Does this sound familiar? You wake up in the morning; have your coffee; read your list of things to do today; then go back to bed. Is this procrastination, or a more serious problem? If it occurs more than once; it is. Procrastination directly impacts your ability to create wealth. However, people procrastinate for a variety of reasons such as; fear of failing or succeeding; poor organizational skills; and sometimes, a lack of self-esteem. Let’s explore these particular areas and offer a few easy tips in overcoming procrastination.

3 Main Causes of Procrastination

Fear of Failing or Succeeding

If you fall into this category, there are certain tasks you can perform to understand your resistance. Ask yourself what are you most afraid of; the task, the requirements needed to fulfill the task; the outcome, or possible failure? Perhaps it may go even deeper. Maybe you are afraid you will succeed. Most often, there is a tendency to sabotage a certain project because in succeeding, you are meeting the high expectation others’ have about you and your work. Thus, more pressure is being placed upon you; and therefore, no excuses can suffice in exceeding those expectations.

Fear of Rejection

Fear of rejection can be another reason why you cling to procrastination. This may originate from low-self esteem; or a lingering uncertainty within your own mind. It can also be generated from a past rejection which has resurfaced by the task itself. Do not place so much importance on what others think; affirming confidence in your own abilities is the key to overcoming rejection. You may feel a slight twinge, but will be able to brush it off if you just remember who you are.

Lack of Self Esteem and Motivation

Lack of self-esteem prevents you from completing the easiest task. Why? Either because you do not feel you are worthy of the challenge, or because you feel you are not good enough to complete it. Motivation is a good place to begin. Start with an easy task first; then gradually work your way up to full completion. Your confidence will build; you will feel more positive about what you can accomplish, and you will be less likely to avoid the next task at hand.

Overcome Procrastination 4 easy steps

Organizational Skills: Create a Small List

Instead of pressuring yourself by including twenty or more things to do on your list, create small lists of five things to do. Managing your life in this way will make it easier for you to complete the tasks; leaving you with a feeling of accomplishment. Do not allow anyone or anything to overpower you; your life; or your achievements.

Lift the Weight off Your Shoulders

Here is an analogy which may help you. Food shopping requires a list, correct? Each time a product is placed in the shopping cart, you cross it off the list. Well, following the same procedure with other tasks in your life will lift the weight off your shoulders, and the burden will disappear. The secret is not to overload your mind with tasks neither you nor anyone else can handle. Take it one step at a time. Remember, no one is testing you; there is no time-clock. There is no pressure.

Embrace your imperfection

An erroneous thinking that leads to procrastination is perfectionism. Sometime, somewhere, in some twisted development of the modern human mindset, we saw imperfection as a bad thing. But, without persistent failures, we wouldn’t discover Einstein’s formula, Edison’s light bulb, the Wright Brothers’ aircraft, or Ford’s vehicle.

Perfectionism is like a double-edged sword - it cuts both ways. Perfectionists often don’t realize that they are hurting themselves by their own actions. Believing that you must do something perfectly is a recipe for stress, and you’ll associate that stress with the task and thus condition yourself to avoid it. You then end up putting the task off to the last possible minute, so that you finally have a way out of this trap.

So give yourself permission to be human. Realize that an imperfect job completed today is always superior to the perfect job delayed indefinitely.

You are in control, so replace "have to" with "want to."

When you tell yourself that you have to do something, you’ll automatically feel a sense of resentment and rebellion. Procrastination kicks in as a defense mechanism. Using the "I-have-to’s," drives your mind to subconsciously confirm the impression that the task is awful and painful - one you wouldn’t do if you had the free choice.

So shift your thinking away from a "have to" mentality into a "want to" mentality. Realize and accept that you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Even though there may be serious consequences, you are always free to choose. Make a conscious choice and commitment to either do the task now, or do what is necessary to get out of it. Don’t let it linger around in the back of your mind.

Overcoming procrastination is a vehicle to create wealth. Overcoming procrastination is not the easiest road to take but down the road will pay off greatly. Without procrastination you are free to choose a life that is wealthy in mind, body and spirit. Overcome procrastination and take charge of your life.