Virtually everybody procrastinates at some time or another. But taking action, however unappealling the task, is the number one route to success. Completing tasks is great for your motivation but there are always things you might not want to do, even when you know it is totally necessary. The good news is it is possible to avoid living like that. You can change the way you look at things and make procrastination a thing of the past.

There are all kinds of reasons why people procrastinate. Some do it because they don’t like the task, others because other things mean more to them, and still other people might be struggling with depression, sickness, or just feeling down. Sometimes it can be as simple as just not knowing where to start. No matter what your reasons for procrastinating, you can take control and get things done.

Identify What Really Matters to You

It’s important to be able to do things that you want to do, but the reality is that someone has to take out the garbage, wash the dishes, or complete that long-winded business report. There should be a healthy balance between things you must do and things you do simply for pleasure.

Of course, what you like to do won’t necessarily be the same as what someone else enjoys, and that’s just fine. Some people like to clean their homes. Others prefer to pay someone to clean so they can do something else. Neither person is wrong, nor should they try to convince the other person to change. They are both focused on what they enjoy doing.

If you want to stop procrastinating, your first step is to determine:

• What you absolutely have to do
• What others have told you that you have to do
• What you can get others to do for you – either volunteer or paid

When you’ve been totally truthful with yourself and worked out what really matters to you, you can focus on the tasks that you simply must get done.

Give Yourself A Treat

Ensure you give yourself a small reward whenever you achieve something. In other words, avoid doing a lot of tasks that you don’t enjoy without treating yourself.

It’s important that you reward yourself for doing things you don’t like doing. The reward should be simple and realistic, but also something that you can look forward to. A treat can be anything from a scoop of ice cream to your favorite movie to taking a walk under the stars – whatever brings you joy.

For example, you can tell yourself, “When I finish cleaning the kitchen, I’ll read another chapter in that book I enjoy.” You’ll be more likely to finish cleaning faster if you know you can do something fun afterward.

More Tips to Stop Procrastinating

Rewarding yourself is a great way to stop procrastinating and making unwanted tasks more enjoyable so that you’re more inclined to get them done also works.

Try these techniques to convince yourself to complete those tasks:

1. Get others involved. Need to paint your house? Get your family or friends involved and then enjoy some time together afterward. Order a pizza. Watch a movie. Play in the yard. Do something that makes you feel joyful and connected. This way, you can actually look forward to it!

2. Do one thing each day. Divide the task up into more manageable bits. For example, rather than cleaning your entire house in one day, just clean one or two rooms each day, on a schedule of your choosing. When you do that, the smaller tasks seem much easier to handle and you won’t spend your entire weekend cleaning.

3. Set realistic deadlines and goals. If you set unrealistic goals, it’s easy to get discouraged. Avoid discouragement by setting goals and deadlines that are attainable. Your confidence and motivation soar when you know you can achieve what you set out to accomplish.

Overcoming procrastination takes work and some time, but it’s something that anyone can do. Start right now – make a commitment to yourself to stop procrastinating and start moving forward with your life.

You can take control, and you’ll be glad you did as you find yourself reaching your goals and enjoying more free time. You’ll also find that tasks you avoided become just routine and you don’t fret over them anymore.

Technorati: avoiding procrastination, motivation, procrastination, taking action

The biggest reason why most people don’t have want they want in life is that they simply don’t believe they can.

That’s a simple statement but but it contains so many different reasons for failure.

There’s the belief that only clever people can run businesses, only people with much money already, only people with certain skills, ideas, backgrounds, contacts… the list is endless.

Then there are those beliefs about money; it’s evil, money goes to money, rich people are arrogant, I’m not worthy, I can’t…

But honestly, they are all only excuses for not taking action which will mean making some sort of change.

The thing that sets all successful people apart from those who don’t make it is simply:

BELIEF

Yes, they 100%, totally, unwaveringly believe in their own ability and the certainty of success.

I’ve obtained a free gift for you that will help get your beliefs about money into perspective and I think you’ll find will make your becoming a business success so much easier.

Before you download the book (just click the book cover below) there are two sections in the book I want you to read and think about very carefully.

On pages 11-12, the issue of change is addressed. As you probably know, this is my area of expertise, I just love change (I know, I’m a bit weird – most people are really afraid of it!) because I know that the changes I make are for the best. If you focus on the desired outcome, rather than what you fear may happen, then the best you hoped for WILL come about. It is only the focus on the negatives that cause them to happen.

As an aside I play golf as much as possible. Anyone who also plays will know that water hazards cause many golfers big problems.

