Let me start off by saying that I am not a guru in motivation.  I do not want you to think that I have the genius outlook of Tim Robbins or that I am pretending to have it.  But what I do have to offer you is this: when listening to the advice of the gurus, I found a few holes that needed to be filled.  Their systems of thought are extraordinarily useful, but some of the “rules” needed some amending in order to work for me.  By finding what doesn’t work, I am a little bit closer to who I do want to be.

1. Everybody knows that planning your day is an important piece of an efficient and effective career.  But trust me:  planning can become another form of procrastination.  Watch yourself when you’re planning and see if you take it too far.  I know I do.
2. When you have a goal, of course it needs to be specific and measurable, which usually involves a deadline.  Set your deadlines for the soonest possible time that you can REALISTICALLY accomplish them.  If you give yourself any more time than that, you have invited yourself to slack- off.  Once you start procrastinating on a project, it’s hard to stop.
3. If your inner-voice is screaming to not make you do this horrid task, maybe you should listen to it!  We live in a world that allows us to outsource all kinds of things, from personal to professional, in a way that we couldn’t have done five or ten years ago.  By getting it off your plate, you may find a new breath of life in the rest of your work!
4. Let go of the perfectionism.  If you try to do everything perfectly, you’ll never be finished.  Some things need to be perfect, and some things just need to be good enough.
5. Don’t push yourself too far.  If you become so overwhelmed that you crash and burn, it could be a long while before you get back up to speed.  Take a break BEFORE your breaking point.  It could cut your recovery time in half.

These things aren’t the cure-all for a procrastination addict, but it’s a good start.  The moral of the story is: we can’t just listen to the sages to overcome our weaknesses.  We have to listen to ourselves.