Tushkateers!  Hey there and howdy do!!!

Goodness gracious me, it’s TAX Day!  For those of you who haven’t filed yet, haven’t mailed the checks that are sitting on the dining room table; for those of you who are hyperventilating and can’t breathe – I sympathize, as does Our Lady of Weight Loss.  Believe it or not, she too procrastinates, and she thought that today, Tax Day 2012, is the perfect day to shed lite on the topic and to “STOP PROCRASTINATING NOW.”  Or, at least … Keep procrastination to a minimum.

Needless to say, she and I have received a number of Chewing the Fat emails asking for help!  “I keep putting off going to the gym.”  “I swear, I am going to start my healthy living plan on Monday morning, but then, I don’t.”  “Help me to STOP procrastinating.”

So for those have written to me about weight loss procrastination, exercise procrastination, declutter procrastination, procrastination of any type, here follows 9 STOP PROCRASTINATION NOW TIPS that I invite you to take in on a cellular level.

Read on and then START STOPPING NOW (Our Lady is getting a real ‘kick’ out of that phrase.  She’s going to drive me mad with it today, I am sure, as she whispers in my ear whenever possible and appropriate ” START to STOP.”)

Here follow a few of Our Lady of Weight Loss’s …
… 9 BEST STOP PROCRASTINATION NOW TIPS!

1.  SLEEP OFF the PROCRASTINATION.  If you are living a stressful life (who isn’t???), and you are therefore not getting enough rest, for goodness sake, take care of yourself and sleep.  START getting ENOUGH SLEEP NOW!  Take plenty-O-time to rest.

2.  GET HELP.  No (wo)man is an island unto themselves.  If you can’t do it all, ask someone to help you!

3.  CALENDAR-IZE IT.  Believe it or not, if you do not set aside time to do the things you need to do, they won’t get done.  I’m talking formally setting the time aside, as in putting it on your calendar, in ‘ink’ as they say.  Take a look at your calendar throughout the day and make sure that you stick to your schedule!

4.  SMALL DIGESTIBLE BITES.  Bitable portions of work, work best!  Don’t cram too much into any one day, lest your body and mind go into overload mode and sabotage your efforts by moving right back into procrastination mode.  You dig?  Small bites are digestible.  Big bites choke!

5.  90 MINUTE BREAK TIME.   Avoid burn-out by scheduling breaks every 90 minutes (do not take 90 minute breaks)!

6.  DO IT NOW!  Whatever can be done in the ‘now,’ should be done now.  It’s the little things that add up and create some serious heavy-duty stress.

7.  START BACKWARDS.  When you have a task that MUST get done; a task that comes complete with deadline, note the deadline date and work backwards.  Break the ‘main event’ into small digestible bites, and then set a timeline for each step.  If your timeline extends past your due date, ought oh – you’ll have to regroup and perhaps schedule two digestible bites daily!  Get it?

8.  REWARD vs. SACRIFICE.  I know lazing on the sofa, watching Gilmore Girls is a treat, and giving it up is a sacrifice.  (It is!  Any time you change your behavior, maladaptive or not, a sacrifice is involved.  Acknowledge the sacrifices that you are making by giving up procrastination, and then note the reward.  Imagine how good it feels to get things done in a timely fashion; imagine how fantastic it might be to have all your work in order and pretty much if not entirely done; imagine what it might be like to be free of the heavy and weighty feelings that accompany procrastination!

9.  ACCOUNTABLE TO WHOM?  Please do not tell me that you will be accountable to yourself, because honestly, has it ever worked?  Perhaps you can find a friend to whom you can be accountable, or form your own START to STOP NOW group.  Or, if you are looking for a neutral party, someone who excels at motivating others, someone is a trained listener and hears on an entirely different level, take that leap of faith and find yourself a life coach, thus ensuring that you steer clear of procrastination.

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