Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?  If this is your motto, you’ll never get anything done.  But you’re not alone.  When you’re ready to overcome procrastination and see your goals come to fruition, there is help!

Reasons for Procrastinating

Start by asking yourself why you procrastinate.  It doesn’t matter if you’re procrastinating on daily tasks or general life goals.  Common reasons might be that you feel you’re too busy and just can never seem to get around to whatever it is you need to do, you’re too tired, or you’re a little too disorganized.  Maybe the path to your goal appears too long and difficult and you just don’t know where to start.  Or perhaps you’re putting off something you really don’t want to do, like visit the dentist or tackle that project your boss assigned you that you’re having trouble understanding.

Come On, What Are You Afraid Of?

If you dig a little deeper, your real motive for procrastinating might be fear.  It could be something as little as fear of the dentist (especially if you know you’ve been lacking in the flossing department) or something bigger such as fear of failure—are you a perfectionist?  If you are, I sympathize.  When you expect nothing less than perfection out of yourself, sometimes it can keep you from attempting new things if you don’t believe you’ll get it right on the first try.  Or maybe you’re suffering from a fear of change—you want to switch careers, maybe go after your true goals, but you’re comfortable and secure in your current routine, afraid to shake things up and risk struggling.

How to Overcome Procrastination

You, my friend, can make that career change and be successful.  You can finish that project at work and impress your boss.  You can even schedule that dentist appointment—it’ll be over before you know it.  It’s time to change your motto and get a move on.  Here are some steps to guide you.  Feel free to pick and choose; follow the ones that strike a chord with you, ignore the ones that don’t.

• Make a to-do list.  Yes, I need you to actually take a few minutes to sit down and write out your goals.  (You’re not too busy, either.  You’re dilly-dallying on the internet right now, and you’re already sitting down.)  What do you need to get done?  What do you WANT to get done?  These might turn into two separate lists for you, and that’s fine.  Do your best to prioritize—maybe keep it to a top 5.  It’s been proven that people who write down their goals are more likely to accomplish them than people who don’t.  And there’s something to be said for that wave of satisfaction that comes with crossing your goals off that list.
• Schedule it on your calendar.  You schedule your doctor appointments, mandatory work meetings, your kids’ sports games, etc., and you make sure to arrange your day or week around those engagements.  It can help, then, if you schedule the tasks you need to complete and goals you want to accomplish, too.  For example, if you need to complete a project for work, schedule an hour in your day during which you’ll work on the project.  Don’t let yourself get sidetracked or allow something else to take priority.  You’d make sure you’re at a meeting at 10am when your boss holds you accountable; now hold yourself accountable and be at your desk working on that project at 11am.
• Make it public.  Tell someone else you’re going to exceed your sales quota by 10% today, get that business plan together by the end of the week, or lose 10 pounds by the end of the month.  This is especially helpful if you have trouble holding yourself accountable—maybe you’ve learned that there aren’t always devastating consequences when a deadline is purely self-imposed.  Now by telling someone else what you’re going to do, you’ve got some showing off to do.  Not only do you risk extra disappointment if you don’t follow through, someone else has rights to make fun of you.
• Be like Bob Wiley.  If you’re unfamiliar, that’s Bill Murray’s character in the movie “What About Bob?”  Bob learns to overcome his fears and accomplish his goals by taking baby steps.  If you’re putting off a particular task or goal because it’s overwhelming, try breaking it down into smaller tasks.  This can make it seem less daunting, and you’ll feel more productive as you get each little step crossed off that list.  Don’t aim to have a record deal for your band by the end of the year, aim to complete those two unfinished songs by the end of the month.
• Take a look at how much time you waste by procrastinating.  You might need to change your overall mindset here.  For a personal example, when I first began my journey into fitness, I had a difficult time getting my workout started.  I loved it once I got going, but it took a lot of willpower to get myself off the couch.  I would wind up watching a tv show that I was only mildly interested in, get sucked into the next one, and then look at the clock and realize I just wasted an hour.  More importantly, I could have been exercising and already been done by now.  While that thought was a little depressing, I found it motivating overall.  The sooner you get going, the sooner you’ll be done.  This mindset can help especially on those projects you’re dreading.

At minimum, I hope you’ll make that to-do list.  It can really put things in perspective for you and potentially help you stay organized and motivated.  There are a lot of negative consequences that come with procrastination, and I believe the worst one is regret.  I also believe that opportunities only come to you when you’re actively working toward your goal.  You’re not going to get that promotion simply because you arrive at your cubicle on time every day, and you’re not going to sell the greatest invention of all time to millions of people across the world by sitting on the couch.  What are you waiting for?

