Procrastination

I’ve been avoiding completing my estate planning for a long time. I don’t want to decide who would take care of my children. I don’t want to think about not being the one to raise them. Finally, after 12 years of procrastinating, I have completely this unpleasant task.

People tend to procrastinate for any number of reasons:

1. Lack of time
2. Lack of information
3. Perfectionism
4. Want to avoid decisions
5. Want to avoid uncomfortable feelings

How does one get past the procrastination phase?

· Schedule a time to get started. Treat this time as an appointment. Don’t cancel or reschedule!

· Get more info. Ask for help from a friend that has the skills & knowledge needed for the project. Or hire an expert to walk you through the project.

· Break the project into small steps – focus on one step at a time.

· Reward yourself. What do you enjoy? Plan to do the activity when you’ve completed each step. Plan a bigger reward for completion of the entire project.

· Use your support system – talk and/or journal about any uncomfortable feelings about the project.

What have you put off in the past? And what have you done to get past the procrastination?