A Cure for Procrastination

Procrastination comes naturally and instinctively.  It is seductive because it offers instant gratification.  You have a choice between doing what you like, or doing what is tedious or painful.  Why would someone rush into doing something tedious or painful?  It’s easy to choose to do what you like, but many times we must face the tedious or painful choice sooner or later, and it will be much worse if you put it off to later.

The cure for procrastination is scheduling.  That’s why we always schedule the tedious and painful things.  If the dentist told you to just stop by anytime to get a root canal, would you ever do it?  However, if it were scheduled, you would probably go at the scheduled time.  With scheduling, there is no procrastination.  There is only “on time” or “late.”

So how do you implement scheduling into your life to overcome procrastination?  Schedule all of your tasks for the next day at the end of each day.  Each night before going to bed, sit down and write your next day’s schedule.  Be specific about the tasks you need to complete. Include start and end times.  Then when the next day comes, stick to your plan as if your boss were watching your every move.