Self Sabotage to SELF Motivation! (in less than 5 minutes)

Do you use procrastination to avoid doing things that you actually WANT to do?

Do you procrastinate things such as…

• Exercising?

• Doing the dishes?

• Writing a report?

• Making networking or sales prospecting phone calls?

• Writing articles and blog posts?

• How about something as seemly simple as putting gas in the car?

Well… you are NOT ALONE.

Procrastination is OFTEN the result of your mind being overwhelmed by either too many choices or the inability to see any choices (what I refer to as the “black screen of nothingness in my mind“).

I had a very empowering experience the other day that reconnected me with one of the easiest and quickest techniques for Busting through the Procrastination of just about any task you find yourself procrastinating.

During the normal course of my day I received an email from one of my favorite writers and writing coaches, Rosanne Bane. She was interviewed by Michael Pollock of Bigger Life Radio and she was letting her subscribers know that the interview was posted.

Ordinarily I would put the email in my “To Do Later” file however, on this day I felt compelled to click straight through and listen to the interview.

As I listened to the interview I realized that one of the learning techniques Rosanne described is very similar to an NLP (Nerolinguistic Programming) technique that can be used to break free of the procrastination of just about any task you are side-stepping and avoiding.  In fact, I used this Procrastination Buster technique several years ago to break free from my anxiety-ridden procrastination of the simple task of washing the dishes.

I used to HATE washing the dishes and could not make myself wash them until they were piled up so high that I could no longer put it off. (Of course, that made it seem like an even more daunting task.) I used this technique and now I easily and naturally wash the dishes every single day. I even have a dish washer and I still mostly wash my dishes by hand. It just seems easier and faster… Wow! I NEVER thought I would feel that way about doing the dishes!!! Simply AMAZING!

In this posting I am going to give you an overview and examples of the very effective Procrastination Buster technique I refer to as “Connecting with Disconnected Behaviors“  If you want to learn more about the technique Rosanne discusses known as “Rewarding Approximate Behaviors” I highly encourage you to listen to Rosanne’s full interview on Michael Pollock’s Bigger Life Radio blog.

“Connecting with Disconnected Behaviors” to Bust Through Your Procrastination

Connecting with Disconnected Behaviors is a simple technique of breaking the starting pieces of your task into elementary-level steps that will quickly and easily disconnect you from your emotional inner self saboteur. (You know… that part of you that SCREEMS “Noooooo… I DON’T WANT TO DO IT!!!!!!!“)

So, here’s an example of what it looks like.

Let’s say you have a very difficult time getting yourself to wash the dishes. Well, you would take the first few starting pieces of your task and break them down into small, non-emotional steps.

Washing Dishes

Step 1: Walk into the kitchen

Step 2: Walk over to the sink

Step 3: Turn on the water

Step 4: Pick up the sponge

Step 5: Wet and soap the sponge

Step 6: Pick up a dish

Most of the time procrastination is just about GETTING STARTED on a task – not the actual doing of the task – so this is the point at which your mind will relax and take over the completion of the task.

PLEASE… Don’t let the sheer simplicity of this technique fool you into dismissing it.  Try it! You will be AMAZED at how effectively you will begin easily and naturally motivating yourself to complete tasks that once produced lots and lots of anxiety!

Break Free University members can log-in using the form below to see a complete list of “STEPS” for each of the topics listed below. (Note: If you don’t see the log-in form you are already logged into the Break Free University.)

• Exercising

• Writing a report

• Making networking or sales prospecting phone calls

• Writing articles and blog posts

• Putting gas in the car

You can can transform yourself from PROCRASTINATING to JUST DOING.