Procrastination, at an early stage, is not noticeable that much.  Putting off a simple thing later is already procrastinating.  Like putting back the nail cutter on its proper place after using it.  We just tend to put it anywhere, sometimes in a subconscious way.  But later on, procrastination becomes a problem.  It causes us not to finish our tasks or worse, it will cause us to fail on our goals or dreams in life.  Actually, I just found the three basic types of procrastinators according to Joseph Ferrari, Ph.D.:

1. Arousal Types - they are also known as the thrill-seekers.  They are those who wait for the last minute to finish their task or the things they could have done earlier on.

2. Avoiders - these are the types who avoid fear of failure or even the fear of success.  They are concerned of what others think of them.  In other words, they are the ones who wants to play safe.

3. Decisional Procrastinators - they are those who cannot make a decision.  By not making a decision, they free themselves of the responsibility for the outcome of events.

These types of procrastinators do not lack the ability to manage their time effectively.  They are not even born as one but their procrastination is developed through time.  These procrastinators cannot solve their procrastination problems easily.  It will take much time and effort.  But even more so, the important thing is that it can actually be solved.

Here is a series of quotes from one of the world’s most famous painter, Vincent Van Gogh.

I dream of painting and then I paint my dream.

That simple quote is very meaningful and true.   He had this dream and he pursued it and succeed.  A simple lesson is that when we dream of something - I am talking of life’s dream here not a dream we had when we slept - we have to pursue it to make it happen.

If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.  

Yes, its that tiny voice in our minds that contradicts us. Its our subconscious mind that often causes us to think negatively, thus, we quit in achieving our goals or dreams.  The quote tells us that we have to fight it and never get influenced by it again because it will only hinder us from achieving the things we want to achieve.

Happiness… it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.  

Happiness occurs when we achieve our goal.  Imagine all the hardships that you’ve been through and after passing all of it, you finally reached your goal.  Those hardships I think is the foundation of the success you now have.

In spite of everything I shall rise again: I will take up my pencil, which I have forsaken in my great discouragement, and I will go on with my drawing.

This tells us that even Vincent Van Gogh has once fallen also.  A famous painter has experienced failure and yet he never quit.   For that alone makes him a winner because only quitters lose.  Instead, he took his pencil again and continue on his drawing and started achieving again.

I just found these quotes by Vincent Van Gogh after a friend forwarded me the second on the list.  I thought that this is very empowering and motivating.  A quote from a famous person that everyone may apply in their own life to succeed in their own goals as well.

It is important to know how to find self motivation when you are dealing with unstructured timetables and deadlines that can change from one moment to the next.

Unstructured time and changing deadlines can be very frustrating and can cause motivation to dwindle away.

Motivation can also sometimes be difficult to recover in these types of situations unless we can find a way to put more prediction in the unstructured time and changing deadlines.

Most of us find motivation somewhat easy to get when we are dealing with structured situations. Going to work is a good example of a structured situation. We get out of bed each day and go to the office or factory and put in our eight hours, sometimes not really wanting to.

But we find the inner strength and desire to do so day in and day out. The reason we do is that if we don’t we don’t get paid and can actually lose our jobs.  The need for an income to support our families is the source that motivates us to get to work even when we don’t want to.

There are many tasks in life that have unstructured time tables and changing deadlines. A simple example might be getting the house painted. If you are a working person, like most of are, you only have time to paint the house on the weekends.

However, most house painting projects are not just a one weekend event, but rather a project that can take several weekends to complete. Moreover, the deadline for completing such a project can change because of weather conditions or other events that interfere.

So how do you stay motivated to complete your painting project when time is unstructured and the deadline changes?

The thing to do is to put structure into your time. This is fairly easy to do if you:

1. Break your projects down into smaller pieces.

Taking the house painting example, rather than trying to paint the whole in a weekend, break the overall project into smaller projects.

For example, scrape the old paint away on one Saturday morning. Then the following Saturday morning apply your primer. Then the next Saturday morning paint one side and the final side on the next Saturday.

