achieve. Even if you’ve struggled for a while or know you’ve procrastinated on making a change – that’s life, you’re human just like me. So if your initial reaction is self-blame or doubt, change it instead to one of gratitude that you care enough about yourself and are willing to live life more on your terms. Take the time to stop, acknowledge where you’d like to improve, and simply turn your attention to helpful and easy ways to take immediate steps in the right direction.

Here’s a simple guide (and secret of highly productive and consistent producers of excellence) on how and when to do this:

One minute per day: Before you lay your head on your pillow, reflect on the day and ask, ‘What was great about today?’ How can I make tomorrow even better?’ Be specific in your answers. Simple, easy, wonderfully rewarding.

One hour per week: Schedule and commit to one hour per week to reflect back on the previous week. How did you do? Did you complete what you wanted to? Did you get the outcomes you were hoping for? What can you do differently to effectively and efficiently manage your days/time/attention/energy this upcoming week? What are your priorities and outcomes for next week? Personally, I find first thing Saturday morning a great time to do this.

One day per quarter: Schedule and commit to one full day every three months to reflect back on the previous 90 days. Where have you seen great results and progress? What are the trends in how or where you under-delivered against your expectations? What can you start doing, or better yet, what will you commit to changing during the next 90 days. Be sure to look at all major areas of your life: health & vitality, finances & wealth creation, relationships with your partner & friends (separate out your partner from other friends or family), hobbies & interests, spirituality & community. You can also expand this to include your relevant professional categories. Make it a fun exercise and engage others in the hindsight and foresight exercise where appropriate. One full day might seem like a lot…but how much will you gain over the next 90 days from a 6-8 hour investment in planning ahead. (Hint: far more than you can imagine!). Personally, the last Friday or Saturday of March, June, September, December are great triggers to remind me to do this. You can also use the first day of Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.

One weekend per year: A lot can happen in your life (and a lot can be delayed) in a year so it — and living the life that you want and deserve (!) — demands quality reflection and projection forward. Schedule and commit to two days at the end of the year to reflect on your previous goals and desires for the past year, the victories and defeats, the joys and sorrows. Where are you versus where you expected to be? What is going to make the next year different? Who are you becoming? How can you change or grow to become the person you want to be? What 20/20 hindsight can you use as foresight for an extraordinary year ahead? How much could you set yourself on an exciting and rewarding path with two full days of stopping, reflecting and planning ahead? (Hint: far more than you can imagine!)

20/20 hindsight is always there. So is your ability to reflect on these insights and turn them into powerful and empowering foresight for designing and living the life you’ve always imagined.

Start treating yourself to this gift today.

Chris

Our minds are much like our homes.  They both get cluttered. They fill up with bits and bobs we no longer want or need. Both benefit from a regular cleaning out of stuff that we collected for one reason, and are holding onto out of habit, neglect, or just delusion it’s still the right thing to do.

Getting rid of old habits, procrastination or negative emotions, and replacing them with a fresh perspective and renewed optimism, is a great way to re-energise yourself and put a bounce in your step.

Here are simple suggestions to spring clean your life and mind.

Mind

Most clutter of the mind comes from a) losing sight of what is most important b) trying to mentally juggle too much. If you find yourself distracted on a regular basis and doing lots of things but not getting much accomplished, take a 30 to 60-minute time out to reset your inner compass on what is most important to you.

Action: Reflect on your goals for the year or what outcomes you really want to create in your life for the next week or month. Eliminate or delegate anything that isn’t a top priority.

Action: If you find your mind overloaded with too many things to remember, start each day with a pen and paper. Our brains are incredibly powerful, but very poor at organisation. Get back to basics and once you see all the items on paper you can make better choices on where to put your focus, attention and appreciation.

Relationships

What relationship have you neglected the past few months? Give it a polish and freshen the air around it. Is it a friendship you’ve gone too long without being in touch? A partner you haven’t spent enough positive and loving time with? Don’t worry if it’s been too long, now is the time to revive it and they will greatly appreciate the gesture.

Action: Decide to get in touch or make extra special plans to add shine to your relationship once again.

Emotions

What negative emotion have you been clinging to for too long now? What fear, stress, anxiety, worry, frustration, hatred is no longer serving you? We adopt these emotions because in some way they helped us. Perhaps to protect us from an illusion of greater pain ahead. But time has passed and it’s no longer contributing to your life and is likely contaminating it.

Action: Choose one negative emotion that is polluting your mind and body and decide to let it go. Replace that with something positive and make more room for happiness.

We’d love to hear your additional tips and ideas for spring cleaning your mind and body. Please leave a comment to share with other readers, and let us know what you will do to freshen up this spring.

