Stop procrastinating (now, not later)

Click to see original article^*

I'm sure that no one reading this has a problem with procrastination. You're probably not among the estimated 97 percent of people who put off things they need (or even want) to do but aren't doing.
    Surely, though, you have a friend who could use what I'm about to tell you. And if your friend tries it, they'll love you for telling them. (Year, I know that "they" and "them" have always been only plural, but I've finally stopped procrastinating and joined the forces for language transformation.)
    When you—I mean your friend—decides to stop procrastinating, I recommend a short procedure (less than five minutes) to motivate themself to take action. ("Themself" is my own contribution to the language transformation movement. There'll be no stopping your friend either, once they learn to stop procrastinating.)
    I'll describe the procedure by way of an example. In 1997, before starting to work at UNC General Administration, I worked for a funeral home that specialized in cremation. I called people to try to set up an appointment for one of my colleagues to visit them to talk about prefunding their cremation arrangements. Once, after a particularly unproductive day (not many people seemed to be home), I left the office early and took my leads home to call that evening. But when I arrived home, I was tired and after dinner I felt more like doing any number of things than calling people to talk about their cremation. I started to procrastinate—and I knew it.
    It is essential that your friend know they're procrastinating—they must catch themself doing it in order to correct it.

Here's what I did, and it illustrates what your friend can do whenever they catch themself procrastinating:
    I asked myself, "Is it important to make the calls?" If not, then obviously I might as well find something else to procrastinate about. But I knew that it was important to make the calls, and continuing to procrastinate was not a good choice. However, it looked as though I would continue if I didn't take the next step.

    There's always a logic to procrastination, reasons why you—I mean your friend—is putting something off. They're either getting some reward from not doing it, or avoiding a penalty they'd incur if they did do it, or both.
    I analyzed why I wasn't making the calls. The reward I was getting out of not making the calls was a chance to rest or do something recreational, something more fun than calling prospects to discuss prepaying to have their bodies incinerated after they died.
    The penalty I was avoiding was the feeling of being a hypocrite if I did make the calls, because I myself hated to receive telemarketing calls in the evening, and there I was contemplating making telemarketing calls in the evening.
    Both the reward and the penalty got me to not make the calls. The trick would have to be to apply a stronger reward and a stronger penalty to get me to make the calls.

I identified several rewards if I did make the calls: I would get a clear desk. (I had been procrastinating about clearing off the papers piled on it.) If I made the calls, I would probably reach a few people who weren't home during the day, and if I reached them, I might make an appointment or two (for which I would receive a commission).
    On the other hand, if I didn't make the calls, the penalties would be that I probably wouldn't reach any of these people all week, and I would have no chance to set up an appointment with them. I wouldn't make any commissions on them, and more important, I would have to answer to my disappointed colleagues.
    I now had stronger rewards for calling, and stronger penalties for not calling. I made the calls.

I felt quite pleased with myself. I received a burst of energy and was no longer tired. My desk became clear. And I even set a couple of appointments. How stupid it had been to procrastinate!
    And your friend can stop procrastinating too. Here's what to tell them:

1. Catch yourself procrastinating.
2. Decide whether it's important for them to stop procrastinating. If so,
3. Identify the rewards and the penalties that are keeping them from acting.
4. Find stronger rewards and penalties to get them to act. These will motivate your friend to
5. Do what they have been putting off.

* Afterword. I'd been procrastinating for years to mine the trove of my past writings for use on Moristotle.
    So I'm extremely grateful to have found the article shown in the photograph, which I wrote for The Chapel Hill Herald in 1997.
    See, the method still works!