In a previous article I mentioned that one of the best ways to beat the procrastination habit is by forcing yourself to do what you really, truly hate. According to psychologist Albert Ellis, you can do it by donating a lot of money to a group or organization that you utterly despise. His logic is that youll find the idea so abhorrent that youll gladly perform the item youre procrastinating about, instead. I want to offer an alternative; that works for me. I have a procrastination list. I rank those miserable, awful, I shouldnt have to do this! types of activities and duties in order of the disgust they promote in me. So, the number one item is the biggie among biggies. Its a huge boulder that is squatting smack in the middle of my road to success. It weighs tons and tons, so no mere mortal would be able to push it away, or so I tell myself. Then, I look at number two, on my list. By comparison, it looks like a puny pebble. So, quickly, I sweep it away, and feel at least a small surge of accomplishment. Number three is a mere grain of sand, and it flies into the stratosphere with just a flick of a finger. Number four shouldnt even be on a procrastination list. Its an everyday to-do, sort of task. Easy peasy, thats done! I still dont feel 100% great, because I know that big boulder hasnt budged. Still, I feel pretty good, for a flake! And I have just about enough energy from my minor victories to just start chipping away at the edges of it. That, my friends, is a big accomplishment, indeed! |
