Where did they go? More strategies to overcome the procrastination habit

As you well know, May is the 5th Month of the year, that means 4 months have already passed by in a blur of "what the heck happened there?" or have you been taking some of the suggestions proposed in the Daily Dose of Motivational Meidicine and putting them to good use? I know a few of you have shared your triumphs with me and they are awesome:

• New jobs
• Considerable weight loss
• House moving
• New exercise plans and hobbies and
• One of your fellow readers decided enough was enough and has started his own business

So what about you - How are you doing?

• Are you finding ways to overcome the procrastination habit?
• Are you finding the motivation to work on your goals?
• Are you finding a better work / life balance?

The way I look at it is this, if you are willing to spend half an hour a day doing something towards each of your major goal items you will achieve them. Obviously if you can spend a little more time than half an hour, then even better, but half an hour means you are moving forwards, and sometimes we need to work in half hour blocks especially when we are trying to work out the details and fine tune our plans.

 

Other ways to overcome the procrastination habit include:

• It's good to have a broad stroke outline plan, sometimes the detail will come later - but have a plan and work on it and those details and the successes will come later
• Being spontaneous - we can't always plan and be so rigid there's no time for change or fun, if you feel so inclined, create opportunities for fun and sponenaeity - and it doesn't have to be for you, doing something for other people can bring you immense rewards in return - and no they don't have to pay you and no, they don't even have to know about them, but random acts of kindness do have a "habit" of coming back to you many times over.
• Being courteous to other people - open doors, let them in the traffic queue ahead of you - yes even when they're being pushy, they may be racing somewhere for a reason.
• Leave 5 minutes early - we know what we're like when we are worried about getting somewhere on time and the traffic is conspiring against us - leave 5 minutes early and stop worrying.
• Smile - happy people are those who tend to get more done far more easily.
• Don't spend all you earn, you never know when you'll need an emergency fund
• Balance your activities - don't spend all your time at the footie and neglect your family - unless they're with you of course. Neither should you spend all your time at work...the graveyards are full of indispensable people like you.
• Believe you can
• Watch your moods - if you are feeling a little grumpy, this is a good indication your serotonin levels need a boost, and the best way to do that is through exercise. So, go for a walk - 30 minutes should do it, as you walk, try not to go over what is causing the "mood" just allow it to wash over you and focus on the good things you have or can see.
• Knowing that it doesn't matter if you fail. The best people fail, and they fail regularly, when was the last time you fell flat on your face? Apart from feeling embarrassed - what was the long term damage? Probably nothing. To succeed you need to challenge your mind and body, so get ready to fail.
• Learn from your mistakes though
• Sing - another way to improve your mood almost instantly is by singing. It doesn't matter if you think you can or can't, just crank up your favourite song and sing along. And if you really don't think you can, head over to any of the karaoke bars - even if you don't have a go, you will laugh so much you'll get the same benefit,

 

And finally for today - keep a journal of good ideas. We can never have too many good ideas.