~William James

Have you ever noticed that sense of freedom you feel when you have finally completed a long-postponed project? Especially when you wonder what kept you from working on it in the first place? It’s as if someone lifted a weight off your shoulders. What's weighing you down today?

Is it the thought of an unfinished (or not-yet-begun) project? Do you waste precious mental energy each day on an annoying problem that never improves, or constantly find yourself remembering "Oh, I really have to get started on THAT" without "THAT" ever progressing to the next stage, either at all, or until it's almost too late? The longer we put off a task, the more it damages our self-esteem and the larger the task looms in our imaginations.

I tend to think that there's "BIG P" procrastination and "little p" procrastination. With "Big P" procrastination, it's endemic to everything a person does – it's a lifestyle rather than an occasional habit. If you (or someone you know) experiences day-in and day-out difficulties in getting the mojo going and actually starting on almost anything, one of the best books I can recommend is Dr. Linda Sapadin's It About Time: The 6 Styles of Procrastination and How to Overcome Them.

However, if you've got occasional issues or types of projects that you just keep putting off, try some of these tips to help you get your motor revving.

1)Imagine the successful result. Envision what success would look like to you. Perhaps you're having trouble approaching a media person or a potential strategic partner because you're concerned you might be rebuffed. Write down or draw a picture of the whole goal; for example, imagine seeing your face on the cover of a national magazine or professional journal; picture going to dinner with this strategic partner at a fancy restaurant to celebrate the incredible success you've achieved. Picture yourself already successful and reflecting back on how one action (or series of actions) led to this success.

2)Find an accountability buddySometimes just telling a friend about your plan makes it easier to accomplish. This is a basis for variety of successful self-help systems, from Weight Watchers to most 12-Step programs. Admitting your dissatisfaction with the status quo (a lack of a digital newsletter, your inability to get started on writing an article, etc.), sharing your vision of success (see item #1) and detailing your plan of attack helps motivate you in two important ways.

First, it gives you external accountability. Knowing that there's someone else on your team invested in your results make that accountability work for you; most of us find it much harder to disappoint someone else than to drop the ball on our responsibilities to ourselves.

Second, whether you are trying to break a bad habit or instill a new one, sharing your concerns with someone else can give you some much-needed moral support and a creative edge. If a colleague knows you're trying to write a presentation that you'll be giving next month, he or she can not only ask you how it's going, but might yield pertinent comments or questions which will help you brainstorm and trigger inspiration.

3)Identify the first step, map out the rest and schedule time to do them!

The creative visualization I described is very powerful, but imagination must be partnered with action. Any project seems daunting when you imagine accomplishing the whole thing. Everything becomes much more manageable when you break it down and start with baby steps.

What's the very first thing you must do to achieve the goal? Do you have to make a call? Locate the right information on the web? Pick up cardboard boxes to sort your clutter? Isolate the first step and block out time in your calendar to do it. Then use a Project To-Do List, an outline, a mind-map or whatever floats your boat to brainstorm the rest of the tasks.

4)Do the light lifting first. Once you've identified the first step, chances are it's not that difficult to do. Pick up the phone and ask a wise colleague to recommend a financial planner for solopreneurs. Make an appointment with your professional organizer to get that office ready for tax season. Review the websites of some virtual assistants with whom you've networked on Ryze. Gather stamps, envelopes and an address book to write that overdue note of gratitude or congratulations to clients, colleagues or mentors.

These little steps present you with wisdom and small victories that will inspire you to move on to each consecutive step in the plan with confidence. Once begun, a job's half done!

5)Reward yourself! Every time you complete something that brings you closer to your goal, reward yourself with something. It doesn't have to be big—a piece of chocolate, a walk around the block listening to your favorite song on your iPod, a phone call to "brag" a bit to your accountability buddy—but acknowledge your success.

Is there an "eternal hanging on" of an uncompleted task weighing you down today?

--
Julie Bestry, Certified Professional Organizer®
Best Results Organizing
"Don't apologize. Organize!"
organize@juliebestry.com
Visit http://www.juliebestry.com to save time and money, reduce stress and increase your productivity

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