Procrastinating Lately? Remind Yourself of What Is Important In Your Life.

I believe we all need to deal with procrastination sooner or later. Bloggers and webmasters are especially vulnerable to this problem, because we work alone, usually from a home office, and the possibilities to do something else other than work are both plenty and tempting.

Why write that long blog post now if you can go play the Xbox 360 instead? What about going out for a bike ride, taking some pictures with the digital camera, or simply sitting in the sofa to watch that movie you rented? You get the idea.

If you have been struggling with similar stuff lately, here is a trick I started using that is working like a charm. In order to stop procrastinating and get back to work I remind myself of what is important to me, of the things I want to achieve, of the lifestyle I want to have and so on. Then I realize that playing the Xbox 360 or sitting in the sofa watching a movie will not get me any closer to these things.

Suppose your website is currently making $100 monthly, and you are working on it to see if you can reach an income level of $1,000 monthly, because that will allow you to buy that new car you have been dreaming about.

The next time you find yourself going to play a game instead of working on your website simply stop and think: “What is more important to me, the quick fun I’ll get from this game or buying my dream car? For sure the car, so let me roll-up my sleeves and get busy on something that will help me achieve that.”

There is a line from a movie I watched a long time ago that illustrates the concept. One of the kids in the movie was reluctant to do his homework, so his father told him: “We do what we have to do in order to do what we want to do.”

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24 Comments

  2. I'm always having this problem and when I get working I try not to think about anything else.
    My recent post The Challenge- First Week Update

  3. I have had to work very hard to stop procrastinating. I was a natural born procrastinator, like most of us probably are, but I can to the realization that I would not afford the time, energy, or money I was wasting.

  4. personally a todo list has served me very well
    when i'm tackling a large project, i break it down into the smallest task; crossing off a task list (be it small or large), gives you momentum and could really help building up momentum.

    My recent post tip to launch applications quicker in windows

  5. You have open my eyes. Today onwards procrastinating is stopped. You know what I am making my mind to do two posting right away after reading this article.

  6. Fireball – Frostfire Bolt – Lava Blast………..Uh? Work? Oh yeah! Ok Ok my hand is high in the air for this one. I'm guilty sometimes 😀 I actually have a great work ethic. Once I'm on something it's hard to turn loose until it is completed. When I first read this post the first that popped in my mind was….."Zac Johnson visited my site and saw that I haven't written any more post on my blog since my site went live" so he is targeting me for being lazy! LOL really that's what I thought! But I got to the end and noticed the author of the post.
    I been busy as a bee on my latest book and will indeed have more post very very soon. Daniel makes some very good points in this post. Thanks for the work you put into this Daniel, you hit the nail on the head so to speak.

    Zac thanks for allowing Daniel to share this. Very good stuff, I can always depend on a good read when I visit your Blog.

    Thanks!
    My recent post Introduction To Business In Second Life

  7. Good Post Daniel – I think most people suffer from some level of procrastination. Sometimes you can even procrastinate while still working. Lots of people put off the least enjoyable tasks until the end of the day, when they can more easily just push them until tomorrow. You can spend all day being 'busy' with work related stuff, but never get to the things that will really impact your business. Similar to your suggestion about asking yourself if playing Xbox360 or watching a movie will get you where you want to go – when you are in work mode, it can help to ask yourself if what you're doing right now is the thing that will have the most positive impact on your business. When you are in work mode, it really pays to focus on the tasks that make a difference.
    My recent post Getting your Affiliate Marketing Business out of Low Gear

    1. Thanks for the nice words.

      Yeah I used to have this habit too. These days I try to put the important stuff first thing in the morning though, no matter how boring that might be.

  8. Man Zac, you really hit it today. I've got my eye on a place in Belize. I want it so bad. So, I cut out a picture of it and made copies. One copy is above my desk, one on my dashboard, one in my wallet. It keeps me super focused because I will not fail to reach this goal!
    My recent post Strike King Shadalicious

  9. It's always a challenge for freelancers and bloggers to be able to stay focused for a long time. I have the same exact problem and what seems to help a lot is to co-work with fellow freelancers. The less they have to do with internet marketing, the better this is why we are able to find common things to talk about and chill out every now and then but not transform work into a constant mentioning of websites and affiliate plans etc.
    One more method that i am using and might seem stupid but it really works for me is the Epic Win app for iphone.
    It's an application that you set your task and the amount of experience each task gives. When you complete tasks, (repetitive or not) you use the experience to get levels and rewards and since i am an RPG fanatic I love that system and really help me to stay focused.
    What can i say i am an Exp %@#&# 🙂
    Angel
    My recent post On Earning Passive Income

  10. Great post man… I think we all hit the procrastinating wall at some point or another. I have been keeping my tv off till 4pm,,lol this has been a huge benni.. let's me stay focused on what I'm doing all day.

  11. In order to avoid the terrible sickness of procrastination, you have to blog about something that you love. For me I was sports betting like mad, until one day I decided to post my picks online! I am not even monitizing my blog, because I love what I am doing! Action beats inaction everytime!
    My recent post Yankees vs Red Sox take the UNDER

  12. What a relevant post. I read so many forums or comment where people say that don't know what to blog about – I don't believe it – I can sit down now and think of 100 blog topics, if you know your subject, it isn't that hard. The hard part isn't coming up with stuff to write about, it is writing.

    I have been using the Getting things Done (David Allan) material and found it helps me a lot.
    My recent post Your Input

  13. One of the best books I've read on motivating yourself is called "Eat that Frog!" by Brian Tracy. Everyone has trouble overcoming procrastination, but having a plan (i.e. a to-do list) and knocking them off one at a time (biggest frog first) can really help you accomplish things.

    This was a really helpful article, thanks for sharing.

    -RJ
    My recent post Quiz Time! – Random Pop Culture

  14. Great advice!! Procrastination is one of my biggest flaws. Thank you!
    My recent post Security Officer’s Companion

  16. Great reminder to keep your eyes on the prize. You can expand it by asking a follow up question once you've kicked procrastination to the curb and are ready to get into action: will this take me closer to my goal or away from it. That will help you evaluate whether the steps you're taking will get you to the finish line or is a distraction (or another form of procrastination).
    My recent post Michael Port I love you… but not in a weird way

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