The point here is to put structure in unstructured time by breaking projects down into more time manageable pieces as it relates to your ability to complete the smaller pieces.

When you put structure in time where it was unstructured before you will find more motivation to complete the overall project as you complete the smaller ones.

2. Be flexible but do something!

Movable deadlines can be a source of frustration, discouragement, and pressure, all of which can then affect our motivation.

Deadlines move for a variety of reasons, many of which are beyond our control, like the weather interfering with getting the house painted before the party you planned to have in a few weeks.

But here again even though the rain today has prevented you from painting the house today you can do other things that you were going to do next weekend and paint the house next weekend.

3. An effective way to cope with movable deadlines is to be flexible and able to change your schedule.

Unstructured time and movable deadlines can affect our motivation. By nature we are creatures that feel more comfortable and motivated with stability and prediction in our lives.

When time is unstable and unpredictable we can become confused, frazzled and frustrated because unstructured time and movable deadlines require us to change something.

The key to staying motivated in these situations is to remain flexible at all times and adapt ourselves and schedules to meet those changes.

If you realy want to achieve your biggest goals, you have to start somewhere.

Some goals can be long-term, complex goals which may take months or even years to achieve. That can be overwhelming.

If you start to get overwhelmed by a task it can unfortunately mean that you get too scared to even begin with it. That won’t get you anywhere!

What you have to do is begin somewhere.

Here are a few simple steps to help you get started on a big task which can at first seem overwhelming.

1. Set a clear aim

Unless you very clearly know what it is that you’re trying to do, you’ll keep putting off the task and messing around with little things that won’t help you. You’ll push your aim further and further into the future and then it will seem even more unreachable.

Get over that by setting a very clear overall aim for yourself.

2. Chunk down

Q: How do you eat an elephant?
A: One bite at a time

What that means is that if an overall goal seems massive, like an elephant, you need to break it down into smaller chunks. These smaller chunks can then be accomplished in quite a small period of time.

Those small successes which all go towards you achieving your overall aim should help to keep you motivated and confident that you can achieve your aims.

3. Assess your aims

Do you want it badly enough? Is it really your target or are you being forced into something? If it’s not a personal target for you you’ll just come up with excuses not to knuckle down to work and get things done.

4. Put your aims down on paper

That will make your aims seem more concrete to you. As you write them, you’ll already think of ways to achieve your targets and you’ll help to keep hesitation and doubt at arm’s length, where they belong.

Keep your list because all those ideas will be useful if and more likely when, you need to adapt your plans.

5. Is your goal SMART?

Specific?

Make sure you’re clear about what you want to achieve. It will make it easier for you to make practical plans. If you don’t know what you want, you can’t work out how to get it so you won’t be able to act confidently.

Measurable?

Define the goal in such a way that you can track your progress over time. Otherwise you will not know if you are moving  closer or further away from your goal.

Achievable?

It’s understandable for you to feel down if your plans don’t work out or when they take longer than you expect to achieve. Split your targets into smaller chunks so you can achieve some success before you are tempted to give up.

Take each small target achieved as a reason to congratulate yourself. Enjoy your success and that will spur you on to achieve more. You’ll understand why you’re doing something more easily and there will seem to be more point to it if you take time to smell the roses now and again.

That will increase your energy and motivation to keep moving forward, especially when Plan A is foiled.

Realistic?

Make sure that you could actually carry out your plan. Is it within your capabilities? Have you thought about the potential problems and how you might deal with them?

Timed ?

Time frames are really important in reaching for your goals. They can be flexible, but you need to set yourself a provisional deadline to achieve your target. That will help to keep you focused and taking actions towards your goals.

6. Remind yourself of your targets every day.

Write down something you will do towards your goal today.

That’s where to begin, even with a goal which seems overwhelming at first.

Each of us is bombarded with many decision-making opportunities each and every day. Some of those decisions we can make quickly without much thought.

