Procrastination

No matter where you look, irrespective of field of endeavour and regardless of the aims and objectives, you can always find a good supply of people struck down by the “disease” of procrastination.

I myself am incredibly prone to this condition, and it is without doubt the number one target on my personal hit list for 2010 (and the last few days of 2009). On a personal note, I feel more confident taking this on having beaten the nicotine habit (ignoring the occasional backwards slide). I say that because, ultimately, the habit of putting things off, and the addiction to nicotine share the same cure; brain power.

This cure is simultaneously simple and seemingly difficult, yet why should that be? All it takes to give up smoking is to make a decision to never buy, beg or borrow) cigarettes again, and all it takes to cure procrastination is a decision to act now rather than some time in the future.

Simplest thing in the world, yet you find yourself in an almost schizophrenic state trying to fight the urge to buy cigarettes, or constantly beating yourself up for continuing to procrastinate.

I don’t claim to have the full explanation as to why this is, but you can be sure it’s got a lot to do with the science behind habits, their formation and their ongoing reinforcement. My theory is that it’s learned behaviour at the level of the subconscious mind, and the schizophrenic sensations are caused by the conscious mind battling the subconscious.

The trick then is to “program” the subconscious with new habits and behaviours; there’s all sorts of techniques around, including NLP and hypnotism, but ultimately I believe the key factors are persistence and being consistent. If the conscious mind keeps telling the same story over and over again, the subconscious will eventually take that on board as the new “reality”. Those other things are, perhaps, useful tools that can accelerate this process, but the core principle remains simple.

So, that’s procrastination cracked, what will I do with the rest of the year?

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