You procrastinate because the thought of taking a certain action makes you feel bad. There are lots of actions that give us that “Ugh” feeling when we even think about doing them. The unpleasant action could be going to the gym, doing your taxes, making an unpleasant phone call, or scrubbing the toilet. Why You Procrastinate and How to Overcome It

So, procrastination isn’t really an issue of laziness. It’s an emotional issue. Your brain predicts that you’re going to experience a negative emotion and does its best to help you avoid it.

However, you don’t have to allow your emotions to guide you. They’re merely suggestions you can choose to follow or reject. It’s not easy to take an action that feels uncomfortable, but it can be done. Why You Procrastinate and How to Overcome It

Even if you procrastinate, you’ll eventually feel even worse about not taking the appropriate action! Why not save yourself some time and drama and just do it now?

Sometimes it’s okay to procrastinate, but there are other times that it would be best to take action immediately. Why You Procrastinate and How to Overcome It

So, what can you do to mitigate procrastination?

Try these tips to overcome procrastination:

1. Focus on the physical sensation. When you think about doing the thing you don’t want to do, it creates a feeling in your body. Notice where you feel that negative sensation. How would you describe it? Why You Procrastinate and How to Overcome It

> Focus on the area of your body where you feel the sensation and see what happens to that physical sensation. See how long that feeling lasts.

> Once you see how this feeling dissipates in a short time, it will be easier to handle it or even disregard it in the future. Why You Procrastinate and How to Overcome It

2. Find an easier way to do the task. Maybe there’s a better or easier way to do what needs to be done. Some tasks are just so big they’re intimidating to even consider. Why You Procrastinate and How to Overcome It

> Can you do a little each day until it’s done?
> Is there a special tool you can rent?
> Rent a dumpster?
> Hire someone else to do it?

3. Promise yourself a reward after the task is complete. Maybe all you need is an ice cream cone, a massage, or a new book to inspire you to get busy and take action. A reward can be a powerful motivator.

4. Think of how great you’ll feel after completing the task. There are few feelings better than completing a dreaded task. It’s such a relief to put it behind you. Why You Procrastinate and How to Overcome It

> Instead of focusing on how awful it will be to do it, focus on how awesome you’ll feel when it’s done.

5. Start small. Plan to work on it for just five minutes. Promise yourself that’s all you have to do and then you’ll give yourself a break. You might find that it’s easy to continue after you get started.

> Getting started can be the most challenging part of accomplishing just about anything.

6. Get help. Do you know someone that can help you? Having some company can make unpleasant tasks more tolerable. Find a friend to help, and you’ll get done twice as fast. Better yet, find five friends and make a party out of it! Unpleasant tasks are less miserable when you have company. Why You Procrastinate and How to Overcome It

7. Be tough. There are some tasks that simply have to be done even if you don’t want to do them. Summon your inner gladiator and overcome your resistance. Just get it done.

Everyone has the urge to procrastinate. One thing that separates successful people from the masses is the ability to overcome this urge.

We procrastinate because the thought of doing the task is unpleasant. There are ways to minimize the discomfort of performing a task. Seek out these ways. Why You Procrastinate and How to Overcome It

Focus on the benefits of taking action, get your work done, and give yourself a little reward. You’ll feel great when it’s over. Why You Procrastinate and How to Overcome It

1. Billionaires have a long-term perspective. Most people are focused on surviving another week or planning their weekend. It’s a short-term perspective that never results in anything in the long-term.

> A billionaire is making decisions and taking action for objectives that are often 10 years or more into the future.

> A regular person might have to scramble to survive in the short-term, but there’s no reason why he can’t spend some of his time working toward something that will make his life better five years from now. However, very few do.

2. Billionaires value time over money. For a billionaire, money isn’t really a thing anymore. Buying a $200,000 car is irrelevant when you make $10 million a month. Billionaires value time. That’s why they often have drivers, charter planes, and assistants. 6 Ways That Billionaires Think Differently Than the Rest of Us

> Conversely, many of us are willing to sacrifice too much time in order to save money. Sometimes this is necessary, but many people take it too far. As much as possible, use your time for a higher purpose.

3. Billionaires delegate. You can’t make a billion dollars all on your own. Many entrepreneurs struggle to grow beyond a certain level. It’s often because they won’t utilize other people to do the work.

> It’s better to make 1% from the efforts of 1,000 people than to make 100% from just your own effort. 6 Ways That Billionaires Think Differently Than the Rest of Us

> Delegate as much as you can. Always be looking for more valuable ways to spend your time.