However complex decisions are sometimes difficult to make. Many factors can become involved in the decision-making process.  Sometimes one of those factors is doubt, specifically self-doubt, and fear.

Let us not get confused here. Doubting is a natural human response to any unfamiliar situation. But self-doubt is about ourselves. Self-doubt is a fear of making a mistake.

Self-doubt has its roots in our previous learning. None of us was born thinking or knowing, “I can do this” or “I can’t do this.”

As we grew up, making decisions, we received information from the environment and those around us. Some of that information was supportive and encouraging. Some of it wasn’t.

This is where self-doubt and fear of making mistakes arises, from other people’s expectations of us and sometimes even their criticism of us when we’ve made mistakes.

Responses, or feedback, from those around us, helped, and still does, shape and develop our self-perception, part of which involves our decision-making abilities.

Not every decision we make will be a good one. We all make mistakes in judgment at one time or another. It is humanly impossible to make a good decision every time we decide.

The information that was not encouraging and supportive in our learning is the root of our self-doubt. Many of us, in part because of the external responses we have received throughout our lives, fear making a mistake in our decisions.

When we allow fear to interfere with a decision we are in self-doubt and decisions become that much harder to make.

And when we allow self-doubt to interfere with any decision, we might make, it often can then become a self-fulfilling prophesy. A self-doubting mindset can set us up to fail.

However, there are some steps we can take to minimize, or even eliminate, our self-doubt.

1. The first decision we make is to acknowledge our self-doubt and fear. In doing this we must call it what it is and not something else.

For example, when feel afraid about a decision we made or are about to make don’t label the feeling as nervousness or anxiety. It’s fear.

2. Secondly, once we have labeled the fear and self-doubt we will want to quantify it. When we quantify we ask ourselves:

“How much self-doubt and fear are we actually experiencing over a decision?”

Establishing the level of the self-doubt helps us to acknowledge how we perceive the gravity of the situation.

3. Just acknowledging the self-doubt can help you cope with it, because once you know what it is you can fin practical ways to cope with it.

4. Fourthly, imagine the worst possible scenario that can result from your decision.

Often the worst-case scenario is embarrassment or humiliation if our decision fails in some way.

Imagining the worst outcome can help us put things in a better perspective and reduce fears and self-doubt. You will realize you can cope with failing if this decision is the wrong one.

5. Next, gather support from those around you and collect information that can assist you in coping with the worst-case scenario. With support and information you will be better equipped to confront your perception regarding the decision.

By addressing the situation you will find that your fear and self-doubt will dissipate. You will know how to cope, should the worst case scenario be realized so it stops being such a big deal.

Most self-doubt and fears about making any decisions are in our imaginary perceptions.

When we confront those perceptions with support and information our decisions will less likely to fail, and so all you really need to get over the self-doubt and fear of making mistakes is to confront that fear and take some steps to deal with the possible outcomes.

Everyone starts big projects and gets overwhelmed by them sometimes. They can take a long time to complete and problems crop up so you wonder whether it is worth carrying on.

But you know you won’t achieve anything of you give up, so what you have to so is find ways to stick at a project.

1. Break the task down into manageable chunks

One of the most important ways to manage your workload and stick at a project without being overwhelmed by it is to break tasks down into manageable bits.

For instance, you might want to set yourself a small task to read one chapter; to write a one page; to work for 45 minutes. Then once you’ve done that, you could allow yourself a break of 5 or 10 minutes and then do another 45 minutes of work.

You’ll get through your workload more happily and therefore more efficiently for allowing yourself to do this, because your brain can focus totally on the immediate task at hand because it knows you will be fair and give it a break then.

2. Reward yourself

Always remember to reward yourself for being motivated in doing a job or task; this encourages motivation by dwelling on your strengths and making sure that you know you can be successful. That helps you stay in a positive frame of mind, rather that going into panic mode that you can’t do something.

3. Look at the problem from a different angle

If you feel you are getting stuck, rather than just stopping work and giving up, look to a different strategy.  Remember, anxiety will slow you down.

