Morning Affirmation~ Today, I will focus on my main priority.

We all procrastinate from time to time. Some of us more than others and I am one of those people. I am the queen of procrastinating. I’m not 100% sure why to be honest. It’s not because I’m lazy. People in South Dakota are hard working people. Being born in North East South Dakota, I was brought up to work hard. Where, then, does my penchant for procrastination originate? A combination of things, first, I think out of fear. I think the fear of doing something keeps me from doing it. Second, I have a bit of social anxiety. I don’t like social situations very much, even talking on the phone is intimidating sometimes. No, writing is more my style. I can take my time and think of what I want to say. You can’t do that when you’re in a conversation. Third, I am over ambitious at times. I give myself grand goals, then get overwhelmed by the task ahead, making me quit before I’ve even begun.

How can I get past this bad habit of procrastinating? I think making a list of things I want to do for the week, assign one thing to that day, then make that my priority, no matter how scary it may feel. What do the experts say? I found an article on forbes.com~ 10 Scientifically Proven Tips for Beating Procrastination. It’s an older article, but gives good advice. Here are a few of them:

1. Focus on one thing. Trying to focus on too many things feels overwhelming.
2. Try the 5-minute miracle. Ask yourself what you can do today, in 5 minutes or less, that helps you reach goal just a little.
3. Work for 1 hour. A “power hour” means putting away all distractions for 1 hour. Work toward your goal in small, 1 hour chunks of time.
4. Take something off your list. Some people are too ambitious, overwhelming themselves with too many things. What can you take off your list?
5. Set a reward for completion. Make it fun and add some motivation with a reward.

Follow this link for the main article:

10 Scientifically Proven Tips for Beating Procrastination