If I put a gun to your head, would you do it?
Hi
I started writing this email yesterday and I'm still
writing it today . . .
It all began well, but as soon as I go stuck on a
certain sentence my mind began a wanderin' . . .
Before I realised it I had checked my inbox . . . made
a coffee . . . read the newspaper . . . answered a
couple of emails again . . . wrote a few headlines for
something completely different and even
downloaded a couple of songs from iTunes . . .
. . . and where was I . . . um . . . ah yes, when I
came back to this email my concentration was lost
and I had to start all over again . . .
I'll be straight with you. I'm a lazy so-and-so. I get
distracted very easily and have to push myself very
hard to complete tasks.
Yes, I'm a chronic procrastinator. I put important
things off until later in the hope that somehow they
will just come together themselves. Of course this
won't happen . . . but I live in hope!
I receive emails from people all the time asking me
how to stop procrastinating and get things done.
Well, take it from someone who knows A LOT
about this subject, there are a few tricks I use to take
action that you might be able to adapt to your own
circumstances.
First, get a loaded gun . . .
When I find it difficult to motivate myself, I use my
imagination. I pretend that there is someone sat next
to me with a gun pointed at my head and am given
an ultimatum.
(I should mention this is not my own idea, but one
from the great (late) Gary 'King of Copy' Halbert.
Incidentally he died of natural causes and not a
virtual bullet! You can check out the master
recorded live at a seminar here:
http://www.garyhalbertlive.
Let me give you an example: I have exactly one
hour to finish this email. Not only do I have to
complete it in this time, but I have to pour as much
passion and effort into making it so good that I will
move people who read it to do something positive
themselves.
If I don't finish with the hour or I haven't given
100% effort, then I will be shot!
Strange perhaps, but if you can really enter into the
visualisation it can produce amazing results. I have
used it every time I write a marketing promotion for
a new product. I also used it when I first started my
company . . .
What you are really trying to do with this technique
is heighten the emotional attachment you have to
your actions. What will happen if you don't achieve
your goal?
Ok, that's the stick. What about the carrot?
Think about the positive results of completing an
important task. If you are working towards
launching your home business or additional income
earner, there payoff is easy to visualise.
When I launched my business, I had a clear mental
picture of all the positive effects - me owning a
beautiful Georgian house in Central London, eating
in the finest restaurants and wearing a bespoke suit.
Yes, I know it is all very shallow and materialist, but
those are the things that I aspired to at the time. And
yes, these things do matter to many and for better or
worse are equated with success.
Another more immediate payoff is to give yourself a
small reward for completing each important task.
And don't forget the emotional benefits of taking
action: the satisfaction of doing something that is
improving your lot; the pride your family will feel;
the envy of your friends and neighbours.
Now, if you can bring these feelings of positive and
negative consequences really vividly into your mind,
something can happen. You can, temporarily at
least, trick your procrastinating self into stepping
aside.
Ok, if all that is a bit intimidating (if not downright
weird), here are some other - perhaps less extreme -
ways to give yourself a kick up the backside:
* Unpleasant tasks rarely turn out to be as bad
as you think. So do these first and give
yourself a reward for doing them. There's a
strange satisfaction in ticking off these nasty
jobs from your todo list.
* Starting a home business can seem a hue and
daunting task: break large jobs into smaller,
more manageable tasks. Give yourself small
rewards for completing each difficult task.
Equally, punish yourself for failure to
complete a task. Do this by withholding the
reward.
* Share your plans with others: set a specific
date and let your family and friends know
about it. Make a bet with your family, friends
or co-workers that you will finish a particular
project by a specified time, or find other
ways to make yourself accountable.
* Block your time for projects: when I am
writing this eletter, I usually lock myself
away for 3 hours after dinner and just try to
write.
* Remove temptation: turn off your mobile
phone. Don't check your emails. Remove
clutter from where you are working. Tell
your family that you cannot be disturbed for
these few hours.
* Overcome your fear of failure: many people
delay taking action because they are worried
about things not working out. Stop focusing
on the negative outcome and instead
concentrate on the present.
* Overcome the fear of success: this is more
common than most people give credit - some
people are worried about what will happen if
their business does take off. What will I do
about tax or setting up a company? What
about my office? Who cares about that right
now! That's a great problem to have . . .
when it happens. But don't let it get in the
way of you actually taking action.
* Develop a clear mental picture of the
completed task and how you will feel at that
time. Maintain a focus on the end result, not
just the process. Remind yourself how good
you'll feel when you're finished.
* When you have accomplished a task, mark it
out on your to do list with a pen. It gives you
visual confirmation that you are getting
somewhere.
* Set deadlines for completion. Try assigning
yourself small-scale deadlines ' for example,
commit to reading a certain number of pages
in the next hour.
* Partner up: if you find starting a business
daunting, find someone to join you. I was
lucky enough to work with Heloise. Each of
us would encourage the other to complete
tasks and stick to the plan.
Right, I'm off to reward myself with a Mayan
Magnum ice cream . . .
Cheers
Nick