How To Stop Procrastinating

What's up, everyone? John Ferrara here,

Success Messenger!

Now, believe it or not,

when it actually came time to
doing this procrastination video,

guess who procrastinated?

All right, here we go.

Gotta write this script.

All right.

[telephone ringing]

Hello?

Hey, baby.

Yeah, no, I can't talk right now; I'm
really busy -- I gotta write this script.

Yeah, no, I'm sorry. Can't talk.

I'll talk to you later.

Okay, bye.

This girl's always interrupting me.

So, why do we procrastinate in the first place?

Procrastination is a learned habit
that's hardwired in our brain.

We begin to have an argument between
two parts of the brain:

the prefrontal cortex, and the limbic system.

The prefrontal cortex is the part of the
brain that wants to get - shit - done.

The limbic system -- which is a more
primitive part of the brain --

is responsible for motivation and pleasure.

The prefrontal cortex reminds you that
you need to complete those boring tasks.

The limbic system overpowers it with less
important but more pleasurable tasks,

like checking Facebook, playing Xbox,
or taking selfies.

Since it's a learned behaviour,
you can minimize it

with these five
"How To Stop Procrastination" tips.

Number One:
Write a to-do list.

Include the things that you usually put off,

and don't include the things that you know
that you're eventually going to do anyway.

And as you work through your day,
check the things you complete

and you'll start to feel
a growing sense of accomplishment.

And to help you out, try to include
timeframes and deadlines.

Number Two:
Complete your hardest task first.

Self-made millionaire, author,
and sales guru Brian Tracy

wrote a book called "Eat That Frog".

Now, the frog is only a representation
of your hardest task.

[sharp, spitting exhale]

[choking]

[panting]

After you eat a frog, anything after that
is gonna look simple to you.

And if you have two frogs,
eat the uglier one first.

Number Three:
Remove distractions from your workplace.

When your Facebook notifications going off,

your Instagram followers are liking your shit,

your phone's ringing off the hook;

it's your friend; he wants to go out with you;

it's almost impossible to concentrate.

Clean out distractions; remove any clutter

or anything that's going to cause you
to lose focus.

Chances are, if your desk is
covered with papers,

you're going to want to clean them
instead of doing what you're supposed to.

And Number Four:
Don't be a perfectionist.

If you're waiting for perfect timing,
perfect visuals, or perfect supplies,

you're just putting off completing the task.

If it doesn't need to be perfect,

stop, and move onto the next.

If you yourself are a perfectionist,

then once everything else is done
on your to-do list,

come back and finish perfecting it.

Cause we're only human,
and we're allowed to make mistakes.

And Number Five:

If your tasks seem too large
and too frightening,

then break it down into smaller,
manageable tasks.

It's going to seem less intimidating,
and you'll still get the same result.

All right, everybody, that's it for today.

If you like the video,
go ahead and click that "Like" button.

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Leave a comment below: tell everybody
how you deal with procrastination.

Don't forget to share the video,
and we'll see you next time.

Success Messenger.