Page 52 - End Procrastination Now Get it Done with a Proven Psychological Approach

20 End Procrastination Now!

through practice and experience, you can develop the skill to be a
competent driver. Conquering procrastination starts in a similar
way. You may never be perfectly productive, but you can be com-
petent in the area of self-learning and development. By initiating
concrete actions, you are likely to gain productive ground.

Positive Actions for Change. Awareness is the first step listed. How-
ever, it isn’t necessarily the first step to take. By accidental discov-
ery, an action can prompt a new awareness. You can enter the
process of change at any point, such as experimenting with do-it-
now actions to see what you can learn about yourself as the agent
of change in this process. Advance the nonfailure concept from
the Introduction by framing proposed actions as hypotheses. Like
a scientist, you test whether an action you have decided on will
promote a desired outcome.

• Make a contract with yourself to perform prescribed steps
to introduce a change in the procrastination process. Instead
of following an urge to diverge, live with the urge for five
minutes and observe what happens. What did you learn?
• After examining the urge for five minutes, act to follow
do-it-now steps. What happened? What did you learn?

Phase 3: Accommodation

Accommodation is the cognitive integration phase of change. It’s
my favorite part of the process. Here you play with juxtapositions,
incongruities, and paradoxes between productive and procrastina-
tion points of view. For example, tomorrow views and do-it-now
views have many contradictions. You don’t do it now tomorrow.

Positive Actions for Change. Accommodating new ways of thinking,
feeling, and acting first involves testing new feelings, thoughts,
and actions. It normally takes a while for the brain to adjust to new
ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving.