Face it, we all put things off.  We leave the hard stuff till last and hope that it somehow gets dropped off our "to do" list.  We find other things to do that are "more important." It's just amazing how many "emergencies" can pop up to lead us away from taking the action we need towards our goals. Procrastination takes many forms, and all those forms are just ways of avoiding the things we need to or want to do to achieve an end result - success.

Why do we do it? Why do we procrastinate?  Well, because we view tasks as difficult or unpleasant, of course.  We have a fear about what we need to do, or doubts about whether we will actually be able to do it.  Procrastination is drenched with fear and doubt.  It leads people to self destructive behaviors like overeating, drinking, even watching TV, just to get away from the feelings of overwhelm, guilt and shame that it causes.  We'll find any excuse to do those things that we fear, eventually just deciding that it wasn't that important anyway.  Here's an example...

My client was recently laid off from her job, so she decided that now would be the perfect time for her to start her own home business.  She's a very smart lady, and a talented graphic artist with many contacts in the business world.  We devised a business plan for her to start her own consulting business where she would provide graphics services to people that she had done work for before, and to get referrals from them for additional clients.  She was very excited about being able to work from home, set her own hours and make more money than she would if she had a "job." 

She got up that Monday morning with her list of potential clients, ready to point them to her new website, give them quotes and get some business.  But as she looked at the list, she kept thinking of all the things she still needed to do.  Didn't she need a brochure?  What if they asked her to mail something.  Her business cards were on order, but they hadn't come back yet...What if she got too many jobs at once, how would she be able to handle it?  By the time of our session on Thursday, she hadn't made the first phone call.  Every time she looked at the phone, she felt a flood of feelings - guilt, fear, anger at herself...especially for putting off something she thought would be so simple.

My poor client had been putting herself through hell for almost a week over a few phone calls - I bet you've done just about the same thing.  She just didn't know how to work through the procrastination.  Here's what we did to move her through it...

First, we found the fear.  The fear wasn't about making the calls, it was about not feeling like she was good enough to sell her services.  Time for self esteem work.  Once she really accepted that her work was excellent, her resistance to calling her clients diminished.

Then we set a goal.  She was to talk to 5 people per day.  Just 5.  Before lunch.   If she went to a breakfast meeting and introduced herself to 5 people or more, she was done for the day! 

Then she committed to swallow the frog.  Sounds gross, right?  What would you do if you knew you had to eat a frog today?  Would you leave it till the last minute, so you had to worry about it all day?  Goodness knows what kind of stories you'd have made up by the end of the day... How much energy does that waste?  You'd want to do it right away, to get it over with - then you could make up stories about how strong and brave you were.  Same thing with the hard stuff.  She had 2 phone calls she was dreading - that was getting in her way of making any phone calls at all.  She committed to swallowing the frog right away - sitting right there in my office!  Once she was done, she had a job from a client, and another that was going to look at her website!  Swallow the frog, my friends...

Then we put some accountability into her marketing efforts.  At the end of every week, she put together a report that showed all her marketing efforts and the results, and emailed them to her new "accountability partner," a close friend that also had a business and was willing to partner with her to keep each other accountable for their progress.  This was an amazing motivator for her!  Many times, what we won't do for ourselves, we will do for others.

After her first 2 months in business, she has replaced her income and is on her way to making even more money, with much more flexibility and balance in her life.  So, if you tend to procrastinate, take these steps and see how it will propel you forward in your goals.

Join my newsletter at www.bodymindhypnosis.com - the Powerful Motivation Program will be released next month - just in time for all those New Years' resolutions!

Do you remember when you were a kid, sitting in school and just daydreaming away?  Probably looking out the window at the playground with your imagination running wild. You were off on some adventure riding a horse through a grassy field, or maybe dreaming about the day when you'd get your first kiss...

And then - the teacher calls on you.  The adrenaline floods into your body, your heartbeat races and you realize that you have no idea what's going on around you.  You've got that "deer in the headlights" look as you apologize to the teacher and listen to her lecture you about what a loser you are with your head in the clouds.  You'd better start paying attention or you'll amount to nothing in this world. 

The message most of us got as kids (and we're passing the message along to our kids...) is that daydreaming is bad, wrong, a waste of time, and if we do it we won't be successful.  So we pretty much stopped doing it. At least we tried.

Daydreaming is a normal process, humans can only focus for a certain amount of time, then the brain automatically shifts into the daydream mode.  When we try to shut down our ability to daydream, we lose the ability to visualize which has a distinct impact on our creativity. Daydreaming is a normal part of being human, it's an enhanced state of creativity where we are able to tap into the more complex regions of our brains.  Absolute brilliance has come out of daydreams, in fact, Thomas Edison found the answer to many problems in his daydreams.  Mark Twain and Edgar Allan Poe wrote stories based on their daydreams.  The chemist Friedrich Kekule daydreamed of two serpents biting each other's tail, and forming a ring.  He jolted awake, and saw the answer to how a benzene molecule is structured.  It's a ring!

Some high-tech companies actually give their employees time during the day to daydream, and have seen a boost in the creativity and innovation.

Maybe daydreaming is not appropriate in the classroom during lecture, but to classify the act as wrong and unfruitful, and to make people feel bad or guilty for daydreaming is simply an indication of how little we really know and maybe of the "boxed in" thinking in our public school system and even in our workforce.

So, do yourself a favor, take a little catnap and let your do what it will.

There are tons of expectations placed on us these days. Work, family, community - not just our own commitments, but our kids' concerts, games, practices, parties and more. With employers demanding more and more of our time and effort and the stress and demands of our everyday lives, it's hard not to feel overwhelmed.

Overwhelm can stop you in your tracks. When it hits, it's like a hurricane swirling around you - you're sitting in the eye of it watching, frozen, while the chaos gets bigger and bigger. The stress of being overwhelmed can cause a whole host of issues from a depressed immune system to actual depression. Procrastination, withdrawal and avoidance are some of the biggest signs that you are experiencing overwhelm.

So, what to do?

First off, breathe. I know, you've heard that before. But generally, when we get stressed, we stop breathing - or we take short breaths in our upper chest. This doesn't help. Take some real breaths - imagine breathing all the way down to your toes, breathing in peace, and breathing out stress. Not only does this force you to focus, it brings needed oxygen to your muscles and brain so that you can focus and take action.

Now, get out pencil and paper and make a list. Part of the reason you are so stressed is that you are trying to remember everything you have to do. Get it on a list, and categorize if you like.

Next - take a look at the big picture. Do you really have to do it all? Right now? If you could only choose one thing from your list, what would it be? What can wait till tomorrow? Or next week? You may find that some things aren't necessary and will fall off your list as time goes by. Prioritize by writing numbers 1-5 next to each item, then do them in that order.

OK. Who can you get to help you? Learn to delegate. Have the kids do the smaller, less important things. Get a friend or co-worker to help with projects - offer to reciprocate. It can be fun to work on things together and as they say - two brains are better than one.

Take care of yourself. Eat right and exercise. Pizza and french fries are simply not going to give you the energy you need to be focused and productive. I know, I know...but remember - you have to deal with the consequences. Even a short, brisk walk will get your energy up and increase your focus so you can make headway on your list.

Music. Volumes have been written about the ability music has to change our mental and even physical states - like overwhelm. Listening to upbeat music when doing physical or repetitive labor, and softer styles like classical when you need focus will help keep your mood even and productivity high.

By this time, the hurricane should be passing - you step out of the midst of it with much more clarity, able to brave all the new assignments, commitments and opportunities that arise!