Anti-Procrastination Month: Day 11
October 11th, 2007 by Cristina Favreau
Today’s Anti-Procrastination Month tip is a doozy… it’s all about counting the cost.
Surprise! Procrastination is psychologically classified as an avoidance behavior — the buy now, pay later plan on life.
Counter the lure of instant gratification that procrastination provides by answering these 4 questions:
- What will happen if I do this?
- What will happen if I don’t do this?
- What won’t happen if I do this?
- What won’t happen if I don’t do this?
Think long term. Don’t concentrate solely on time and money. Include aspects such as family, health, spirituality, environment and personal growth. Consider the ROI to your credibility/reputation, long terms goals/bigger vision, emotions, bottom line errors/costs, availability, etc…
The answers will reveal whether or not to proceed with a project, task or goal. If you opt to go ahead, you have a lot of work ahead of you. If it turns out to be a bad idea (or the cost is too high), you’ve saved yourself time, money, heartache, stress, disappointment, and more.
If the urge to stall comes up again, look over your answers — better yet, answer the 4 questions again. It’ll confirm you’re still on the right track and solidify your resolve to continue. By doing it this way you’ll avoid paying for it later.
