The Cost of Procrastination:
3 Tips for Breaking Free

"My mother always told me I'd never amount to anything because I procrastinate,"says comedian Judy Tenuda.  "I told her - just wait!"

Have you found that, despite your best intentions, you avoid taking the actions that will ensure your success? If you do, you're one of a growing number of people having a tough time staying on track.

It took psychologist Piers Steel ten years to conclude that, more than ever before, we are a nation of procrastinators.  According to his research, since 1978, the percentage of Americans who think of themselves as procrastinators has risen from 5% to 26%. 

Steel attributes this trend to the increasing availability of fascinating and enjoyable distractions, including email, Blackberries, and iPods.  Working on goals like exercising daily can be uncomfortable, strenuous, and hard to fit into your schedule.  It's easier to find a few minutes for Freecell than 30 minutes for a walk around the block.  

As a business and life coach, it is my experience that there is much that we can do to get past this tendency to delay.  I'm working with three clients who are writing books.  They're doing this while working full-time at other jobs.  Their creative time is too precious to be frittered away.  Nonetheless, they have all succumbed to the temptation to veer off course.  They've lost momentum by devoting too much time to volunteer commitments and/or by spending too many hours in front of their TV or computer.

Fortunately, through coaching, they have learned strategies for staying focused.  They broke their unproductive habits and you can too.  Here are 3 tips to ensure that you stop procrastinating and keep moving forward:

1. Clarify -- what do you want and why is it important to you?

To break procrastination, you're going to have to self-motivate.  No one else can do it for you.  Clarifying what you want and the benefits of achieving it can help move you forward.  If, for example, you want to make better food choices - visualize what it will feel and look like once you're consistently eating fresher, healthier meals.  Describe your goal in writing.  Be specific.  Set a target date for reaching it.  Review your goals daily.  Share them with friends.  The clearer you get, and the more you reinforce your wish, the more likely that you'll succeed.

When you persevere, you stick to your commitments despite the temptation to sidetrack.  Even if you stray, don't give up.  Forgive yourself and get back on course.  I've been coaching a woman who has been working on a project for several years.  Over this past winter, she went into a slump and her work slowed to a halt.  Now that Spring has arrived, she's become more willing to pick it up again.  A strategy that she's found helpful is to 'underpromise and overdeliver.'  She had to give up the unrealistic expectation that she could jump back in and work the way she had before.  Instead, she needed to 'underpromise' by making small time commitments (5-10 minutes!) and then stick to them.  If she 'overdelivers' and works for longer, that's great - but it's not required.  Using this strategy, she has rebuilt momentum.  Because she persevered and didn't give up, she's well on the road to completion.

3. Get Support

It's all too easy to rationalize your way out of showing up for your commitments.  To stop procrastinating and stay on track, build an ongoing support system.  One of the most effective ways to get quality support is by working with a professional/life coach.  Making a commitment to your coach is like making a commitment to yourself.  Often, it's actually more effective.  By working with a coach, you'll take yourself and your work more seriously.  You'll be more productive, stay focused and on track. 

A business buddy can also be a helpful source of support.  This is a friend or colleague who, like you, has something she/he wants to achieve and who is ready to partner with you to ensure success.  You and your buddy can meet in person or by phone on a regular basis.  You'll share wins, challenges and help each other develop strategies to ensure that you both keep moving forward toward your respective goals.  

Your 'Gem'