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Finding Time by Avoiding Procrastination - Jump in to Boost Productivity and Time

By Paula Eder

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 02Jul2008 Word count: 499 Viewed: 201 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

“Take time to be deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.” Napoleon Bonaparte

Finding time is an ultimate challenge that requires your flexibility and initiative. Even if you experience success through planning, you may still procrastinate when it comes to converting plans into actions. Remember that even the best plans are worthless if you do not act upon them. And that any actions taken in good faith can be learned from. Taking action is a commitment to participate in a situation at your current level of understanding. It requires humility and a sense of responsibility.

So like it or not, fully ready or not, sometimes you do need to "just do it", to reap the rewards of all your good planning. It is, ultimately, an act of compassion to yourself to be motivated by responsibility rather than perfectionism.

Could you be depriving yourself of valuable opportunities?

If you procrastinate with fear-based 'circular planning', jumping in (with eyes wide open) will restore your productivity.

Here are 3 signs that you procrastinate with circular planning:

* You plan the same activity several times over, out of fear of making a mistake. You never actually identify what needs to happen before you proceed further.

* You substitute planning for the risk of taking the first step. There is a quality of denial in this, because the refusal to move forward almost always carries negative consequences.

* You find it difficult to stop planning, and this interferes with other activities. The more you take refuge in compulsive planning, the less able you are to be fully present in this moment, and fully alive.

Break out of this destructive deadlock in 3 steps:

Mobilization Tip #1: Tune into your rhythms. Catch your tendency to procrastinate through circular planning as quickly as possible. The sooner you break this pattern, the more swiftly you can replace it with something truly productive. Without a hint of judgment, simply identify what you are doing and 'escort' your thoughts to more useful topics.

Mobilization Tip #2: Examine whether you can lower your expectations for your first step. First steps can be overburdened with symbolism, making them seem riskier than they need to be. Calmly review how you will pick yourself up if you stumble, and affirm that learning as you go is a productive use of your time, too.

Mobilization Tip #3: Take the next step, breaking it down if necessary into sub-steps. Notice how initial anxiety often gives way to satisfaction once you move beyond planning and immerse yourself in your new activity.

Power-Planning™ gains much of its strength from versatility. Make the time choice that is most practical, instead of clinging to a one-size-fits-all solution. The more directly you resolve concerns about translating plans into action, the more effective your planning will become. And the more you will enjoy productivity with less procrastination and more effective use of time.

What is your next step to find quality time?

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