4. Billionaires focus on making more money, rather than saving. The typical financial guru touts cutting expenses to the bone and saving as much as possible. That’s fine if you want to sacrifice today to be wealthy in 40 years when you retire. 6 Ways That Billionaires Think Differently Than the Rest of Us

> However, it’s difficult to save a lot of money each month unless you make a lot of money.

> Many billionaires are relatively tight with their money, but they primarily focus on making more money each year.

> Save your money but put attention on boosting your income.

5. Billionaires have big goals. Billionaires aren’t aiming for a six-figure salary, a Corvette, or week in Rome. Their goals are more along the lines of taking over the telecommunications industry or owning a million acres of farmland. You can’t achieve big things without big goals. 6 Ways That Billionaires Think Differently Than the Rest of Us

6. Most billionaires like to work more than anything else. Some people look at billionaires and wonder what’s wrong with them.

> “Don’t they already have more money than they can ever spend?”

> “Why don’t they travel, spend time with friends, or learn to play the piano?”

> “I could find something better to do than just work if I were wealthy.”

> What most people fail to realize is that really successful people love to work. That’s part of the reason they are so successful. 6 Ways That Billionaires Think Differently Than the Rest of Us

> A billionaire isn’t always obsessed with the idea of stockpiling more money – they just enjoy seeing improvement and progress in their life more than they enjoy doing anything else.

11 Tips to Maximize Your Intellectual Growth

Most people consider getting their bodies in better shape. But few people think about growing their intellect. However, a mind is a terrible thing to waste! 11 Tips to Maximize Your Intellectual Growth

Yes, it’s important to keep your body healthy and fit. But put the rest of your available exercise time toward building your intellect!

Try these techniques to build greater intellectual capacity:

1. Read. Reading is great. You can often find out more about a topic in a few hours of reading than you can in a lifetime of experimenting on your own. There are smart people that write books and condense their knowledge into a few hundred pages for the rest of the world to read. 11 Tips to Maximize Your Intellectual Growth

2. Debate. Debating with others forces you to consider every perspective and to organize your thoughts. You have to think on your feet and build persuasive arguments. Keep it friendly, though

3. Develop your memory. There are plenty of books and other resources on how to enhance your memory. All the knowledge in the world won’t help you if you can’t remember it. You’ll have less trouble finding your car keys, too. 11 Tips to Maximize Your Intellectual Growth

4. Develop your artistic talents. You can’t just cram a lot of facts into your head. There’s more to your intellectual growth than that. Work on your artistic talents, too.

5. Play a musical instrument. There’s nothing that serves as a good substitute for music. Pick an instrument that interests you and begin the process of mastering it.

6. Sleep enough and eat well. Your brain needs sleep and high-quality food. You already know that, but you’re probably not doing it. 11 Tips to Maximize Your Intellectual Growth

7. Spend time with intellectual people. Your peer group has been shown to affect your finances and career success. It only makes sense that your intellectual growth is impacted by the people you spend the most time with, too. Seek out open minded people with a curiosity of the world.

8. Learn a new language. This will really give your brain a workout and expose you to new culture, too. Consider the Japanese word “komorebi”. It means “the sunlight that filters through trees”. There isn’t a word in English that comes close. The fact that the Japanese even have a word like “komorebi” tells you something about their culture. 11 Tips to Maximize Your Intellectual Growth

9. Calculate in your head. Have you noticed that you can’t do calculations in your head as well as you used to? You can reverse that trend right now. Start at 1,743 and count backwards by 6’s. Too easy? Subtract by 27’s

10. Be minimalist. Too many responsibilities, activities, and possessions create a muddled mind. Cutting back will free up a lot of mental capacity for more meaningful things. Eliminate the non-essential from your life.

11. Follow your enthusiasm. It’s very challenging to do things that don’t interest you. There are plenty of ways to experience intellectual growth without making yourself miserable. Leverage your interests. 11 Tips to Maximize Your Intellectual Growth

You can continue to grow your intellect long after you’re unable to improve your physical abilities. A strong intellect is more valuable in today’s world. It’s the Bill Gates, Elon Musks, Warren Buffetts, and Jeff Bezos that rule the world, not the winner of the Olympic decathlon. Can you even name the last winner without cheating?

Building your intellect will enrich your life. It’s a never-ending process that you can begin today and reap the benefits from for the rest of your life.

11 Tips to Maximize Your Intellectual Growth