Becomes an 'Excuse' Buster

Most of the time we are unable to do things we want to do because of our own excuses. We are all good at giving excuses for things we are not doing - planning and doing. Only by constantly making effort to overcome the excuses we keep picking up, we can make progress.

End of this article is a list of excuses we use most of the times (taken from book 'Doing It Now'). Pick up 5 top excuses you are giving in your day to day life today. Resolve yourself that you will not give this excuse from now onwards. Catch yourself whenever you are tempted to give this excuse. Identify what is forcing you to think of this excuse. What action do you plan to take for overcoming this excuse?

My top 5 excuses are:

It's too early in the day: I use this excuse when getting up from the bed. There is always a tendency to catch a few more minutes of sleep even after the alarm goes off. This results in delayed start of the day. This can also be extended our tendency to do some of the critical tasks at work during work day. We tend to feel that it is too early to take up this task immediately after going to office. 
I don't have my papers with me: Most of the time, I tend to put off a task because I think I don't have all the information with me. But I realize with technology advances (like accessing e-mail anytime, accessing information over web) we should not use this excuse anymore. I try catching myself when this excuse comes to my mind
I don't know where to begin: Most of the time we end up there. We have to do something which we have not done before. e.g. I want to do a certification program but I don't know where to begin. Again with technology it is very easy to gather information. I find another way to overcome this. Ask a friend who has done something similar. I always found that others are eager to share their knowledge and information. This helps us overcome the initial doubts and make good progress. 
I am too busy right now: This is never true. However, we use this excuse frequently to escape the blame for not doing something on time or to avoid doing something that is unpleasant. We always have the time we need.
I don't feel like doing it now: We wait for the perfect time to start a task. That will never come. If you want to do it, DO IT NOW.

I will suggest you follow a similar process to overcome your habit of procrastination. Do similar analysis yourself and get going.

Top Forty excuses for procrastination:

1. It’s unpleasant
2. It’s not due yet
3. I work better under pressure
4. Maybe it will take care of itself if I just don’t do anything.
5. It’s too early in the day
6. It’s too late in the day
7. I don’t have my papers with me
8. It’s difficult
9. I don’t feel like doing it now
10. I have a headache
11. Delay won’t make much difference
12. It may be important, but it isn’t urgent.
13. It might hurt
14. I really mean to do it, but I keep forgetting
15. Somebody else might do it if I wait
16. It might be embarrassing
17. I don’t know where to begin
18. I need a good stiff drink first
19. I’m too tired
20. I’m too busy right now
21. It’s a boring job
22. It might not work
23. I’ve got to tidy up first
24. I need to sleep on it
25. We can get by a little longer as is
26. I don’t really know how to do it
27. There’s a good TV program on
28. As soon as I start, somebody will probably interrupt
29. It needs further study
30. My horoscope indicates this is the wrong time
31. Nobody is nagging me about it yet
32. If I do it now, they’ll just me something else to do.
33. The weather’s lousy
34. It’s too nice a day to spend doing that
35. Before I start, I think I’ll take a break
36. I’ll do it as soon as I finish some preliminary tasks
37. My biorhythms are out of sync.
38. The sooner I fall behind, the more time I’ll have to get caught up.
39. I’ll wait until the first of the year and make a new year’s resolution.
40. It’s too late now, anyway.