“Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.”

Napoleon Hill

The best time to end procrastination is today!

Procrastination is one of the banes of my life!  How many things have a I said I would do and have not done!  Ask my children – they don’t believe what I say anymore!  I have a list of Outlook tasks to be done as long as both your arms.  I have probably spent more time managing the task lists than I have spent doing things.  Many of the things on those lists should be done already – the day before yesterday as Napoleon Hill put it and I am waiting until the day after tomorrow.

Procrastination is a habit that’s all and like all habits it can be beaten.  How do you beat a bad habit?  You do that at the subconscious level and change your default thinking.

You may have read elsewhere on this site that I am Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist. Therefore I looked around for a good hypnosis programme to help me tackle my procrastination habit.  The programme I found is by Dr. Steve G. Jones an American Clinical Hypnotherapist.  The cost of the 8 day programme is a very reasonable $19.95!  You get 8 audio modules and a PDF transcription.

Who better to try out the product than myself as I am also a qualified hypnotherapist!  I will post an update to this experiment after using the programme for the 8 days.  I believe the 8 day programme will support me to achieve the goals I have set for the 100 Day Challenge which I am currently participating in for the second quarter 2015.

Get 8 Days to End Procrastination – tomorrow NOW!

Another great resource to tackle procrastination is Brian Tracy’s book ‘Eat that Frog’ (below).  This book helped me to eat my frog for breakfast and get my PhD finished!   Its a great resource.

Eat That Frog! 2nd Edition

The Second Quarter has arrived…are you ready to crush it?

The first of April is the start of the second quarter of 2015.  We have 25% of the year over already!  Remember back to January 1st when you had all those new and shiny goals?  How have you fared over the first quarter?  Are you still working on those goals you had?  If you are not going to achieve them now, then when?  Perhaps never!

The first thing you need to do to start the second quarter fast and focused is:

1. Set a few important goals.

2. Establish a game plan.

3. Execute and commit to seeing it through to the end.

THE FACT IS…

It’s irresponsible to start the day, week, month or quarter unfocused,  unprepared, and and uncommitted.  Yet, that is the reality for far too many people.  But it does not have to be that way for you or for me.

I came across a programme called the 100 Day Challenge which I have signed up for to help me accelerate my goal attainment in quarter two.  I just started yesterday but already I have received many excellent tips and ideas.  For example they say the number 1 worst thing for setting goals is…..attempting to achieve TOO many.  I am certainly guilty of that – I have a list as long as your arm and I probably spend more time maintaining my list as working on the goals themselves!!  Working on too many goals at the same time is the quickest way to guarantee failure and the worst thing you can do if you’re trying to transform your life.  Another concept I have learned on the first day is the importance of understanding the Total Cost of Ownership.  A good goal should have a high acquisition cost and a low cost of possession.  Understanding this concept alone could save you years of regret and wasted blood, sweat and tears by pursing the wrong goal.  From my first look after logging in, the programme is packed full of resources of various types such as forms, videos, software, apps, screen savers etc.  There is also the prospect of interacting with like minded people who have a commitment to excellence.  There is a good reason why 52,452 people like the 100 Day Challenge on Facebook!

I am really looking forward to getting stuck deeper into the 100 Day Challenge and making toast of my second quarter goals!!  The ideas and what I am going to learn and achieve far outweigh the small investment I had to make to join the programme.  As they say if you want different results in your life you have to do different things and I am taking action!  I will be posting updates of how I am getting on.  Join me in taking the 100 Day Challenge if you dare!!

Update:  Day 12.

I am now on Day 12 of the challenge.  One of the most important things that has happened to me so far on the challenge has been to create very specific and measurable goals with a clear deadline – July 11th 2015.  For the first time I feel a great sense of urgency about my goals. The countdown timer showing me how many days I have left is a great help.  Also each day I receive a link to a video in my email with a 5-6 minute video on some issue.  I look forward to each of these.  I have already achieved quite a lot in the 12 days and I am confident that by the end of the challenge I will have achieved some impressive goals.

Note:  The 100 Day Challenge has re-opened today (14th April) for a brief period (the next time it will open will be in July).  Please see:  http://www.goalsguy.com/Affiliate/tgg.php?id=1037147_16_3_7

Update:  Day 18.

I was seriously off track with one of my key goals and was almost at the point where I knew that I would not achieve it.  However I am now back on track again through the process of an Action Action Review (AAR) which I am now undertaking every weekend for each of my 5 goals.  The AAR questions are clear, simple and yet very powerful.  There is also a very useful emphasis on integrity and commitment throughout the 100 Day Challenge.

Another helpful idea to reflect on is that every action is either an advance towards or a retreat from you goals.  One of my goals is to lose weight and run a marathon.  That is a handy thought to reflect upon when I am about to indulge in cake or ice cream!!