July 2, :00 – 1:00 P.M. Room Procrastination – NOW!!

“You may delay, but time will not.” Benjamin Franklin “You can’t build a reputation on what you intend to do.” Liz Smith, columnist

Plan for the Workshop July 2, 2008 – Wednesday AGENDA ITEM: Introductions and Welcome Procrastination Quiz Getting Out From Under – Procrastination Look at Procrastination –Reasons for Procrastination –Fear of Success –Cost of Procrastination –Stop Procrastination NOW – An Insight and Benefits Successful Vs Unsuccessful Students Goal Setting Talent Is Never Enough – Initiative Activates Your Talent

Introductions and Welcome

Procrastination Quiz

Getting Out From Under – Procrastination

Look at Procrastination

Do you stick with your plans? Are you punctual? Do you get things in on time? Do you put things off? Well, it’s time to deal with the most dreaded, dangerous time monster of all… You be on time, then I don’t have to do it for you

Procrastination: “Never do today what you can put off ‘till tomorrow!” Forms of Procrastination: Ignoring the task, hoping it will go away. Underestimating how long it will take. Overestimating your abilities and resources. Telling yourself that poor performance is okay. Doing something else that isn’t very important. Believing that repeated “minor” delays won’t hurt you. Talking about a hard job rather than doing it. Putting all your work on only one part of the task. Becoming paralyzed when having to make choices.

Four Simple Reasons for Procrastination 1.Difficult Task seems to hard to do. Avoid difficult things in favor of those which seem easy to us. 2.Time-consuming Task will take large blocks of time. Large blocks of time are unavailable until the weekend. 3.Lack of knowledge or skills No one wants to make a mistake. Wait until you learn how before you start. 4.Fears Everyone will know how you messed up. I can never be successful.

Four Complex Reasons for Procrastination 1.Perfectionism Everything must go completely right. Long on criticism and short on praise. 2.Anger/Hostility Unhappy with someone, we’ll often withhold our best efforts. Delay a project as a way of “getting even.” 3.Low Frustration Tolerance You find situations radically intolerable and terribly unfair. Characterized by whining and complaining. 4.Self-Downing Minimize your own skills and abilities. Express doubt about your ability to succeed.

Fear of Success

“Procrastination is the fear of success. People procrastinate because they are afraid of the success that they know will result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the ‘someday I’ll’ philosophy.” Denis Waitley, author Waitley Institute Fear of Success

Being afraid to achieve the very things that we want. Self-defeating thinking, such as: –“I don’t deserve it” –“If I achieve what I set out to do, everyone will know that I don’t really deserve it” –“If I get it I won’t be able to sustain it. Why try?” –“If I am successful, someone will come along who is better than me. Then, what will happen to me?” –“If I am successful, my relationships will change and I’ll have to make new friends. My current friends would never accept a more successful me.” Fear of Success

Self-defeating thinking leads to self-defeating actions –Doing the wrong thing even when you know the right thing to do That way, one can avoid having to deal with success. –Minimizing your accomplishments so they are ultimately negated Then, you don’t have to live up to being all that you really are. –Feeling guilty when you have a success. Creates a slowdown in momentum, hesitancy to act, and a self-fulfilling inability to move on to another success. What to do differently –Act in a way that will help build a sense of self Find ways to encourage and acknowledge accomplishments of those around you –Seek people who have your permission to provide feedback – positive and negative – about your progress. –When someone compliments you, respond with a firm “Thank You!” Fear of Success

Cost of Procrastination Your health –Evidence of compromised immune systems More colds, flu, and gastrointestinal problems –Insomnia Shifts the burden of responsibilities onto others, who become resentful Destroys teamwork in the workplace and private relationships Other costs?

Stop Procrastination – NOW! An Insight Procrastination is reinforcing – every time you delay, it reinforces your negative attitude toward that task Every time you put off something you dislike, you: 1.Strengthen the habit of not doing. 2.Practice avoidance instead of participation. 3.Avoid acquiring training and skills. 4.Indoctrinate yourself with fears.

Stop Procrastination – NOW! Benefits Benefits –Peace of mind –Feeling of strength and purpose –Healthy feeling of being in charge of your life –Make you feel strong, competent and capable. Not weak, useless, and helpless. –You will experience more freedom and greater personal self- satisfaction.

Successful Student

“A successful student accepts personal responsibility, discovers self-motivation, masters self-management, employs interdependence, gains self awareness, adopts lifelong learning, develops emotional intelligence, and believes in themselves.” Skip Downing, On Course

Choices of Successful Vs Unsuccessful Students

Choices of Successful and Unsuccessful Students Accept Self-Responsibility – 100% –Primary cause of their outcomes and experiences (E + R = O) –See themselves as victims Discover Self-Motivation –Finding purpose in their lives by discovering personally meaningful goals and dreams –Feel depressed and/or frustrated over lack of direction Master Self-Management –Planning and taking purposeful actions in pursuit of their goals –Seldom identify specific actions to accomplish goals (procrastinate) Employ Interdependence –Build mutually supportive relationships –Solitary, seldom requesting, even rejecting offers of assistance

Gain Self-Awareness –Consciously employing behaviors and attitude that keep them on course –Make important choices unconsciously Adopt Life-Long Learning –Primary cause of their outcomes and experiences –View learning as fearful or boring rather than as mental play Develop Emotional Intelligence –Effectively manage their emotions in support of their goals –Anger, depression, anxiety, or need for instant gratification Believe in Themselves –Capable, lovable, and unconditionally worthy human beings –Doubt their competence and personal value to achieve success Choices of Successful and Unsuccessful Students

How to Stop Procrastination Commit, commit, commit to being on time. Set and keep deadlines. Organize, schedule & plan. Divide a big job into smaller ones. Make a game of it! Make it fun! Give yourself a prize when you’re done. Use lots of Stickies

Daily – Work On Your….. Self-esteem – Self-image – Self-confidence Self-esteem –What you say to yourself about yourself when no one is listening – the respect (or lack of) you have for yourself. Self-image –How you think others perceive you, and the way you interpret that input becomes a component of esteem. Self-confidence –How esteem and image are shown externally – the assurance that is portrayed to others.