Breaking off from a task for a long time and doing something else won’t relieve the anxiety that you can’t actually do the task. Working out how to solve the problem will help you complete the task and get it off your mind.

4. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today

It’s an old saying but there is a lot of sense in it. Putting off difficult choices or unpleasant tasks will just make it harder to tackle them in the future.

Don’t delay the task until what you think is the perfect time or perhaps when you’re in the mood.  That perfect time will never come. Start now.

5. Take regular breaks and get plenty of sleep. If you’re tired or there are just too many thoughts buzzing around your head, you’ll procrastinate because thinking straight has just become way too difficult.

6. Don’t multitask

This can be counterproductive.  That muddies the waters in the same way as fatigue does because you’re never sure what to concentrate on and your mind keeps straying back to the other tasks you have lined up and slotted in between.

Simply begin a project and finish it before you move on, so you plough all your energies into that one project and get it done quicker and better.

7. If you have several priorities competing for your time, give yourself a sense of accomplishment by actually completing the easiest task first.

It will feel so good once it’s ticked off your list of things to do. You will have got somewhere with your time and effort and your subconscious mind soaks up the idea that you can be a success, so you stay in a positive and productive frame of mind.

8. Keep your workspace organized so that you can concentrate on each project rather than what clutter is surrounding you.

9. Eliminate any possible distractions before beginning a large or complicated task.

10. If you feel you are getting tired of the task and there is a long way to go, get to where it’s beyond the half way point before you stop.  When you go to pick that up again, you’ll actually have less than have to do! That’s a great psychological boost which gets you motivated to start work again.

Following these tips should help you to stick at any project, large or small, which you need to tackle.

The single most important step in getting somewhere is the knowing where you’re going and having a plan for getting there. If you don’t have a goal you won’t be satisfied because you won’t be able to judge when you’ve been successful so you will constantly feel like a failure. But the story isn’t over when you have a goal in mind.

You then need to split that overall goal into smaller steps so that you are able to see yourself achieving success step by step. That will help to build up your confidence and spur you on. So here is how to put your plan into action through realistic steps, by which you can measure your success.

1. You must have a clear goal. That acts as a signpost by which to direct all your activities.

2. Get your priorities right. If you know what your most important tasks are and what needs to be done first, you’ll be able to more efficiently put your time and energies into things that will help you achieve your aims. You can’t do everything at once so you need to decide what to do first.

3. Targets need to be SMART  - specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed.

4. Once you’ve got your targets and you know what steps you need to take in order to achieve them, it’s time to put them in order, according to your priorities.

5. Written lists will be really helpful in allowing you to
put your plan into action.

6. It’s probably best to have three lists

List 1 – Goals -Write down your goals and things you have to do. What do you want to achieve over the next month or year? Will this involve a big purchase or a long-term course to learn a new skill?

Write down all the things you must do, such as appointments etc. It will help you see you what your long-term goals are and decide what you need to concentrate on right now.

List 2 - The week’s calendar - Make this your basic guide to setting aside basic chunks of time to achieve something. This weekly calendar needs to be flexible, as it is difficult to plan exactly what you will do a week ahead. Something new may need to be done urgently; you may change your mind about doing things a certain way etc.

List 3 - The daily “Things to Do” - Write down all the things that you wish to achieve today. Use this list as a reminder. Use it to decide your targets for the day. Be realistic about what you can do. If you’re not, you’re just conning yourself; you can’t magically make things happen just because you want to, but you can move things to your long-term list.

7. Make a new list every morning.

8. Check off items as you finish them and praise yourself for each accomplishment. You’ll see yourself getting nearer to your goals and you’ll be amazed how good this feels!

Making your goals specific in this way, so that you know what you need to achieve each day helps to focus your mind. It helps you ignore distractions – even – or perhaps, especially – the distractions you create for yourself.

Yes there are other things you could do today, but are there things you need to do more urgently? There is always tomorrow for things you can’t manage to do today, but a daily ‘things to do’ list will make you feel less like putting things off, simply because you’ve put them down on paper.

