Welcome to Motivational Mondays, your weekly PEP, (Proactive, Empowered, Performance) talk with Mark Kent.
How was your week? Did you apply the knowledge and awareness of your responses to others to change and challenge yourself towards task efficiency and personal empowerment?
Were you cognizant of the three choices, yes, no, and (wait), and how (wait) can give you valuable time to assess whether doing something for others is really in your best interest?
Have you noticed by responding more with (wait) as you strive for closure with your own tasks that it helps you maintain inertia? Did you notice how the (wait) response gives you enough time to overcome your knee jerk response to accommodate others, as well as giving others the opportunity to do the task themselves or find someone else?
Developing the ability to make the universe react to you (remember the mountain moves to Muhammad) helps you develop an internal locus of control (see archives), which is a crucial step in maintaining inertia, linearity, and closure.
Conversely, procrastination, and self-sabotage impairs your ability to consciously strive for and maintain motivation over the long haul.
Remember KILLING TIME IS MURDERING OPPORTUNITIES.
If you tend to procrastinate, your productivity, accomplishments, and sense of control over your environment will always be compromised. The challenge is to find and create ways to change minimize and prevent self-sabotaging habits.
The first step is to become aware of the Procrastination Cycle - Code and Behaviors that perpetuate self-destructive tendencies.
This week we will focus upon the cycle of procrastination and how it is perpetuated.
Essentially you are prone to this cycle if emotions and negative thoughts take precedence over principles, accountability and responsibility. (See archives on emotional and rational brain).
The procrastination cycle has individual variations and can last weeks, months or take place in a short period of time.
Here are the 7 steps to the procrastination cycle.
1) I WILL START EARLIER THIS TIME,
At the onset procrastinators are usually optimistic that this time they will complete their intended task in a timely fashion.
2) I'VE GOT TO START SOON.
Illusions of completing the project right this time is fading and anxiety begins to build, but the deadline is not yet in sight so hope remains.
3) WHAT IF I DON'T START?
Any reassuring optimism is now replaced by foreboding i.e. I should have started sooner (guilt), Doing something else (a false sense of closure) choosing some unrelated task to distract or supplement the rational at least you are, doing something productive and the conclusion that there is little enjoyment so why not replace the negative feelings with pleasurable activities, i.e. movies, friends, etc.
4) THERE'S STILL TIME.
Fate may be closing in (see archives on closure), but the illusion there's still time to complete the task still exists, as there's hope for the magical reprieve, which rarely comes.
5) THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME AND OR THE WORLD IN, WHICH I LIVE.
The worry and angst in not completing the task is replaced with a much more ominous conclusion that now there's something inherently deficient i.e. lacking in discipline, brains or motivation.
6) The final choice, DO I OR DON'T I?
At this stage a decision is made whether to bother at all or find some way to take action.
7) I'LL NEVER PROCRASTINATE AGAIN.
Once the task is abandoned or somehow completed, there is usually relief honeymoon period
In which conscious resolve is made to never procrastinate again. However regardless of this commitment the cycle will tend to repeat itself over and over again.
Once you recognize the procrastination cycle this is the first step in identifying dysfunctional habits and self-sabotaging patterns. To help you identify more clearly potential patterns of procrastination review the 7 steps in the cycle.
Secondly, try to identify specific emotional patterns that may perpetuate the cycle i.e. guilt, frustration, anxiety and depression.
Thirdly, can you identify specific thought patterns that may predispose you to avoidance tendencies and the procrastination cycle?
Next week I will help you identify specific thought patterns by introducing the PROCRASTINATION CODE.
If you know a friend or colleague that would enjoy Motivational Mondays then simply submit their email to my site and they will automatically receive this free information, how awesome is that.
Once again thanks for this opportunity to serve you.
To your empowerment, productivity and motivation.
Mark Kent
