FULL SPEED AHEAD, Vince Poscente
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Full Speed Ahead eBrief


Vol.3.111

Procrastination Demons Be Gone

by Vince Poscente
Author of The Ant and the Elephant, Invinceable Principles and The Age of Speed

Ohhhhh hohhh hohhh ... theres an insidious gremlin running around. I dont mean that unmedicated kid that lives down the street. This one is invisible, formidable and persistent.

Its name is Procrastination. Pro meaning in favor of. Cras - bad manners. Tin - the heartless Tin Man of Oz and tion - to push away. There the have it. When you procrastinate youre in favor of pushing away, having bad manners and being heartless. Now we dont want that, do we?

It shows up in the most innocuous places:

  • When you need to make an apology to your mother-in-law for the accidental "reply all" email meant solely for your buddy - where you had a tongue-in-cheek idiom (that is now tongue-in-guillotine you idiot) about what might become your ex-mother-in-law...

     
  • For the Poli Sci paper that youve known about for four weeks and it is due at 8 am the next morning...
  • When assembling that simple paperwork for those patient and understanding folks at the tax office...

     
  • With the exercise you are avoiding. Odd - given the sudden amnesia you must be experiencing since you walked by the bathroom mirror just a few seconds prior. (Shall I go on?)

The icon for procrastination is the snooze button.

Sure, it feels good for a few extra minutes sleep. But when you sleep in you end up rushing with undigested breakfast ... and in my case, mismatched socks and dress shirt accidentally tucked into (not over) my "monkey eating bananas" boxers that should never see the light of day past the Christmas box they came in.

Think of your snooze button as an enabler.

In fact, look at anything that facilitates procrastination as an enabler.

Why should your character take a hit for procrastinating? Take the ABLE out of enable.

Blame it on the enabler and take back control of your life.

  • Move that pesky alarm clock to the other side of the room. Follow the sign you had installed with the four-foot, neon arrow pointed towards your bedroom door.

     
  • The second you accidentally hit "reply all," get in the car. Start driving towards your mother-in-law (even if she lives in another part of the continent). Rub cayenne pepper in your eyes for maximum apology impact.

     
  • Put the paper due-date on your calendar a week prior to the actual due-date. Trick the stupidass part of your brain that thinks procrastination is a good idea.

     
  • Tell you accountant that you must submit your taxes two weeks early due to religious reasons.

     
  • With lipstick, draw an outline of your naked self on the mirror. With another shade draw the optimum shape. Punctuate the roundish areas with arrows. Put a "be gone" date beside each arrow. Try to amnesiate that!

Procrastination demons, be gone!

Until next week, it's full speed ahead,
 

Vince
Vince Poscente
New York Times Bestselling Author
Speaker Hall of Fame and Olympian
November 18, 2009
Vol.3.111

 

 

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