OMG Digital Magazine OMG Issue 271 10th August 2017 | Page 6

OMG Digital Magazine | 271 | Thursday 10 August 2017 • PAGE 6
Where To Start When
You’ve Procrastinated On
Your Goals For Too Long
SoulFood
This column is authored by Zdravko Cvijetic,
Founder of Zero to Skill
109. That’s the number of days that passed, since I
published my previous article. Now, I could give you
a couple of well-rationalised excuses, and twice that
number of bad ones (like the fact that my imaginary
dog ate the digital draft of my article).
Joke aside, I felt disappointed in the moment I
calculated how many days have gone by, without
sharing my knowledge, thoughts, and experience with
you. Especially knowing that it doesn’t take me too
many hours to write an article, but even if it helps one
person, it’s worth it. But, the chain had to be broken,
and I won’t make a mistake again, and promise to be
consistent, but I’ll try and deliver. We’ll see.
As you are reading this, you probably have a goal on your
own, that you’ve pushed, postponed, procrastinated
on, and other words that start with P, for days, weeks,
months, or even years. Not only that, but you’ve
reached the point where even the thought of the goal,
brings the feeling of having butterflies in your stomach.
Demon butterflies. Hopefully, today is the day you will
break the chain as well.
Let me help you with that.
First, the explanation.
In the beginning, when we set the goal, we feel usually
motivated, for about a day. As each additional day
passes, the resistance starts to grow. As more time
passes by, we feel more overwhelmed, especially if
we have attempted to start several times, and failed. It
stacks up, but in a wrong direction The biggest problem
in this scenario is that we think of the sheer size of the
goal, or to be more accurate, the list of the activities
we need to do, and how much time it will take us to do
them all.
We think about the big picture.
There is nothing wrong with the big picture, on the
contrary, we need it, but in the beginning, when it’s the
planning phase. Immediately once the plan is finished,
you should leave the big picture aside and focus on the
small one. To be specific, just one day ahead of you. Or,
as I like to call it “A 24 Hour Life” (basically what smarter
people before me said but rephrased with a cooler
name, fancy, I know). That’s what you should do. Don’t
think about the science or that you need 66 days to
establish a habit, it will just overwhelm you additionally,
which you don’t need. Next, to the “ONE DAY” principle,
the only other one you need is the consistency. Think about your biggest goal, and see if you still want
to pursue it. If you do, write it in one sentence, and put a
deadline on it. If not, scratch it. And think of another big
goal you want to focus in the upcoming year. Popular
Read:  How To Find Mentors
If necessary, sacrifice the quality, and the quantity, for
the sake of consistency.Let’s get down to concrete steps
you can take a right this moment to take action and
start working on your goal. Just one goal, not five or ten. Let’s not copy-paste new
years resolutions, year in-year out. Once you have it, you
need a strategy.
1. Extract The Lessons
Look back at the previous period, and try to pinpoint
the main reasons on why you procrastinated (be honest
with yourself). These reasons are usually internal and
external. What I mean by this is, the excuses you give
yourself (it’s hard, you don’t know how to do it, etc),
and the distractions in your environment (the internet,
television, people, food, and other). You probably know
them already, but it’s good to write them down, and
remind yourself.
2. Stop Beating On Yourself
This is more theoretical, fluffy advice, but still, makes
sense. Stop dragging the luggage of your past (in)
actions. That’s the thing with us people; we like to beat
ourselves, which additionally prevents us from taking
actions. So, drop it, and focus on using the lessons from
my previous point.
Remember, think just 24 hours ahead (or
18/16 — depending on how much you sleep) — now
when I think about it, the “24-hour life” is starting to lose
its meaning, but it sounds cooler than “16 Hour Life.”)
Anyways. The moment you forgive yourself, you will
feel relieved, and slowly start to regain that original
motivation, or motivation 2.0 — whatever you want to
call it.
3. Re-evaluate Your Direction
Now that the past is behind you, you should look
forward and get clarity on your direction.
Even if you still want to pursue the same goal, know that
it often happens that we don’t stop and think whether
or not what we are trying to achieve, actually still makes
sense for us (similar to being in an unhealthy relationship
just because you’ve invested too much time).This is
your one shot, either drop the goal altogether or leave
all the excuses behind.
4. Make A New Plan
In those 16 hours, your sole focus (when it comes to
your goal), should be only two things:
Things you have to DO to achieve your goal (what are
your most important activities that will bring most
results?)
Things you have to LEARN to execute the previously
defined activities
When you determine these two points, put them in the
timeline, and then…
5. … Act
To make sure that history doesn’t repeat itself, choose
just one thing you will do today — no matter how minor
the activity is. Like slapping a muffin out of your hand
(if you want to lose weight), or learning five new words
in Spanish — a couple of random examples here, but
you get what I mean. I wrote this down earlier, but I
will repeat it because it’s probably the most important
thing you can remember from this article.
If necessary, sacrifice the Quality, and the Quantity, for
the sake of CONSISTENCY.
Final Words
Even though it’s simple, it’s not easy. But, you only need
to take one small step, without thinking too far ahead,
and before you know it, you will reach your destination.
Just like I did with this article. One word at the time, one
bad joke at the time, and before you know it, I finished
writing it, and you finished reading it. Now, go get it. I
believe in you.
Just remember every once in a while to make a pause,
and evaluate your path and plan, just to make sure you
are still on the right track.
You can also share your goal in the comments, it might
help to keep you accountable if you make a public
statement.