You know what you need to do. You know why you need to do it. You even know what steps you must take to get it done. But there’s one small problem: you can’t seem to get moving. It’s a common problem. Maybe it’s chronic procrastination or maybe you’re just so overwhelmed that you feel paralyzed. Either way, the task you must complete is just sitting there, gathering metaphorical (or perhaps literal) dust, and growing more ominous by the day.

A recently study by Dr. Piers Steel, a professor at the University of Calgary concluded that procrastination is on the rise. According to Steel’s research, in 1978 about 15 percent of the population were considered moderate procrastinators. Today that number is up to 60 percent, a four-fold increase. While procrastination is to some degree a natural phenomenon and can’t be completely eradicated, you can use the following ten strategies to to get in the habit of getting things done.

1. Take advantage of your power hours. Are you an early riser who tackles your morning to-do list with all the gusto of a bear eating honey? Perhaps you’re a night-owl and crank through your most pressing projects at 11:00 p.m.?

Either way, knowing and taking advantage of your natural energy patterns will help you steer clear of procrastination by using your power times to tackle the projects you find most challenging.

2. Focus for five minutes. The hardest part of overcoming procrastination is often just getting started. For a tedious task that you have been putting off try setting a timer for five-minutes and get to work. When the alarm sounds, if you feel like stopping – don’t be surprised if that first five minutes turns into 10, 15 and 20.

3. Create cues. Write down the item you need to do and place it somewhere where you can see it – your refrigerator door, car dashboard, calender, iphone, bathroom mirror. Posting prompts on items you are procrastinating about in a highly visible place, helps remind you to get them done.

4. Use the clout of your calendar: Do you have a task that has been lingering on your to-do list for days, weeks or even (gulp) months? If so, use the clout of your calendar to move from inertia to action. Open your planner or PDA and schedule a specific date and time period when you promise yourself that you will work on that item – and that item only.

5. Decide on the next action: One reason people procrastinate is they feel intimidated by the task as it is currently stated and can’t figure out what to do next. To overcome overwhelm, figure out the next smallest, easiest and most comfortable action you could take to move forward. By breaking down the bigger less defined item into smaller more specific chunks, you tell your mind “I can do this”!

6. Give yourself credit all along the way: The moment you take any action (no matter how small) – give yourself credit. Don’t wait until the entire to-do is complete before experiencing at least some degree of satisfaction and accomplishment.

7. Tackle the hard ones first: Almost everyone has more focus, energy and attention available at the beginning of their workday than at the end. When you have to do a hard task, get it out of the way and do it first thing in the morning. This way it won’t nag at you all day long.

8. Be decisive: Putting off a decision on what to do with that piece of paper won’t be any easier tomorrow than it is today. Train yourself to categorize every item that comes across your desk as something to do now, delegate, dump, or defer. Defer does not mean placing it back in the pile and pretending it does not exist. That is the pathway to procrastination. It means putting it in a dated tickler file, scheduling a time to do it, or moving it to a someday to-do list – where the guilt and stress of procrastination don’t apply.

9. Enlist encouragement. Tell a close friend what you’re going to accomplish by when and ask them to check in on your progress. Going public can create a self-imposed pressure to shun procrastination and perform. Having a buddy who can celebrate your successes, and help you maintain perspective when you procrastinate is invaluable.

10. Play let’s make a deal. To get yourself moving on a hard to do activity, try a bribe. Make a promise to yourself that when you stop procrastinating and take some action on the item, you get a reward. This can be a piece of chocolate, watching a favorite tv show, spending time with your family – anything that you value and will motivate you to get moving.

Karen leland is the bestselling author of the new book Time Management In an Instant: 60 Ways to Make the Most of Your Day. Feel free to excerpt any or all of this article but please give credit to Karen Leland and the book. You can read more at her blog, or order a copy of the book and receive a free bonus of The Essential Email online program.

Bob the Teacher posted this on his blog and is allowing it to be reposted, I thought you might be interested.

