In a previous article I mentioned that one of the best ways to beat the procrastination habit is by forcing yourself to do what you really, truly hate.
According to psychologist Albert Ellis, you can do it by donating a lot of money to a group or organization that you utterly despise. His logic is that you'll find the idea so abhorrent that you'll gladly perform the item you're procrastinating about, instead.
I want to offer an alternative; that works for me.
I have a procrastination list. I rank those miserable, awful, "I shouldn't have to do this!” types of activities and duties in order of the disgust they promote in me.
So, the number one item is the biggie among biggies. It's a huge boulder that is squatting smack in the middle of my road to success.
It weighs tons and tons, so no mere mortal would be able to push it away, or so I tell myself.
Then, I look at number two, on my list.
By comparison, it looks like a puny pebble. So, quickly, I sweep it away, and feel at least a small surge of accomplishment.
Number three is a mere grain of sand, and it flies into the stratosphere with just a flick of a finger.
Number four shouldn't even be on a procrastination list. It's an everyday to-do, sort of task.
Easy peasy, that's don
I still don't feel 100% great, because I know that big boulder hasn't budged.
Still, I feel pretty good, for a flake!
And I have just about enough energy from my minor victories to just start chipping away at the edges of it.
That, my friends, is a big accomplishment, indeed!
Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.