Priorities will enable you to focus your time and energies into your targets and you should see real benefits. You will get nearer to your goals each day and your confidence and motivation will increase as a result.

Inertia is a feeling of not wanting to act. It usually stems from poor time management skills and poor organization skills.

Usually when a person makes sure they are aiming for a goal which is good for them which they are committed to and they learn how to properly manage their time and workspace, then they tend to suffer less from a feeling of inertia.

These time-management and organization skills can’t be learned overnight as they take a lot of practice, but everyone can find their own way through inertia with a bit of effort.

You just need to find a way that best suits you in organizing your life rather than following someone else’s goals for you.

However, the following tips should help you to find your motivation again and get over your inertia.

1. Take control

No matter who you are, everyone suffers from inertia sometimes. Never fear - you can turn that around.  Do it before inertia takes over your life you need to act.

Take control of the tasks that need doing.  There is no magic wand; there are no magic pixies that live in your office or kitchen and will help you in doing this.

That might sound negative, but it’s best that you face up to this realization now.

Make up your mind to take action today. Right now. Those tasks you’re trying to avoid won’t go away so you may as well face them now.

2. Be Positive

Only by turning around negative words and actions to positive words and actions will you cure inertia.  You need to take personal control of the tasks that need doing no matter if they’re at work or at home.

3. Recognize self-defeating behavior and its associated thinking

Try to work out why you actually lack motivation and ask yourself what you gain from the inertia: probably nothing, so now is the time to change all that: right here, right now.

If you’re honest with yourself, you are the only one preventing you moving forward toward your goals.

4. Own up

The first step toward overcoming inertia is to admit that you have a problem and try to determine its cause.  One of the best ways to achieve this is to look at yourself in the mirror and formally state what it is that is holding you back from accomplishing the task that you are in fact delaying.

It could be that you’re scared you’ll fail; it could even be that you’re afraid you’ll succeed. There is always a reason for inertia if you’re honest with yourself.

Remember, when you say your reasons out loud you own them and they become real.  Honesty is the best policy and in order to resolve inertia in your life you need to be honest and avoid the trap of negative self talk.

5. Be realistic

You may have convinced yourself that the people who seem to get everything done and never fall behind are superhuman beings, but they’re not. They’re just better organized and more focused than you.

6. Set goals

If you’re going to get over your inertia, you need to make realistic goals. Identify what tasks you need to do.  Make your goal something realistic.

What can you really do?

Also ensure that you have the right equipment to complete your tasks; don’t set yourself up for failure where you know you can’t succeed without the tools.  Keep in mind that you need to keep lists of when the deadlines are due and how you’re going to finish them.

These few pointers should help you to overcome inertia and get on with what needs to be done.

You may not find it easy to achieve your goals, and you may not achieve them as quickly as you want, but if you still really want that goal, it’s worth persevering over.

That just means you’ll have to find ways to stay motivated. And here are some ways in which you can do that.

1. Keep focused on your aim

You need to know what you want to achieve if you are to stay motivated and working at it. It has to be something that you really want. You should think carefully about your aim so that you know it is a good one and that it will make you happy.

2. Make your aim realistic

Make sure you know that you are capable of achieving that goal, even if it means that you have to learn a few new things along the way.

That may be all part of fun, so long as you are prepared for this and you have a plan for acquiring the skills that you need.

3. Get the balance right

Your aim is important, but it’s not the sum total of all that you are.

Don’t let one aim take over your life. Keep yourself a rounded, happy person who is good to know and fun to be with, by keeping your goal in perspective with the rest of your life.

Even when things go wrong and you hit an obstacle with your plans, bear in mind that not everything in your life has gone wrong.

4. Look for the positives in your life

Try writing down the following things:

- one thing you enjoyed doing today (which can be a big thing or a small thing)

- a time when putting some effort into something gained you a reward

- something you’ve done that you’re proud of

- something you like about yourself

That ought to get you to see the bigger picture of your life and give you confidence to move forward again. Once you’re moving forward again, you’ll re-discover your motivation.