The cause of that is that most of the time they concentrate on NOT going into the water rather than focusing on the shot they want – landing the ball on the green. The negative thought creates the shot that gets wet because the subconscious takes the thought of water as an instruction.

Back to the book, I particularly like this quote:

When you change so does your world

There is no point in waiting for the world to change to your liking – it’s not going to happen. If you want something and it’s not happening for you right now then you, and only you, have to change something.

The other area is about doing what you love to do. And doing that to make money.

You see it’s all about passion. If you do something you hate how much effort and enthusiasm do you have? If your current job involves doing exactly the same thing day in day out do you find it so stimulating you want to tell the world about it?

You’ll find Money Beliefs a great read and I hope will open you eyes to a few possibilities.

If you haven’t started a business yet or decided exactly what you want to do I strongly recommend you read Money Beliefs first.

Good luck

Technorati: beliefs about money, believe, change, making changes, money

You’ve been sitting at the Red Light for 5 minutes already. It’s a really busy junction and there are cars streaming through the green light and passing right across the front of your car.

You’re getting uncomfortable. Should I just drive on? Surely the lights must change in a second.

You wait a little longer. Nothing is happening. Nothing is changing.

You’re getting a little stressed. You know what the red light means. Just wait. But for how long?

It’s been 7 minutes. You want to drive on but you’d have to head out into the traffic that’s passing through the green light.

You wait a little longer. Still no change.

Your decision is made. You cannot wait any longer. The traffic lights are clearly not working correctly. They are not going to change.

You have to go.

What’s the worst that can happen?

A ticket for driving through a red light? You could probably clear that because theres’s clearly a problem.

Some abuse from other drivers? You can live with that.

A collision? Not good, but the traffic is moving slowly so you won’t die and probably wouldn’t even get hurt.

You put the car into gear and head out slowly into the moving traffic to be greeted by tooting of horns and gestures from the drivers that you’ve gone through a red light.

It’s very uncomfortable. You feel it’s a bit of a risk but you had to do something.

You could have sat waiting but nothing would have changed.

You did something. You acted. You took control. It felt scary but at the same time good that you were doing something positive rather than just waiting.

You moved into the free flowing traffic, the toots die down, the gestures stop and you drive on home.

No collision, no injury, no ticket. Not so bad after all.

Is it the same in your life?

Your stuck. Your stressed. Nothing is changing.

Little money; hate your job; hate your boss; hate your lifestyle.

Your life is at the Red Light.

Unless you change something, nothing is going to change.

It may be scary, it may be a risk but the choice is clear:

You either decide to move on or you put up with what you’ve got.

What’s the worse that can happen?

Your probably not going to die or get injured.

If fear is holding you back you need to think long and hard about this question:

What do you fear most, living your life the way you do now for the rest of your life or taking some well thought out action?

I don’t mean a leap of faith, I mean spending some time on you instead of say watching TV. Working out what to do, looking at the downside risks and taking steps to minimise those risks and maximise your chances of success.

Can you do it?

100% YES.

Stay tuned to Lifestyle Created and create the life you truly desire and is there waiting for YOU.

If you chose to stay sitting at the traffic lights do something beneficial while you’re there – read Carole Fogarty’s advice

Technorati: change, lifestyle, red light, red traffic light, stop light

Image via WikipediaDefining what this site is all about is a bit of a challenge!

Can you imagine how many millions of people live their lives according to “expectations” rather than the way they really want?

How many people watch films and quietly wish their lives were different?

The day to day drudgery of a working life: same route to work; same boring lunch; same boring work – quietly counting the days down to retirement. What a relief that will be – no more work. BUT for most people that also signifies a complete lack of money!

You can get out of this hole that society expects us to be in.

Yes, you can but you have to be prepared to take some risks, make some changes and do something differently.

LifeStyle Created is all about creating the lifestyle you want – whatever that might look like.

I’ve done it by running a business from home for over10 years. I’ve seen the good times and the bad – I’ve faced enormous challenges but also spent time playing golf when others are working .

So LifeStyle Created is about getting your mind straight. It’s about finding the real desires that will keep you motivated towards your goals. It’s about change, that’s the real big one – making changes. It’s about work from home business and it’s about the actual lifestyle you want for you and your family.

I refuse to be pigeon holed – this isn’t about Self Improvement or Internet Marketing although both are major inflences on me and where I am today. They’ll be referenced and discussed but this site is about…

YOU

I want to know about the challenges you face. The goals you want to achieve, the guidance you need and above all the lifestyle you want to create.

Sign up to one or all of the RSS feeds, the email updates, bookmark or favourite this site but make sure you come back somehow – I want to know when you’ve made it.

Mark