Beat Procrastination in 2020 with this ONE Motto

Today I’m sharing the best lesson I’ve learned in the last decade and it’ll change the way you procrastinate (or don’t!) in 2020 and beyond.

Happy New Year, friend!

How to beat procrastination …

Have you ever heard the motto “do something today that your future self will thank you for?” Or “invest in your future self?”

It basically means, “don’t procrastinate today or you’ll regret it.”

This is my motto. It’s my best tool to beat procrastination.

Do I always heed my own advice? Nope.

But this is it – this is my guiding principle in all the things. And it works so well for me 98% of the time.

It took a decade for me to realize though, that there’s a huge, critical piece within this motto …

I’m not investing in my future functional self. You know, the one who has it all together … who can take on the world and play a big game for breakfast? She’s good. She doesn’t need me today.

I’m investing in my future self who is at her wits end once again, who’s stressed about XYZ and ABC, with 123 on deck, who cannot possibly repeat groundhog day one more time.

I think back to the times when my hormones are whack and the kids are sick and nobody’s sleeping. That version of me gets real, real mad at the functional version who decided to drop the ball by binging on Netflix instead of knocking out budget planning 3 weeks ago.

Here’s where magic happens when I actually follow this motto …

Since I don’t (always) know when dysfunctional Jessica is planning to show up, I end up investing in all the future versions of myself.

I’m able to create margin and space to breathe for my *best* future self too. That’s when the opportunities to soar (& be spontaneous!) really show up.

But who cares about procrastination?

Procrastination can be a great tool for productivity, but we’ll get to that another time.

The procrastination I’m talking about today is the kind that is so stupid easy that you’d be a fool not to do it right and complete the first time. It could be something as basic as throwing garbage directly into the trash bin, instead of leaving it on the counter.

Or it could be as great an impact as creating an annual cash flow spreadsheet instead of picking at it 12 times monthly (or not doing one at all!)

Does this motto stem from my perfectionist tendencies? My Enneagram 1’ness? Probably?!

But can you deny that doing things right the first time doesn’t have real and tangible benefits to your future time and mental health?!

I often hear a voice inside my head constantly telling me what’s next, how to do it, when to do it, how fast to do it … so naturally that would turn into lots of internal feedback in support of this motto.

I appreciate these checks and balances in my mind. But I’m not perfect. I do ignore the voices sometimes.

Those consequences, though, are rough. They take the form of beating myself up over something I should have done already to avoid reaching a point where everything is more difficult. I always regret it.

Will you stop procrastinating by using this motto?

Does this resonate with you? Will you be rockin’ the “today, and everyday, I’ll invest in my future self!” life?!

Add the following question to your vocabulary today, my friend.

“Will my future self thank me for the action I’m taking right now?”

You won’t regret it, mama. It’s the cornerstone to creating margin in every area of your life. Try it out for size this week and let me know how you feel.

And you know what? You may feel golden on the productivity front today, but your future self? She may not.

Give your future self a ton of love and support (or your current self, if she’s ready to roll) by joining Camp Clarity: A Mini Reset for Building Your Foundation for Time Freedom in Just 5 Days!

Cheers to a wonderful new year, sweet friend. 2020 is gonna be a good one!