MANTRA :  The fastest way from the basement to the penthouse, is to take the stairs.  

Web Links:  

Take the stairs book on Amazon : https://amzn.to/3mzThyH

The war of art book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3gv5yR2

High performance habits on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ziYkHr

HPH Journals on Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2Y1BKFD

YouTube secrets on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3mtZwUO

Who is a procrastinator?  I would argue that no one is a procrastinator but all except the most high achievers have a habit of procrastination, some of us much worse than others.  Therefore no one is a procrastinator so stop identifying as one.  

What is procrastination? 

                A failure of executive function (neuropsychology) Poor time management and distraction

Pre frontal cortex (rational thought)  and Amygdala (fight or flight)

                Emotional regulation disfunction (social psychology) Emotional triggers 

                Genetic disposition (evolutionary psychology) Inherited traits

Procrastination and impulsive behavior also seem to be linked so to defeat procrastination habits you have to actually work on two separate undesirable traits simultaneously. 

 Parts of procrastination 

                Trigger (acknowledge the trigger) 

                Pattern of avoidance (just shorten the task to a manageable size) 

                Reward (set up a personal reward system for completion) 

                Guilt or shame (eliminate the guilt and try again) 

Where, do we usually see procrastination?  It is in every aspect of human life, work, play, relationship, goals, responsibilities.  Every thing that requires effort is an arena for procrastination.  

When does procrastination show up?   Whenever there is task to perform that we may consider not particularly rewarding or pleasant.  

                We procrastinate when we know that we are doing it.

                We procrastinate when we know that its bad for us

                We procrastinate when we want to stop.

Why do we procrastinate?  Because as a species we are wired to seek comfort and avoid pain.  Procrastination is a way to put off pain in favor of immediate gratification.  More importantly it is connected to emotional triggers as well. 

        (Classic procrastinator) Delay what we know we should be doing until it cannot be delayed any longer. Mozart wrote the overture to Don Giovanni the morning that it premiered.

        (Creative avoidance) create tasks that take you from more important tasks.  

         (Priority dilution) Over achievers’ type of procrastination.   

 How do we overcome procrastination?

Journal your day, emotions, triggers and habits (the journal can also be procrastinated on)

The way to turn a dream into a goal is write it down and get to work.  No excuses.