Three Strategies to Kick Procrastination.

So we’ve all got the same amount of time in the day, but why is it some people can be so productive with their time, while the rest of us procrastinate our days away? Procrastination can feel like this heavy chain that keeps us from soaring through life, and without a plan to overcome it, it can quickly hold us back from enjoying the level of success we crave in business, career, and relationships. It can feel like this big monster lurking in our shadows, constantly aiming to hold us back in the present.

Procrastination can show up for a number of reasons, but the big three we’ll tackle here are, in my opinion, the root causes of why procrastination happens. They are:
1. Lack of energy.
2. Lack of a plan.
3. Unclear intention, motivation, or purpose.

There are countless other “symptoms of procrastination” as I like to call them: distractions, Facebook, cravings and habits, E-mail, chronic anxiety, self-doubt, weird social norms like waiting two days to text a girl you like… the list goes on. But have no fear, here are some simple ways to start building your productive muscles:

1. Increase Your Energy
Energy is the currency of success. You can’t make anything good happen if you’re too tired to keep your eyes open. You can try to force yourself to “push through” but sooner or later you’re going to burn out. It takes a lot of willpower and courage to fight of the lure of procrastination. Be sure you’re rested fully and get some exercise in so you can get the blood flowing through the areas of your brain that you need the most. Exercise and proper nutrition will do wonders to turn you into a superhero that can conquer your day no matter what comes. Make boosting your energy levels a priority in your life and I guarantee you will get more work done, with better clarity and quality than ever. Do not compromise here. Your energy is directly proportional to your success.

2. Make a Plan.
As Peter Voogd would say, without a plan to interrupt your interruptions, you will always be interrupted. It’s hard to get more clear than that. Facebook, Instagram, e-mail, traffic, weather, fights with your lover(s), are always going to be in the equation - it’s a part of our life! We know that e-mail is there, and it isn’t going away. Every time we decide to, we know we can pull out our phone and check it. But what are we going to do about it? How are we going to make sure it doesn’t interrupt our flow? The only way to do that is to make a plan. If we have a plan, and we visualize how to make that plan happen, we are more prepared to resist being sidetracked or interrupted. If you’re always late to work because of traffic, change something! You know there will be traffic, I know there will be traffic, your boss knows there will be traffic. So try rewarding yourself for arriving early, packing your belongings the night before, or setting alarms to get you out of the house.
I’ve recently started using Pavlok - a watch that zaps me with an electrical pulse whenever I get sidetracked.  There are a number of ways to improve your productivity when it comes to interrupting your interruptions, but the key is, THINK AHEAD. The vast majority of interruptions in our life are NOT A SURPRISE. We can predict the impulse to check Facebook, to eat sugar, to watch television. If we’ve done it today, chances are we’ll do it tomorrow! Start thinking about what it is you actually do on a daily basis and start making a plan to be in control.
The strategy I will challenge you to implement is this: Set aside one 40 minute period to do PURE DEEP WORK. Get a pair of headphones and some non-distracting music. The first ten minutes are to get you in the mindset. Remember, even when you’re about to start doing the task, you still have all the lingering thoughts and noise from before you started to focus. It takes some time before you’ll be able to get in the zone. Remember, every time you check your phone you’re reseting that attention clock. Relax, and know that all of those interruptions will be there as soon as your done. During the first 10 minutes, utilize that time to visualize how you will get your work done in the following 30 minutes. Visualize yourself being super productive, and simply focus on your strategy for the task at hand. If you’re writing a blog post, imagine the topic sentences, imagine yourself creating an outline, imagine the articles you will reference, and then when your mind is clear from the distractions, it’s time to dive in.The next 30 minutes are where you can really dive deep. Don’t stop to check email. Don’t stop to answer your coworker, don’t stop to eat fruit snacks, don’t stop to watch pornhub, don’t stop to text your client, don’t stop to think. JUST DO IT. And relax because it’s only for 30 minutes. The rest of your day you can go back to being lazy and checking Instagram. Trust me, if you do this on a daily basis, your capacity for focus will expand tremendously. Your discipline muscle will be pulsing with prowess.
For a more eloquent detail of the ideas of “Deep Work” and “attention residue” check out Cal Newport’s book, Deep Work, Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World.

3. Wear your heart on your sleeve.
Be clear on why you do what you do. In life we are presented so many choices and if we’re not clear on what it is that we want, we’ll be swept away in the moment, drifting farther away from the direction we’re heading. Remember your reason for doing your tasks, whether it’s as simple as “I want to be on the employee hall of fame this month” or “ I want to be rich,” remind yourself of this on a daily, hourly basis. You must find a burning desire within you to ignite a flame that will shine bright even when boredom or doubt threatens to take you off the course. Through knowing what it is that we want, and only doing the things that bring us closer to what we want, it becomes easier to suck it up and be productive. Do it with intention. Do it with ferocity. Commit and chew through the friction. Push. Fight. Act. Do not let the snares of distraction get the better of you. Your fuel is your inner desire. The fuel to find that commitment to stay on course and push through when things are dull needs to be cultivated. Nurture your motivation with daily practice. Carry your big desire with you on a piece of paper, and remind yourself constantly what the reason you are doing this for is. Passion is a muscle that gets stronger the more we put it to use.
Let your motivation be relatable. Your “why” should give you the courage to burn that torch when times are tough, but not get intimidated because it’s too far out of reach. Setting a goal for yourself to be a millionaire is great, but if it’s too big to relate to, it gets easy to feel discouraged. Reach, stretch and grow, but keep it to a level you can almost taste. Visualize your goal, feel it. Let it become a part of your every action. You want to have the intention of achieving that goal behind your every action. Everything you do should bring you closer to that goal. My good friend Eric Bakey calls it “Intensity” and is a living incarnation of the word. When I met him he had just decided to start writing a book. He stayed up late pouring the words on the page and was so pumped to be getting the book made, and he wouldn’t stop until several months later, regardless of all the curveballs life was throwing at him at the time, he finished. He told me “Intensity is everything.” You can save time if you do with full intensity, whether it’s a workout at the gym or writing a book. If you’re not fully in the game, you’re wasting your time. Chew through it at full throttle and you can afford to be lazy later, albeit with a clear, accomplished head.

Hesitation is the fastest way to let procrastination win. The longer you wait to pull the trigger and get moving, the easier it becomes to stay still. Momentum begins with intention. Get that first step out of the way and the rest will follow. To help you discover a motivated, fired up frame of mind, I created this 360 VR guided visualization video - I’m uploading here in hopes that it will help you squeeze the most out of your day. I have a few more of these I’ll be uploading in the coming weeks. Enjoy, and take command of your incredible day!