Page 29 - End Procrastination Now Get it Done with a Proven Psychological Approach

End Procrastination with a Three-Step Approach xxvii

one you feel uncomfortable doing. However, the delayed task nor-
mally doesn’t disappear, and the unpleasant feeling is likely to
remain despite your best discomfort-dodging efforts.
Procrastination may start as an emotional reaction to a com-
plex task, an activity with a reward that appears too far in the fu-
ture, or something that you view as frustrating, unpleasant, or
threatening. The task may evoke anxiety. It may be a default reac-
tion to a whisper of negative emotion.
You may set emotional conditions for action. You may think
that you need to feel inspired before you can act. If you wait to feel
inspired, you may join the characters in Samuel Beckett’s play
Waiting for Godot. (Godot is a no-show.) However, when it comes
to following through on unpleasant but necessary responsibilities,
it is wise to lead with your intellect and force yourself to get past
emotional barriers and onto a productive path. You’ll learn many
powerful techniques in Part 2 to help you handle emotional barri-
ers to success and happiness effectively.

The Behavioral Approach

When you procrastinate, you practically always substitute some-
thing less pressing or important for the activity that you delay. You
may do a less pressing but more important activity. However, most
behavioral diversions tend to be bottom-drawer-type activities,
such as reading the comic section of your newspaper instead of
digesting a complex new government regulation that will cause an
important change in the way you do business.
In Part 3, you’ll find a wealth of behavioral prescriptions to
curb behavioral diversions and spur productive efforts.
A combination of procrastination thinking, emoting, and be-
havioral habits can overwhelm even an initial affirmative choice
to stop procrastinating. A transition from procrastination to a pro-
ductive follow-through habit takes time and practice, using the
powerful cognitive, emotive, and behavioral antidotes that you’ll
find in this book. However, this program has a large value-added