We’ve all done it: put off what we know we should do, waiting until a later time. While many of us are professional procrastinators, the truth is very few people always do everything on time. Sometimes a “wait-and-see” approach pays off, but that process requires thoughtful judgment, and really isn’t the same as procrastination.

Forms of procrastination:

• Classic Procrastination – where someone delays getting started on a task
• Contract Procrastination – where someone doesn’t do what they’ve previously agreed to do
• Completion Procrastination – where someone just cannot seem to finish a task they’ve started
• Contra Procrastination – where someone doesn’t STOP doing something they should

The reasons we all procrastinate are many. And yes, we all procrastinate, don’t try to fool yourself.

Ninety percent of all people procrastinate at some point … the other ten percent are liars. — Author Unknown

1. Procrastinators may have poor time estimation skills and grossly underestimate the length of time required to complete a task.

2. Procrastinators may delay action because they’re really comfortable where they are at the time … literally or figuratively.

3. Procrastinators may have falsely convinced themselves that they work better under pressure when they really just crave the adrenaline rush of an approaching deadline.

4. Procrastinators may have convinced themselves that they will be more motivated tomorrow, or next week, or next month, and motivation is what they need to get started.

Procrastination is like a credit card: it’s a lot of fun until you get the bill. —Christopher Parker

5. Procrastinators commonly say, “I’m too tired right now,” failing to realize the rush of energy they’ll receive when they get going on a task and get it completed.

6. Procrastinators believe their “feelings” should determine whether they work on a task or not. “I don’t feel like it,” isn’t a valid reason.

7. Procrastinators may actually fear the responsibilities that come with success.

8. Procrastinators may alternately fear failure with it’s responsibilities and consequences. They put off a task so they don’t have to face that fear.

Procrastination is the bad habit of putting of until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday. – Napoleon Hill

9. Procrastinators may delay getting started or completing a task because they worry that they can never achieve perfection.

10. Procrastinators may take on too many projects at once and subsequently feel they are overwhelmed.

11. Procrastinators may have poor time management skills and not realize who quickly time can get away from them.

12. Procrastinators may just be lazy.

How soon “not now” becomes “never.” — Martin Luther

The reasons are many but the solutions are the same: break your task into small, easily achievable victories and get started right away. Reward yourself when you’ve completed a project and remind yourself constantly of the benefits you’ll receive when the task is 100 percent complete.

In delay, there lies no plenty. — Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, Act 2 Scene 3

So go ahead, get started on that project or task you’ve been putting off. You know you’ll feel great when it’s finished!

What steps or tips do YOU have to avoid procrastination?

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When I was in college, I stumbled upon a study method that always resulted in an “A” when I used it. It centered around taking notes in class, then rewriting those notes. I found that the more I wrote, the better I could remember. Writing things down by hand allowed me to dictate my future.

Some believe that writing a list trivializes and oversimplifies but in my case, a list made things come alive (it still does). Can you imagine going to the grocery store to purchase items for a new, complicated recipe without having a list? You’ll probably have to make at least one more trip, maybe two, to pick up items you forgot. I know I did, I mean, would …

Lists are powerful self motivators. They outline what needs to be done and allow your mind to focus on implementation rather than on remembering what needs to be done. They allow you to focus on connecting with people rather than worrying about remembering your bullet points. It’s one thing to go to a business meeting with an idea of what you want to say, do, or accomplish, but it’s quite another to have an organized list.

But why do we resist such a simple idea? Why do we fail to apply this principle to our lives? Why do we spend less time planning our lives than we do planning a picnic? Probably because we know that if we forget the ketchup, we will be ridiculed by the kids! But isn’t your life as important as a picnic?

Make a list or two, and read it daily

• List your goals and what you need to do to accomplish them
• List your debts and how you’re going to beat them
• List what you’d like to do before you die (your bucket list)
• List your current friends to remind yourself of those close to you
• List old friends you’d like to reconnect with and then reconnect with them
• List books you’ve read and those you’d like to read

When you write a list you are writing history before it happens. You’re planning your future. Goals gain power when they’re written, and they get more powerful every time we write them down.

For me, nothing motivates like my own handwriting. People often look to what others have written for motivation, but I believe that living life by a list allows me to motivate myself by what I’ve written.

How about you? Do you use lists?

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Gravity is the physical force that pulls two objects together and the power of this force depends on two things: the mass of the two objects and how close they are to each other.

Gravity has its effect on each of us. Physical gravity keeps us from floating off into space and keeps our atmosphere secured to the earth. Social gravity binds us to our friends, families, jobs, churches, and communities. Psychological gravity binds us to habits (good and bad), commitments, and areas of our lives where we “feel comfortable.”

Debt has its own type of gravity and the closer you are to it, the stronger its pull on your finances and your psyche. It’s just so hard to break away.

