The Procrastination Buster

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The Procrastination Buster

My weakness is Gummy Drop. No, not a sugary treat. It’s a computer game that one of my sisters got me hooked on. I always laughed at people that played those silly games. Until I got to the upper levels. Now I justify it by saying it does take strategy and helps me reason things out. But really, I’m procrastinating.

One quick game easily wastes 30 minutes at a time. The first thing that helped me get my time back was doing the Most Important Thing first thing—even before one quick game.

Thankfully, Kevin Kruse, Author of 15 Secrets Successful People Know about Time Management, is helping me stay on track. Among the many things he talks about in the Procrastination Buster chapter of his book, Kruse suggests that your future self cannot be trusted to do the right thing. “I can eat just one.” Have you told yourself that before? Then before you know it, the bag is empty.

So Kruse recommends traveling to the future and think what your future self is going to do to sabotage your present goals. Kruse uses the example of junk food. Your future self will eat it all and you will gain weight. Your present self needs to clean out the cupboards and remove the temptation for the future. Your future self will decide you are too busy to exercise. Your present self can block time on your calendar now for exercise before your schedule fills up.

Another buster he endorses is to think about where you want to be and set yourself up for success. Use visualization to see yourself in the future (healthy and fit or a couch potato) and decide what you prefer. When you start to put off that much-needed workout, picture yourself not being able to fit into your favorite jeans. Is that really what you want? A little time now will save you more energy, and sometimes money, later. Check out more techniques in his book, 15 Secrets of Successful People Know about Time Management.