Why is it so easy to procrastinate? What makes it so easy to say “I’ll do it tomorrow” instead of “I’ll do it now”? For me, tomorrow often seems far enough away that I somehow think my emotions will be different by then. I can even picture myself doing whatever “it” is tomorrow and I seem relatively happy. Have you ever driven home after work and upon realizing all the things you DIDN’T get done today, you began to make a mental to-do list for tomorrow? It all seems so easy when its in the future, doesn’t it? To do it now requires that I fight through my feelings of apathy, boredom, or stubborn refusal…but to put it off ’til tomorrow just requires some optimism on my part. It’s like we think we’ll feel differently about the dreaded task tomorrow than we do today. Over the past year, I’ve started doing something to make procrastination more productive for me and I thought I’d share it here.

I have always been in sales and it requires that I make a ton of phone calls each week. The funny thing is, I HATE talking on the phone! So the dilemma I would often find myself in is driving home regretting not making some necessary phone calls…which would inevitably lead to me “planning” to make them tomorrow. I could even picture myself hammering out the phone calls and getting them all done with ease. I felt pretty good about it by the time I got home and maybe even a small percentage of me was kind of looking forward to it (probably an exaggeration). But when tomorrow came, I would usually have the same frustrating conversation with myself on the way home.

Here’s how I broke this cycle in this particular area: When I didn’t make my phone calls for the day and I decided I would do it “tomorrow”, I would immediately (while the optimistic juices were still flowing) go and make me a call sheet with all the phone numbers I had to call and I would place it right beside my phone. The next morning when I came in, it was a little easier for me to grab some coffee and start dialing because I didn’t have to do very much. Just pick up the phone!

My situation probably doesn’t apply to you, but it’s the same for anything. If you are procrastinating about re-arranging your office, then before you go home unplug everything and pack up your computer or something. You’re giving yourself a break by not having to actually re-arrange the office TODAY, but doing a little something will help motivate you to complete it TOMORROW.

Procrastination gives us a great deal of relief and will instantly improve your disposition, so why not use these positive feelings to set you up for success tomorrow?