'I'll do that later'. Does this sound familiar? Do you procrastinate?  Most of us do at some time over some thing. Sometimes about big things. Sometimes about little things. It eats up time because you're constantly re-visiting what you haven’t done. And it isn't making you feel very good about yourself.

Steven Pressfield, in his book "The War of Art", calls it ‘resistance’ and defines it as ‘the most toxic force on the planet.’

It's self-generating and self-perpetuating. You don't feel very good about it...yet you’ve been unsuccessful in changing your behavior. It has become a problem. For you and most likely for others.

It isn't something you can ‘reason’ your way out of. It has it’s own power and it’s own momentum. It's the enemy of being productive. And as the Dali Lama said, 'The enemy is a very good teacher'.

I have always wondered what causes this dilemma. Most of us want to be successful in our life’s endeavors. And we know in order to have peak performance and productivity levels, we need to tackle and complete our most important tasks first. Yet we still resist. Sales pros resist making calls. Managers resist completing reports. Business owners resist getting organized.

There’s really only one thing you really need to know about
procrastination. 

It's based in doubt and fear.

So what can you do?

In order to override any type of mental roadblock, you first need to identify it. When you find yourself procrastinating, stop and listen to what your internal chatter is saying about completing the task. What are you questioning? What are you worried about? How do these thoughts play into your day-to-day actions?

Managing your time is about managing your choices. And managing your choices begins with identifying your thoughts. Begin identifying those thoughts and ask yourself what would happen if you changed your approach…and did whatever your needed to do…right now...consistently.

It’s liberating. It's effective. It’s what begins breaking the cycle. And it all starts with your thoughts. Read the Client Success story below to see what I mean.

Do you really want to make a change? Then identify your thought patterns about 'getting things done'. You can learn, in a specific and measurable way, how your thoughts are hindering you. Start by signing up for a 

2008 is right around the corner. Why wait?  Start the new year out on a new foot. Do it NOW ... and remember 'the hardest part of getting started is getting started'.