Immediate Action : A 7-Day Plan to Overcome Procrastination and Regain Your Motivation (Productivity Series Book 2)

by Thibaut Meurisse

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.”

In just seven days, you will improve your understanding of procrastination and learn to overcome it—or at least to deal with it more effectively. Here is what we’ll go over together. On Day 1—Declutter your mind, you’ll discover how to declutter your mind to help you build momentum and move toward your goals. If you currently feel stuck, you’ll find Day 1 particularly useful. On Day 2—Identify the reason you procrastinate, we’ll look at the specific reasons you procrastinate and begin to create a simple plan to overcome your tendency to put things off. On Day 3—Deepen your understanding of procrastination, we’ll explain how procrastination works and explore what you can do to boost your motivation and complete your key tasks. On Day 4—Gain clarity, you’ll learn why clarity is key. As you gain more clarity regarding your tasks, you’ll reduce your tendency to procrastinate. On Day 5—Develop laser-sharp focus, you’ll discover that one of the biggest reasons you end up procrastinating over your most important tasks is due to overstimulation. We’ll see in detail how to develop deeper focus which will help you can tackle your tasks with greater ease. On Day 6—Release your fear, we’ll discuss the biggest fears that lead you to procrastinate, and we’ll reveal a few simple tips to help you lessen those fears. Finally, on Day 7—Implement a daily routine and build consistency, you’ll create a daily routine that will boost your productivity dramatically, while reducing the odds of you...

Put simply, procrastination is knowing there is a task you should be undertaking but finding yourself unable to do it.

Below are some specific reasons that may lead us to procrastinate: A lack of clarity. Being unsure of what we have to do, the way we should do it, or the reason it matters, we postpone working on that task. Insufficient awareness. Without a proper understanding of what procrastination is and how it works, we find ourselves putting off things more often than we’d like to. Poor focus. Being in a constant state of overstimulation, we find ourselves unable to focus on tasks we perceive as challenging, unpleasant, or boring. Fear. By feeling as though we aren’t good enough or being afraid of what others will think of us, we put off our dreams to a future that never arrives. Lack of urgency. Having no real sense of urgency, we tell ourselves we can always work on our task tomorrow, next week, or next month. Lack of effective routines. Having no consistent daily routine to help us immerse ourselves in our most important tasks, we become distracted by the most irrelevant things, e.g., emails, social media, YouTube, and so on. Unnecessary friction. Failing to create a frictionless environment, we struggle to tackle our most important tasks. Mental overload. Having too many unfinished tasks or chores, we become overwhelmed.

It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. SENECA, ROMAN STOIC PHILOSOPHER.

the key is to realize that motivation doesn’t lead to action, but action leads to motivation.

“Self-discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should do when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.”

Overcoming procrastination entails realizing there is no future self on which you can unload the burden of your current tasks. Tomorrow, your future self will become your present self and will face the very same issues.

The business philosopher, Jim Rohn, said, “As a human being, you’ve been given the dignity of choice. While other living beings rely on their instincts, you have the power to overrule your basic instincts and negative feelings so as to grow and become more. In a way, procrastination is the ever-present tension we experience between our animal instincts and our higher purpose. It is the cost of being human.”

Oftentimes, there is one simple reason why we procrastinate – a lack of clarity.

The problem is, when you’re overstimulated, tackling your most important task becomes difficult, if not impossible. Your mind is just not ready to calm itself and focus on any challenging task.

Now, note that when you’re overstimulated, your mind will play all sorts of tricks on you to prevent you from starting or going back to work. Some of these tricks are: Trick #1—going back to work is easy. Your mind will tell you that you can go back to work whenever you want. But, in reality, you’ll find it almost impossible to do so. Trick #2—you can do it later. Your mind will lie, telling you that you can always do it later today, or maybe it can wait until tomorrow. But, you will have other tasks to do “tomorrow” and the cycle will continue. Trick #3—excitement is the same thing as fulfillment. Your mind will convince you that you need excitement, but excitement will never bring you any lasting sense of fulfillment.

Someday is not a day of the week. – JANET DAILEY, NOVELIST.

If you’re afraid of not doing a good enough job, realize that you only have two choices in life. You can either: Experience feelings of inadequacy and let them control your life, or Experience feelings of inadequacy and act despite these feelings.

If you experience the fear of not being good enough or of being unable to do a good enough job, it probably means you have high standards for yourself. You know you can do better—and you’re right. As you grow and develop your skills, you can and will improve in many areas of your life.

See yourself as a lifelong learner You’re right. You’re not good enough—yet. The important word here is “yet”. Adding that single word can make all the difference in the world. What I am getting at here is the idea that you should see yourself as a lifelong learner. When your identity and self-confidence is based on your desire to learn and improve, things will become easier. Suddenly, you’ll become excited about learning new things, and you’ll evaluate yourself based on the progress you’re making. You’ll experience joy from learning new skills or completing challenging tasks. You’ll stop feeling inadequate because you understand there will be no point where you’ll finally be good enough, no destination to reach. Instead, there is a beautiful journey in which you enjoy every tiny improvement you make and every new insight you discover about yourself and the world.

I might not be as good as I’d like to be yet, but I’m improving consistently and thoroughly enjoying the process. I love challenging myself and completing difficult tasks because I know it helps me improve. I’m a learner, and I take pleasure in discovering new things about myself and about the world around me. I’m perfectly okay where I currently am, and I can’t wait to grow and learn more.

Procrastination is our attempt to place the burden of today onto the shoulders of a future self that doesn’t exist. It doesn’t work.

Go back to work. Warm regards, Thibaut