By: Anna Rushton

Procrastination is about resistance and refusal and although you can dress it up so it looks like deep philosophical contemplation it still comes down to you not taking action. Ever heard the saying ‘what you resist, persists’? Believe me I have put things off for years that I was reluctant to deal with, like sorting out the attic, and surprise, surprise the undealt with items lurk around like unwanted guests at a wedding, spoiling the feast.

Every time you refuse to deal with something, or put it off till a later date, it hasn’t gone anywhere. It is still there waiting to be dealt with. Not just physically in terms of what you have to do to make the thing happen, but also emotionally it is draining because you are using a lot of energy to avoid rather than put into action.

Let’s make this clear – lift your eyes from this page and look at some physical object in front of you, anything will do from a pile of papers waiting to be dealt with to a cup of coffee. Now close your eyes and I assume in that state you don’t see the object – is that right? It has disappeared, but the moment you open your eyes, hey presto it is back again.

That’s what happens when we ‘close our eyes’ to what we need to be doing. Our resistance creates and then erects for us a wonderful barrier. It tries to fool us into thinking that the problem has gone away because we refuse to ‘see’ it. So let’s look at removing that barrier, once and for all.

Removing the Resistance Barrier – What are you procrastinating most about right now? Take only a moment – 1 minute maximum – and write down the first thing that comes into your head. This one thing is the basis of a really practical exercise and although I know you can probably come up with a list stretching to infinity, I want you to work with just ONE item.

You have full permission to put off dealing with the other procrastination items on your list until you have worked this exercise right through for just one of them. What you are going to look at here will help you identify what your resistance really is about and how you normally try to deal with it.

This is really about self-examination of your motives and methods and that is the core information you need to be able to overcome the barriers you have erected for yourself.

The Key Questions – First, what are you really procrastinating about right now? What is taking up all your time and your energy in NOT doing it?

Second, How do you resist taking action on it? Don’t be shy, put everything down from going for a walk to drinking too many cups of coffee.

Now simply think of one single, simple, easy action you could take that would move you from inertia into action. Then do it – repeat this simple formula at least twice a day and you will see your procrastination disappear. (source: articlerich)