Basketball intrigues me … especially when the player shoots free throws.  Have you ever seen this craziness?  People waving signs, pictures, big heads … just in an attempt to distract the player.  Yet the great players seem to enter a new dimension … a flow state … and not even see the distractions.

Flow State

Have your ever lost yourself in your work, so much so that you lost track of time? Being consumed by a task like that, while it can be rare for most people, is a state of being called flow state.

In my experience, it’s one of the keys to happiness at work, and a nice side benefit is that it not only reduces stress but increases your productivity.

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We’ve talked about guilt-free play to overcome procrastination.  We’ve talked about a “reverse calendar” to overcome procrastination.  How do we merge these two ideas together for an overall strategy to deal with procrastination?

The Unschedule

The answer provided in the Now Habit is to use the “Unschedule.”  This is an innovative use of calendar planning that provides the essential tools for preventing procrastination. If you are familiar with the Pomodoro technique, you will find a lot of similarities with the Unschedule.

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Many of us face roadblocks.  How do we overcome blocks to action?  How can we get unstuck when we feel overwhelmed with a task and procrastination is a natural response to the stress?

Overcoming Blocks to Action

In this episode, we look at various roadblocks that tempt us toward procrastination, as well as tools to help in overcoming blocks.  Some of us feel overwhelmed by a project or task.  Others fear failure or deal with perfectionism.  What can we do to help us in overcoming blocks such as these?

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Do you have guilt-free play? Or do you see your life more as if it is “on hold” until you accomplish something?

guilt-free play

In this episode, we look at what I consider one of the most exciting topics that Neil Fiore covers in The Now Habit.  That is, some of us think we are so busy we can’t afford to have recreation and leisure. However, the exact opposite is true.  We are only as productive as we play.

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We continue our discussion on procrastination by discussing the issue of how to talk to yourself. Want to know what a person really believes and feels? Listen to what they talk about. Our speech reveals our deepest beliefs. Can we use this to our advantage to overcome procrastination?

How to Talk to Yourself

In short … YES.  But, it isn’t an easy path or journey. It requires careful analysis of what we actually are telling ourselves, and diligence to replace those thoughts with ones that push us toward our potential. In this episode, we dig deep into overcoming a victim mentality and establishing a producer-mentality in our lives.

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We discuss the issue of how we procrastinate. By identifying the source of our problem, we were able to break the big job of “getting organized” into less threatening, bite-sized pieces. With the Now Habit tools, we are able to replace self-criticism, become productive, and have fun in life.

How we procrastinate

Many of us use our performance as “mirrors”.  Instead of them being an expression of who we are … an expression of our creativity … they become something we use to measure our worth. This is the fuel for procrastination. In this episode, we talk about the various ways we procrastinate.

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Have you ever thought about why we procrastinate? What is behind this? What is the motivation? Is it just a matter about us being lazy … or is there something more than that happening?

Many of us use our performance as “mirrors”.  Instead of them being an expression of who we are … an expression of our creativity … they become something we use to measure our worth. This is the fuel for procrastination. In this episode, we talk about the various reasons why we procrastinate.

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Defining procrastination properly is a vital step to overcome it.  Procrastination is a habit you develop to cope with anxiety about starting or completing a task. … tasks that are boring or overwhelming.

defining procrastination

We begin a multi-week study on procrastination, inspired by The Now Habit by Neil Fiore.  Your first step toward breaking the procrastination habit and becoming a producer involves redefining procrastination and coming to a new understanding of how and why we use it. Procrastination is not the cause of our problems with accomplishing tasks; it is an attempt to resolve a variety of underlying issues, including low self-esteem, perfectionism, fear of failure and of success, indecisiveness, an imbalance between work and play, ineffective goal-setting, and negative concepts about work and yourself.

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I challenge you … “double dog dare you” as we say in the good old Southern USA … to take one day this week and make a break from your technology. Will you accept my challenge?

unplugging from technology

We’re all addicted to tech. After long work days with eyes glued to glowing computer screens, dazed workers across the country depart office buildings with smart phones or iPods in hand. They return home and trade in one device for another, turning on the TV and Xbox 360, booting up a computer, or switching on their iPads. According to a survey of more than 1,200 American adults, over thirty percent of us spend more than seven hours a day on electronic screens.

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