Build a list, build a list, build a list…

Seems like all you hear these days about growing a business is how you have to build a list. Do you hear that too?

Lists come in many shapes in sizes. You’ve got your tire-kickers who just want all your free stuff. The customers who want to get what you promise them. And your raving fans who want everything you’ve got.

You also have your followers on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media. Then you have your subscribers to your blog’s RSS feed.

The question becomes, how can you build your list quickly in a time when getting people’s attention is increasingly difficult?

The answer: set yourself apart from the “everybodys” and become an authority on what you know. To me, the fastest way to do that is with teleseminars because in 1 hour you can have a conversation answering people’s questions so they can quickly…

• know you know what you’re talking about (credibility)
• get connected to your voice (emotions)
• realize that you attract attention from other people (social proof)

This is a winning combination, and you don’t have to be the very best – just the best they know about and can connect to.

So here are 5 steps to building your list with teleseminars.

1. Talk about a topic you know well
2. Set up your traffic net
3. Build buzz about your live event
4. Deliver great information
5. Give away part or all of the replay forever

1. Talk about a topic you know well

You can’t show off your expertise if you sound like a blubbering idiot. So make sure that you’re talking about stuff you’re excited about, and that you know pretty well. If you’re not sure what that is just yet, ask around. Your friends, family, and colleagues will tell you what they come to you for.

You can also talk about products and services that you’ve used in the past that you know well. This is a great way to grow first through affiliate marketing, but still grow your list centered around you.

2. Set up your traffic net

The technology must help you automate the process of building your list. So that means you need a page online to describe your call, and a registration (i.e., opt-in) form to collect email addresses to add to your list.

You can use your blog pages and posts to be your landing page if you want. Or you can set up a squeeze page separately (Matthew Glanfield’s Your Squeeze Page System is a cool way to go if you’re just starting out).

Personally, I like to recommend that people use the Instant Teleseminar system to do their landing pages, which also show off the replay, too. Then use a hover-pop to collect email addresses to your autoresponder.

Whichever landing page idea you use, I suggest using Aweber for the email database. They rock, plain and simple; and I rely on them to help me manage my list of 30,000+.

3. Build buzz about your live event

Once your event is set up, you need to attract attention to it. Spread the word as wide and far as possible, but make your event itself something specific and unique that people will want to attend.

Use your existing list if you have one. Borrow other people’s lists by having them tell their subscribers about you (in exchange for money, bartering, promo later, sponsorship on the call, etc.).

Don’t forget Facebook and Twitter. Use these and other social media events to let the news of your event go viral.

4. Deliver great information

Truthfully your first calls will be your worst calls – especially in terms of attendance. So the real list building secret is to make those that do show up extremely excited that they did so.

List building is a combination of finding new subscribers and keeping existing subscribers happy so they stick around.

During each call, make sure you connect with your audience by delivering what you’ve promised.

Then give them the power to spread the word. Encourage them to tweet about the call, and respond to those that do.

You want to build a reputation of over-delivering on content, and not become known just as someone who wants to sell stuff.

5. Give away part or all of the replay forever

Once the call’s done, you’ll build your list forever by keeping the replay up. Let those that listen later pass it along to others, and put a link or opt-in box on the replay page for people to be notified of when your next call is going to be.

The seeds of your next call should be planted in each previous one.

You may also want to sell part of your call, or sell the transcripts – then set up an affiliate program to incentivize your members to spread the word.

Follow these 5 steps, and you should see your list building efforts become more fun and profitable!

Bob Jenkins
TeleseminarFormula.com

p.s. To learn even more specific strategies to build your list with teleseminars, and all the technical goop that comes along with it, be sure to check out my comprehensive training on teleseminars at TeleseminarFormula.com.

p.p.s. You have my permission to reprint this entire article AS IS (no changes) on your blog or in an ezine. You may change the links to Teleseminar Formula to your affiliate link if you wish.