If you asked Buddha how to obtain freedom from procrastination, he might say that you cannot desire freedom from procrastination because the desire would become the wall. You are the problem. Your ego takes up space. Don't desire. Be desireless. Given this view, would Buddha make a to-do list? Would Buddha put exercising on that list?
Different people have different goals, values, philosophies, and spiritual interests. So, if you want to follow the path of Siddhartha to a higher spiritual state, then the ordinary world of commerce and achievement is not your cup of tea. You have a different calling and different concept of achievement. Thus, you probably won't gain from a to-do list. You already know what you want to accomplish, and awareness and experience are your guide.
If thoughts of wasted wishes and unfulfilled desires cloud your mind with regret and gloom, the chances are that you've fallen into the procrastination pit as many times as you have unrequited desires. Why else would you not do what is truly in your interest to do? I suppose you could say that you don't deserve success, and that is why you procrastinate. You can say that you recoil from challenges because your mother said you won't make much of your life. But these feeble excuses form a wall between where you are and where your enlightened wishes lie. They are excuses for procrastination on both ridding yourself of those lame ideas and getting on with your life to experience the joys that accompany confident composure.
Confident composure is a state of mind where you recognize that you can directly command only yourself. You resolve to do so. When you are in charge of yourself, you believe you can better influence the controllable events that take place around you. You act to do so.
To avoid the pitfalls of procrastination and get more of what you want in life, change course. Gain confident composure by acting productively at times where you'd ordinarily procrastinate. Strike out for self-improvement. Start with your self-improvement to-do list.
Your Self-Improvement To-Do List
A to-do list is a catalog of items that you want to remind yourself to do. Using this organizing format, you may list items in their order of importance. The list may be a series of reminders, such as to send a birthday card to your sister and return a library book. Some lists are for items that you routinely repeat but feel tempted to delay, such as getting yourself in shape and staying that way. You craft this type list to remind yourself to stick to what it is important to do each day.
To-do lists can be short: one to five items. Short lists are useful when it is important to keep focused on a few important items. On the other hand, throwing everything you can think of to do onto the list may be unrealistic. You might bite off more than you can chew. Long daily lists can be a prescription for procrastinating.
Self-improvement ranges from growing your musical talents, to kicking an addiction, to overcoming xenophobia, to building confident composure. These goals are ordinarily on-going.
To start work on a self-improvement goal, ground your actions to meaningful, measurable, and attainable goals. Let's suppose that you choose confident composure. Take three steps a day that are consistent with this goal. For example, to improve confident composure you spend the first half hour of your day organizing and scheduling your activities for the remainder of the day. You spend one-half hour at an anointed hour each day to write the novel you previously put off writing. You spend 15 minutes from 10:00 A.M. to 10:15 A.M. in a muscular relaxation exercise to clear your mind of mental clutter.
Creating a self-improvement to-do list is no guarantee that you'll do what's on the list. You may still procrastinate on executing the list. If exercise is on your list, you may tell yourself you're too busy. So, what do you do if this happens?
Whenever you procrastinate you always engage in a diversionary activity. Let's help control for that contingency by adding a diversion avoidance dimension to the list.
For every self-improvement activity, list a side-tracking diversion that you are likely to do in lieu of the activity you've chosen to build confident composure.
Activity to do Done Diversion to Avoid Done Details of Results
__________ ____ _____________ ____ _____________
__________ ____ ______________ ____ _____________
__________ ____ ______________ ____ _____________
Check off to-do items when they are done. Check off behavioral diversions that you avoided. This gives you a reference for your accomplishments. This check off process can feel rewarding. The details of results section is to record how you got through the procrastination wall. You may call upon this information when it's useful to know what you've previously done.
A Radical Shift
Although Buddha is unlikely to follow a formally written to-do list, you still can find value using your to-do list. Use it as a tool to shift from diversionary actions to productive actions to add to your foundation for confident composure.
Once past a stressful self-absorbing procrastination process, you've entered the world of confident composure. You are likely to find that the responsible confident composure actions you take benefit you and those around you; you'll have fewer healthy wasted wishes.
For more on Buddha and to-do lists, see End Procrastination Now: http://www.amazon.com/End-Procrastination-Now-Psychological-Approach/dp/0071666087/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1308753819&sr=1-1
Dr. Bill Knaus