Beat Procrastination – Goal Setting

Creating SMART Goals “Vague goals produce vague results.” – Jack Canfield S = Specific –Do you know exactly what you want to accomplish with all the details? M = Measurable –Are you able to assess your progress? A = Attainable –Is your goal within your reach given your current situation? R = Realistic –Is your goal relevant towards your purpose in life? T = Timely –What is the deadline for completing your goal? Hand-out

Goals: To get an A in History To lose 10 pounds in the next 2 months. Commitments: I will spend an extra 30 minutes per day studying History. I will go to the library at least 2 times a week. I will go to the gym 3 times per week. I will spend 20 minutes on the treadmill. Goals and Commitments Goal: What you would like to achieve Commitment: A specific action you agree to take to move you toward your goal.

Procrastination – NOW!!

Talent is Never Enough … by John C. Maxwell Initiative Activates Your Talent

Talent is Never Enough 1.Belief lifts your talent 2.Passion energies your talent 3.Initiative activates your talent 4.Focus directs your talent 5.Preparation positions your talent 6.Practice sharpens your talent 7.Perseverance sustains your talent 8.Courage tests your talent 9.Teachability expands your talent 10.Character protects your talent 11.Relationships influence your talent 12.Responsibility strengthens your talent 13.Teamwork multiples your talent

Insights on Initiative People Who Lack Initiative Initiative Action Plan

1.Initiative is the first step to anywhere you want to go –Where you finish in life isn’t determined so much by where you start as by whether you start –Successful people initiate – and they follow through 2.Initiative closes the door to fear –If you want to close the door on fear, get moving –Action is a great restorer and builder of confidence. –Inaction is not only the result, but the cause, of fear 3.Initiative opens the door to opportunity –Anyone who doesn’t take initiative is almost guaranteed to fail –Can’t wait until everything is perfect to act and expect to be successful Initiative Activates Your Talent Insights on Initiative

4.Initiative eases life’s difficulties –“Nothing is so fatiguing as the hanging on of an uncompleted task.” - William James –The only way to get rid of a difficult task is to do it. That takes initiative 5.Initiative is often the difference between success and failure –Without it, true potential is never reached –Goals are not achieved Initiative Activates Your Talent Insights on Initiative

1.People who lack initiative fail to see the consequences of inaction –“It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities.” – Sir Josiah Stamp –Whatever we do - or fail to do – will catch up with us in the end 2.People who lack initiative want someone else to motivate them –Motivation comes from within. –If we wait for others to motivate us, what happens when a coach, a boss, or other inspirational person doesn’t show up Initiative Activates Your Talent People Who Lack Initiative

3.People who lack initiative look for the perfect time to act –“He who deliberates fully before taking a step will spend his entire life on one leg.” – Chinese proverb –For many people, the tragedy isn’t that life ends to soon; it’s that they wait too long to begin it 4.People who lack initiative like tomorrow better than today –Focus your attention on today instead of tomorrow –“Tomorrow is the only day in the year that appeals to a lazy man.” - Jimmy Lyons – For people who never start, their difficulties never stop Initiative Activates Your Talent People Who Lack Initiative

1. Accept responsibility for your life –“To move the world we must first move ourselves.” – Socrates –Responsibility and initiative are inseparable –You cannot wish your way to success –You need to take responsibility and act 2.Examine your reasons for not initiating –Separate legitimate reasons from excuses –An excuse puts the blame on someone or something outside you –Easier to move from failure to success than from excuses to success –Eliminate excuses Initiative Activates Your Talent Initiative Action Plan

3.Focus on the benefits of completing a task –Procrastination is the fertilizer that makes difficulties grow –If you procrastinate about a task – it is a necessary one If it’s not, don’t put it off; eliminate it –Focus on what you’ll get out of it if you get it done Will completing the task bring a financial benefit? Will it clear the way for something else you would like to do? Does it represent a milestone in you personal growth and development? At the very least, does it help to clear the decks for you emotionally? 4.Share your goal with a friend who will help you –No one achieves success alone –Share your goals and dreams with people who care about you and will encourage and assist you in accomplishing them Initiative Activates Your Talent Initiative Action Plan

5.Breaking large tasks down into smaller ones –Divide it by categories –Prioritize it by importance –Order it by sequence –Assign it by abilities –Accomplish it by teamwork 6.Allocate specific times to tasks you might procrastinate –“The greatest time wasted is the time getting started.” - Dawson Trotman –The hardest part of writing a letter is penning the first line –Schedule a specific time for something you don’t like doing Initiative Activates Your Talent Initiative Action Plan

7.Remember, preparation includes doing –“The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” - Louis L’Amour –Desire isn’t enough. –Good intentions aren’t enough. –Talent isn’t enough. –Success requires initiative –Plans are nothing…unless they are followed with action. Do it now! Initiative Activates Your Talent Initiative Action Plan Success flows from Doing, not from planning