If you have downloaded the podcast from iTunes remember to post a review and visit our website at ActionPodcast.com to leave a comment or contact one of the presenters directly. Sign up for our newsletter to receive the podcast directly to your inbox, plus an additional weekly blog post!

So, in an attempt to explore, and gently knock my deferral habit on the head once and for all (maybe a childhood fall from a horse is where it did, in fact, all go terribly wrong) here are my thoughts and findings on the whole Procrastination Phenomenon…

The Definition

Procrastination essentially means putting off till tomorrow what you can do today. Or as I read somewhere recently: “Procrastination is like masturbation; in the end you’re just screwing yourself”.

I couldn’t put it better myself. Procrastination also happens to be the ‘grave of opportunity’ for many of us. It sucks. So how does the ‘P’ word manifest itself in our daily life?

The Symptoms

A deliberate decision to defer doing things, ranging from: I’ll tidy up those papers later to… that ironing can wait, to I’ll apply for that job next week, to I’ll get a divorce next year when the economy’s better. We’re so good at making up excuses why we shouldn’t, can’t or just simply won’t do things we know need doing.

I know that I can suddenly have an irresistible urge to do the hoovering when I’ve got papers to file, my cupboards suddenly need sorting when I have a writing deadline, or I just have to get some fresh air when faced with demanding tax returns to fill out. The list and the excuses are endless. I even find myself ironing rather than doing what I should be doing. Crazy making. If I have a writing deadline, I will often wait until I’m up against the wire to get it done. This way it gets done faster, but I also put off more important deadlines like job applications and such like.

So why do we procrastinate?

The reasons we put things off are many and varied. Is it sheer laziness, this stubborn refusal to get on and do the damn thing, is it fear, or are our self-sabotaging habits indicative of more serious emotional and mental problems like depression?

I often procrastinate if I’m feeling overloaded or overwhelmed, and poor management is probably the key element here, but an inability to prioritise can lead to severe procrastination. Perfectionism, another dangerous ‘P’ word came up when I spoke to friends and colleagues about their own delaying tactics. We often have unrealistic standards – for ourselves and others – a self-limiting belief that it’s better not to start at all than to risk failure, or sub-standard contributions. Occasionally severe worry about a task to be done means that more time is spent angsting than doing, while some of us may feel that any kind of setback is a complete disaster – we have an “all or nothing” mindset. So don’t try again once we’ve experienced so-called ‘failure’.

And of course there are some things in life we have to do that are simply boring or difficult. It’s easy to put them at the end of our ‘to do’ list. More serious is the negative mind chatter that tells us ‘we’re useless’ or ‘nothing ever goes right for me’. If you are experiencing this to any degree, tell it to shut the f**k up. Or get professional help. Quick.

The Solutions

Here are a few strategies I’ve used to help me with my own procrastination:

1. Look at your list of ‘to do’s and list them in an order of priority. What are the things that you simply HAVE to do either today or tomorrow? Which are the tasks that can be left until next week or next month, without making you feel stressed?

2. Ask yourself exactly what you are gaining from procrastinating. What’s the trade-off here?

3. Mind your language. Try changing the ‘shoulds” “have to’s” and ‘can’ts to choose to and choose not to. This could be very revealing. No one has a gun at your head – perhaps you’re in a job/marriage/relationship that needs leaving!

4. Are your values aligned with your actions? Many of us doing work we actively dislike, assuming there are no options. Make a list of your values and see if your job is in synch. If not, then look around for another form of work. Yes, the economy is in dire straits, but there is plenty of work out there. Whether you think you can, or whether you think you can’t – you’re right!

5. As Brian Tracy recommends in his book, Eat The Frog – tasks can be looked up on as frogs – the most dreaded task being the ugliest frog. He recommends eating the ugliest frogs first!

6. Reward yourself when you do accomplish something. This is vital!

7. Remember, its better to produce/do something than nothing at all.

8. Just cut the bull and get on with it!

Good luck! And on a final note, here’s a great quote from William James:

“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task, which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome”

Recommended Reading:

Eat that frog
Just Get On With It: A Caring, Compassionate Kick Up the Ass!
Procrastination: Why You Do It, What to Do About It
Do it Now: Break the Procrastination Habit

It could be that point in the rollercoaster ride where we are faced with a journey that looks entirely up-hill.

Are you really being lazy? Could it be that you are just progressing towards your goal REALLY slowly? Have you overlooked what you’ve actually completed? Or even worse, are you actually moving in the opposite direction (away from what you want)?

Join Paul & Sam as they explore how to tell which direction you’re facing, whether you’re moving or not, and some ways that you can start to measure & track your progress so that you are always clear on the action that is needed.