5. Imagine yourself as successful

See yourself in your mind’s eye as having achieved your aim.

How different would your life be? What could you have that you don’t have now? It doesn’t have to be material things; it can be more time with your family, greater choice of who you work for, being your own boss, being healthier etc.

If you could wake up tomorrow having magically achieved your aim, how would you know you’d achieved it? What would feel different?

Write those differences down and try to get at least ten of them.

6. Give yourself a break

Being focused on your aim every day doesn’t have to mean working towards it every second of the day. Do something completely different for a few hours or so.

You’ve earned the break if you’ve done something today toward achieving your aim and you’ll be amazed how much more productive you’ll be when you come back to work.

7. Celebrate your success

Take some time to remind yourself how far you’ve come.

So, to sum up, then, keep motivated every single day, focused on the same target which may take a while to achieve, make sure the aim is a good one for you to achieve and that you have the skills to achieve it. Make sure you’re clear about your aim and how you’re going to set about achieving it.

Give yourself some breaks in all the hard work and remember to give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done. You know you’re doing the right thing for you and you know you can do it: so go for it!

It’s easy to give in to doubt and hesitation, but you will no doubt realize that doing so doesn’t get you anywhere. If you have things you need to do, learn how to get started right away and get rid of all your hesitation.

1. Take responsibility for your life

No one up above in the sky has it in for you. There isn’t someone waiting to ensure you fail no matter what you try to do. You are in charge of what you do and what happens to you.

Once you accept that, you can stop waiting for success to fall in your lap and you can go out and take steps to achieve it.

2. Know what you want

Achieving your goals takes focus. You have to know what you want so you can aim for it.

If you can’t aim for clear goals, you can’t plan the steps that will enable you to achieve them. You’ll never know what to do that way, so make sure you plan ahead.

3. Believe it’s possible

A little self-belief goes a long way.

It will totally transform the way you approach a task if you believe you can do it. You will more effort into it and so will be much more likely to succeed simply because of that.

4. Set goals

Each new thing you achieve, each new skill you acquire makes something else possible. Set small goals to build upon your newly acquired capabilities and soon you will leave your hesitation way behind.

5. Take it one step at a step

Take your goal setting at a sensible pace. Don’t try to do too much at once, because that way you will become discouraged and start to hesitate again as things go wrong.

6. Learn from your achievements

What enabled you to achieve a goal you set yourself?

If it worked once, it can work again. Use those skills and that knowledge to make you even more successful in the future.

It’s also a great confidence boost as you begin to see how it is you who made that success happen. If you feel confident in your ability to succeed, you are less likely to hesitate.

7. Don’t give in to fear

You can be your own worst enemy, constantly telling yourself you can’t do it; it’s not worth the risk etc, etc. If you recognize this description in yourself, you’re making yourself hesitate instead of acting.

You will be so scared to fail that you never even try. That way, you don’t achieve anything and you become a self-fulfilling prophecy whereby you can then affirm your negativity by telling yourself ‘I knew I couldn’t do it’.

That’s an excuse to hesitate.

Maybe, just maybe, you could succeed if you tried.

8. Make sensible plans to get over obstacles or to modify your plans if things don’t work out

That way, having a problem is a temporary thing. You can get over it and you don’t need to give up.

9. Just ask!

You don’t have to achieve your goals all on your own without any help. Don’t let uncertainty about what needs to be done be a reason for your further hesitation.

There will always be someone to ask or classes you can take. Don’t be afraid to ask or too proud to accept advice.

10. Plan for the future

Once you have achieved a goal, plan your next one. Keep learning and growing and moving forward.

The only way to overcome hesitation is to keep trying, despite setbacks, and doing a little bit at a time to chip away towards what you need to do.

Use your experiences and newly acquired skills and build upon them to make new things possible all the time, and get rid of any excuse you ever gave yourself for hesitation.