How to Beat Procrastination

“In the time you spent complaining about this, Susan, youncould’ve had it done.”

Did anyone else’s mother used to say that?

She also might’ve added that if I’d just gone ahead and donenit, I would:

1. Feel good about myself, with a sense of accomplishment
2. Free the energy of feeling like a slacker, feelingnguilty, and having the task hanging over my head
3. Have her goodwill and respect instead of her rancor

We both knew it was my chore to do the dishes.

How many “inevitable” tasks like that do you have on you
list? The sales call will have to be made, the realtor mustnbe fired, the relationship must be ended, the ovennthermostat must be fixed.

The Equalizer is a t.v. show, “dirty deeds done dirt cheap”nis a song, and 'deus ex machina' went out with Greek and
Roman tragedies.

When you procrastinate, you lose. You lose time, energy,nself-esteem, goodwill, trust, and timely solutions.

Because my mom held firm, I learned that it was best to gonahead and get it over with. Of course you do that a fewntimes and the relief you get will be its own motivation.
Instead of that “little” nagging feeling that saps you
energy more than you know, you’re free to fly!

If someone keeps coming along behind you (or if you’re doingnthis for your child, or report, or partner), the lesson willnnot be learned. You’ll be reinforcing the whining andnprocrastinating.

Is writing that report that much worse than draining you
energy, sabotaging your self-esteem, annoying the peoplenaround you, and making the situation worse?

My mom left the dishes right there in the sink and, as younknow, the longer the oatmeal sits in the pot, the harder itnis to clean.

“When you have a number of disagreeable duties to perform,nalways do the most disagreeable first,” said Josiah Quincy.
Why not give it a try!

If you rely on the 'deus ex machina', you could be waiting anlong time, and you will also damage your sense of PersonalnPower.

'Deus ex machina', in case you haven’t heard the phrase, is
Latin for “god from the machine” a dramatic device from the
5th century BC, particularly used by Euripides, the greatnclassical tragedian. When you write the play, you get tonwrite the ending, and all the “helps” along the way, asnwell!

How did it work? Our hero gets in trouble, serious trouble,nand what happens? A “god” is lowered by crane onto thenstage to solve the problem. We wish.

The phrase came to mean “any active agent who appearsnunexpectedly to solve an apparently insoluble difficulty.”

Also called 'praying for divine intervention', if you come to rely on it, you’ll begin to feel more and more helpless. If you go ahead and tackle hard things yourself, you’ll build your confidence and sense of Personal Power, and earn the respect of yourself and others.