Procrastinators Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from chronic procrastination.

Anti-Procrastination Process

I mentioned on the Check-Ins Forum that I've come up with some steps that seem to be helping me stop procrastinating (when I actually get myself to engage in this process). I thought I'd share it here:

When I see something on my to do list that causes me anxiety or other discomfort when I consider doing it, or when I realize I am procrastinating about doing something, I write down answers to #1-6 and do #7-8:

  1. What is the worst that could happen if I do the thing I’m anxious about?
  2. What is the worst that could happen if I don’t do the thing I’m anxious about?
  3. If I don’t do it, are there alternatives? (e.g., delegate it, don't do it at all, do something else that addresses the same thing)
  4. Acknowledge that I truly have the power to choose whether to do it or not (bearing in mind that sometimes I feel as though I am trapped, but this feeling does not reflect reality—I might not like any of the alternatives, but I have the power to choose among them and maybe to create new alternatives as well).
  5. Remember that this is an opportunity to demonstrate Who I Really Am and Who I Choose To Be. [This is a reference to the Conversations with God trilogy by Neale Donald Walsch]
  6. Decide whether to do it, not do it, or do an alternative.
  7. Spend five minutes on what I decided or remove it from the list if I decided not to do it.
  8. Acknowledge, celebrate having done the 7 steps above.