Hi. My name is Lucinda Cross, and I am a former procrastinator. I am 10 years clean from procrastination. Please join me for a moment of silence followed by the Serenity Prayer which we will recite.
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen."
This is how most recovery-related support groups start their meetings. I did a little research to make sure we follow the same model here in my article.
Are you addicted to procrastination?
Are you gambling with your future?
If you suffer from procrastination, I recommend you set a goal every day. When you set daily goals for yourself, you develop the habit of getting things done. This is what I call the right investment of your time. When the procrastination gremlin appears, you know how to force yourself to push ahead instead of getting your daily fix of procrastination. If you feel like you're losing the battle against procrastination, one of the most effective strategies for taking charge of your life is to get in the habit of completing your daily goals.
It's easy to get discouraged when your projects don't seem to be going the way you expected. We all need a long-term vision to guide our day-to-day efforts, but many people with high goals develop a negative attitude when they think they're not making progress. That's why it's important to set achievable goals every day. The more goals you achieve, the more positive your attitude will be.
I encourage you to set weekly and monthly goals. Your short-term goals are milestones that keep you moving toward long-term goals. They help you know if you're going in the right direction. When a long-term goal seems far away, it's easy to feel discouraged. Breaking down a large project into smaller segments makes it easier to stay focused. Celebrate when you achieve daily and weekly goals. Also, give yourself a special reward when you achieve a monthly goal. I love visiting my favorite boutique and getting a new dress or accessory.
It's important to experience the satisfaction and rewards of successfully completing goals. When you force yourself to keep moving until you finish a project, it's easier to get started on the next one. Don't be surprised if you feel yourself grappling with the drift toward procrastination now and then. It may never go away completely. All successful people learn how to identify the procrastination monster and they know what to do about it when it threatens:
- Successful people use their time well. When an urgent task threatens to pull them away from what they're doing, they don't rush into it just because it seems urgent. They always ask: Which of these two things is higher on my list of priorities?
- Turn off the phone from time to time. Can you get more done by leaving a voice message and turning the phone off during certain periods of the day? The telephone is one of the most insidious thieves of our time. It's urgent, but rarely important. It shoves out the less urgent but more important things.
- They keep a log of how they use their time. If they miss a deadline, they plan how to finish the remainder of their work and estimate as accurately as possible when it will be done.
- They develop a routine. They set an objective to accomplish every morning and every afternoon.
- They always think twice before postponing a task. Successful people know that pushing themselves to accomplish daily goals makes them more likely to achieve long-term goals.
If you have any recovery-related announcements please share in the comments below?
#ProcrastinationFREE,
Lucinda Cross
Chief Activator and Go-to Girl To Get Stuff Done