If you’ve wanted to start your own business, perhaps you’ve been deterred by the idea of investing a lot of money.  We’re all familiar with the phrase “It takes money to make money.”  Don’t let that stop you from pursuing your goals because I’m modifying that phrase.  It doesn’t take a lot of money to make money, and in some cases, it takes none at all.

No Financial Investment?

You’re probably curious about the “none at all” part, so let’s start there.  Depending on the size of the business you intend to start and how many other people are involved in the process, you may be contributing something other than money.  Someone else might be providing the financial investment while you might be offering your skills or labor, maybe the business’s location or actual tools needed the run the business.  True, you probably had to pay somewhere along the line to learn your skills or purchase the location initially, but you’re not providing actual cash at the point of the start-up.

Minimal Financial Investment

If you are the financial investor, your business may not require a significant amount of money to get going.  While entering into an existing franchise may call for thousands of dollars upfront, you might only need a few hundred or less to start your own t-shirt business.  The time and effort you have to put into it will be one of the biggest determining factors for the size of your profit.  The same goes for becoming an independent consultant for companies like Partylite, Beachbody, Mary Kay, Pampered Chef, etc.  They require a very minimal investment, usually under $100 to get you off and running.

Advertising and Marketing

With technology and social media on the rise today, you may not even have to invest much into advertising and marketing to grow your business to a respectable size.  Social media especially is a great way to use word-of-mouth advertising.  Many people will post furiously about a new product that they love and can end up convincing their friends to try it, and the word spreads from there—and you didn’t have to pay a dime.

Get Up and Go!

What’s more important than money?  Taking action.  You can have millions of dollars and the most well-thought-out business plan, but if you don’t get moving, you’ll never reach your money-making potential.  Someone with less money and maybe even less talent than you might snatch your idea and turn it into an empire just because they took action and you didn’t.  So the question is, are you going to let that happen?

Even with the slumping economy and falling home values, the actual cost of buying a home still seems steep–especially with celebrities’ homes!  I’ve heard of a few that slashed the selling price by 60%, and the new price was still $3,000,000.  Now that’s obviously not the norm, but some homes may have this same theme—they’re out of your range even with lowered prices.  With this in mind, buying a foreclosed home is absolutely a good idea.  But you have to walk in knowing what you’re doing and what to expect.

A foreclosed home presents a great opportunity.  The previous owner was unfortunately unable to keep up on the mortgage, leaving it available for you at a considerably lower cost.  You have three different windows of time to attempt to purchase a foreclosed home, and depending on your level of homeownership experience and any advisors you have available to help you, one option will work better than the other two for you.

Pre-Foreclosure

Pre-foreclosure may offer the best chance for the greatest price discount, but it’s also the toughest time to get your offer noticed and accepted.  In this case, you would be dealing directly with the current owner, attempting to help them ease through the foreclosure process with a buyer on board and hang onto the equity that has been built into the home.

The problem is that the owner is experiencing a rough financial and emotional time—it’s unlikely they’ll want to talk to yet another person that wants to take their home away from them.  They may be desperately searching for a way to keep the home, or simply too angry and frustrated to be bothered by you.

If you do manage to get an offer in, know that you’ll be competing with experienced investors that typically buy foreclosed homes in order to fix them up and resell them for a profit.  If you’ve done all your research and have the right help, don’t be afraid to hop in.  If you’re buying your first home or are even a little unsure of your negotiating skills, you should stay away from this period.

Auction

Inexperienced homeowners may also want to avoid auction.  The main issue here is that you’re taking a big risk.  You need to make sure you are aware of the home’s true value, and that can be tough—you’re not allowed to inspect the home before you buy it.  You must pay the full price in cash, and you accept the home in as-is condition along with any judgments or liens currently held on it.

Again, if your research determines that you can get the best price on a particular home during auction, you’re encouraged to do so.  If you’re not already fully experienced with foreclosures, make sure you consult with an agent who can guide you through the process.

After Foreclosure

This can be the best option for first-time homebuyers; the process is the most similar to buying a regular home.  The price will still be discounted, and you may even have some wiggle room for negotiation yet since the bank is the new owner and it is hoping to sell the home as quickly as possible.  You can mortgage the house now through the bank, and all of those nasty liens and judgments have been removed.  Be aware of the need for some home repairs, though.  Generally, if the previous homeowners were unable to meet their monthly payments, chances are high that necessary repairs were neglected due to financial reasons.

On a final note, be sure to dig deep to find the right foreclosed home.  If you’re a first-time homebuyer scared away from pre-foreclosure and auction purchases, you may want to search for hidden foreclosures.  A perfect example is a new home that was in the process of being built (not necessarily by the home’s intended owner), may or may not have been fully completed before the loan money was spent, and there weren’t any buyers.  These may not be listed as foreclosures, but they can be found and purchased at discounted prices just to get them off the market.