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Anti-procrastination

• Costs/Benefits – Write down a list of the costs or bad consequences of procrastination and the benefits or positive consequences of going ahead and doing whatever you are postponing.  You will notice that these are mostly long term consequences.  In the short term, it feels better to procrastinate because you avoid immediate unpleasantness.  However, as you can see in this exercise, you pay a long term price.  Procrastination, like many other avoidance behaviors including addictions, is the “buy now, pay later” plan of life.  By writing down the plusses and minus, and reviewing them daily and whenever you feel like procrastinating, you will become a long term pleasure seeker, not an instant gratification junkie.
• The Five Minute Plan – When you find yourself procrastination on a task, tell yourself you will do it for five minutes.  If you need to, you can do another five minutes, but usually once you get going, you will keep going.
• Do the Worst First – if you have several things to do, pick the one that you least want to do and knock it off.  Everything else will be downhill.  Ask people who don’t procrastinate what they do first and most will tell you they use this strategy. 
• Bits and Pieces or Slice the Salami – When you procrastinate, a task seems to become overwhelming, like trying to eat a whole salami in one sitting.  To make it more palatable, slice up the task in smaller bits and pieces, then knock each piece off one at a time.  For example, one night you can get together your tax information, the next make the calculations, then the following night, fill out the forms.
• Time vs. Priorities – To avoid doing a lot of busywork that gives you an excuse to procrastinate, set a time and date to do unpleasant tasks.  You will find that everything else flows around this schedule.  An example might be going to the gym Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5 p.m. rather than just trying to go when you have time.
• Arrange Consequences – When you finish an unpleasant or difficult task, give yourself a positive consequence.  Often this can be a simple pleasure, like reading a book, having a desert, or watching your favorite television show.   You can also arrange a negative consequence when you procrastinate, usually by making yourself do something else you put off, like cleaning your toilet or closet.
• Mental Rehearsal and Replay – You can rehearse doing an unpleasant task by running a videotape in your head where you see yourself doing the task even though it is somewhat uncomfortable and imagining how you will feel when it is done.  You can also “replay” a situation where you did procrastinate and see yourself doing it rather than blowing it off.
• Stimulus Control – Arrange for a place where you do difficult tasks and only do them in this place.  With practice, just going to this place will help you get it done.  For example, don’t do homework on the couch, in the bed, the bathroom and so on.  Set up a desk and only do studying at the desk.

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