When a rocket launches, fully 80 to 90 percent of its fuel is used to overcome the force of gravity. When I was working to escape the gravity of high interest debt, the hardest part was getting started. Most of my cash, my time, and my self discipline was used to overcome the massive gravitational pull of debt.

In some ways, I’m still in orbit, floating around my little planet of debt – I still have a mortgage and I still have a small student loan. But I’m working on getting even farther away from both of those and every blast of my cash thrusters propels me farther from that gravitational pull.

The same will hold true for you. Most of your energy will be used in getting things underway, getting to that state of semi-weightlessness where you can relax and know the freedom that comes from escaping gravity. But most people quit just before they get to that stage. Things get too hard, the car needs a new transmission, the air conditioner goes out, the roof has to be replaced, or some other catastrophic event pops up  that costs more than the $1,000 that’s saved in their fledgling emergency fund.

Don’t give up! Your personal persistence will help you eventually overcome debt’s gravitational pull and before long, making financial decisions that don’t involve going into debt will become second nature and you’ll be one of the few who can focus their energies and efforts on your passion, your social network, or whatever motivates you. At that point, no one can pull you down.

Photo by nasa1fan/MSFC

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I’m not talking about the birthday money your grandfather gave you, or the allowance you got for taking out the trash or washing the dishes. I’m talking about money you earned from your own work and effort.

The first thing I remember buying with my own money was a metal detector when I was about 11 years old. It was a cheap little model that excelled at finding nails and other little metal objects in our yard, though it didn’t find the treasures I hoped. I can remember seeing an “incredible opportunity” in the back of one of my Superman comic books for people who were willing to sell Christmas cards and other greeting cards door to door. I was the little entrepreneur who sent off for the BIG catalogue and followed all the sales instructions. And yes, I got paid. Sometimes in cash, other times in prizes, but the company allowed you to determine which. MY first paycheck was that metal detector and it motivated me!

I can still remember the intense excitement when the UPS man drove up to our house. I knew what was in that log box and the only thing I needed at that point was 4 D-cell batteries.

The amount of commissions paid per sale wasn’t significant (as I recall it was about one dollar per box) but what it taught me was that labor meant profit and it put me in control of getting the things I wanted. I learned to ask questions of the little old ladies in the neighborhood such as, “Have you ever wished you didn’t have to go to the drugstore for a greeting card?” or “How much did you spend on Christmas cards last year? I can save you some money!”

I was a regular little salesman and I insisted on getting referrals. Looking back on it, my own social ignorance of how much of a pest I was had to have partially contributed to my success. Of course, those little old ladies were just happy that someone was visiting …

What’s the first thing you remember buying with YOUR own money? How did you earn it?

Leave your replies in the comments and yes, a jaded recollection of ancient history is allowed!

Photo by Hippycritical – thanks for the memories!

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You Need A Budget — yes you do, and to help spread the word about budgeting the YNAB way, I’m giving away one copy of their software to a randomly selected reader of The Wisdom Journal on February 1st, 2010. All you have to do to be entered in the drawing is leave a comment! Only one entry per person but you get two entries if you give me a topic you’d like to see discussed in the future.

If you just can’t wait until February to start using YNAB and you’re convinced (as I am) that it is the BEST budgeting software available, use coupon code WISDOM when you check out and you’ll receive a 10 percent discount.

Why am I so excited about YNAB? Perhaps it’s their 4 Rules of Budgeting that permeates their system:

1. Stop living paycheck to paycheck. You’ll be blown away by how their system eliminates paycheck-to-paycheck from your life. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

2. Giver every dollar a job. This is what’s referred to as “zero based budgeting” and it turns the traditional budgeting method on it’s head — completely upside down. Zero based budgeting traditionally is time-consuming and exhaustive but NOT with YNAB.

3. Prepare for the rain. You know the day is coming when you’re going to need a lot of cash to cover an emergency, a semi-annual insurance premium, or new tires for the car, so YNAB helps you prepare for those events.

4. Roll with the punches. Even with the most sophisticated and thorough planning, you can overspend in a category, so YNAB spreads that overage across the next month’s budget where it can be absorbed more readily. YNAB designed their system with a buffer to help you cover accidental overspending.

YNAB isn’t fancied up for intense investing purposes, it isn’t designed to handle your overseas accounts in the Cayman Islands, or your multiple IRA’s. YNAB is designed to be the budgeting software that helps you follow the first basic tenant of sound personal finance: create and live by a budget. But YNAB took it a step further and created a planning system within their software that helps you stop living paycheck-to-paycheck. And since “living within a budget” is a fantasy in most households, I’m hoping that my enthusiastic endorsement of YNAB will help regular readers and others get out of the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle and begin living a better life.

Can you just imagine NOT living paycheck-to-paycheck?

Check out YNAB today and be sure to leave a comment if you’d like to be included in the drawing for a free copy of their software!

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