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100 End Procrastination Now!

became her priority. Finding the perfect soul mate was no longer
a priority. Marriage became the means to the end of having chil-
dren. Tony, who had a serious alcohol addiction, was available. She
impulsively married him. Two years and two kids later, an unem-
ployed Tony has refused to stop drinking. Willow has another
major decision to make, and she is uncertain what to do.
Here is a brief proactive coping exercise for addressing
decision-making equivocation.

Awareness: It can seem as if you are Action: Most decisions that include
going through an endless loop if uncertainties carry a real possibility
you keep going over the same that the decision will be adequate
ground and adding conditions and but imperfect. Occam’s razor refers
qualifications. Equivocation, then, to the idea that conditions should
reflects a need for certainty. How- not be needlessly made more com-
ever, only the most relevant condi- plicated than they actually are, and
tions need to be met. that the simplest explanation is
normally the best. Simplify.

Combating Decision-Making Procrastination

An automatic procrastination decision (APD) starts with a primi-
tive perceptional whisper of emotion and an urge to diverge. APDs
may come from subconscious causes, such as perceiving some-
thing in the situation as complex and unsettling.
A higher-order APD occurs when you make a promissory note
to yourself to do later something that you can start now. This can
trigger a chain of procrastination thoughts:

“I don’t know which action is the most important or where to
begin. I’ll rest on it.”
“I need more references.”
“I need to read more before I can start.”
“I won’t be able to start today because there isn’t enough time.”
“I’ll get to it later.”