and just have a conversation about what it means.

You know, procrastination basically means

you are not doing what you know you need to do

when you know you need to do it.

It's putting things off because in the short term.

It's easier, it's more comfortable, it's more certain,

it's more pleasureful to be distracted or

to indulge yourself doing something else, than it is to sit

down and do the actual work to create the outputs

that matter when they are needed.

And I know that every single one of us procrastinates.

Me too, so it's okay.

The issue is can you set yourself up so you do less of it?

I believe you can.

So let's talk about procrastination in this way.

Three brain hacks.

Number one, simple.

You're more likely to do something if you have already

prepared and stepped it through.

You're already more likely to do something

if you already prepared and stepped it through.

What does that mean?

It means, if you wanna not procrastinate on Monday,

Sunday night I want you to sit down

and do this simple, little thing.

Project Plan.

I know it's not sexy, please don't make fun of me right now.

It's not sexy, I know it's not sexy,

and it will change your life forever.

The day before the days in which it's required

that you really get stuff done,

I want you to sit down and Project Plan.

I don't mean tomorrow write down your to-do lists.

That is one element of Project Planning.

But I want a bigger picture.

I want you to be thinking about the big projects

that you have coming up.

And I want you to have written out,

these steps that it's going to take, the big steps,

that it'll take to accomplish this project,

and this project, and this project, with a timeline

for each of 'em and then work backwards

from that to create tomorrow's to-do lists.

But here's what's funny.

If, listen to this.

If your mind can't see completion,

if your mind cannot see completion,

meaning you don't know the path,

you don't have clarity on the path

to fulfill or complete something.

If your mind can't see the steps,

your heart will ask to pause.

If your mind can't see the project through the completion

your heart will ask to pause.

Even if you're the most passionate, dream-oriented,

amazing, high-performer in the world, but you yank

away someone's clarity, you know no goals no growth,

no clarity no change.

And so you find yourself procrastinating.

It might not even, you might be like Brendon,

I hate myself.

I procrastinate and I even know the

next three things I should do.

I go, not enough.

Knowing your next three steps is not enough.

Your mind needs to see all the steps

through to completion

and that's what we call Project Planning.

It's not super fun but it's saying, okay,

this is the big project.

Here are the big key activities,

the big buckets of activities

that would have to happen to get it done.

Here's a timeline those big buckets have to happen, okay?

Then these big buckets of activities,

those have to be broken down into tasks,

and then into, ultimately, daily to-do's.

And if we don't have that, like it's just hard to act

when you don't have a complete picture, right?

You're kind of like, uh, procrastinating.

Let me give you a metaphor.

You know they've timed people

about how long it takes them to complete a puzzle.

So if I show up at your house

and I give you a big puzzle box

and there's 400 pieces in it,

and we set it out on your table.

And we watch how long different time periods

takes to complete it.

You know the fastest, most productive time

in which people are putting puzzles together?

The last 20%.

I mean if you've ever done a puzzle, right?

You might walk by it three, four times for a couple weeks,

you don't do anything, you put a few pieces together.

But soon as the picture becomes a little more clear,

guess what you do?

You hunker down and you complete it, don't you?

That's what's going on with procrastination.

Even if you see the first couple pieces,

it's just like if you can't see where it's going,

your heart will go pause.

I'm unsure.

I'm scared.

I don't know what to do.

That's just how we think, right?

That part of our brain is trying to protect us.

That part of our heart that says I wanna do good,

I wanna care for other people

and do things with excellence.

All of a sudden those are compromised

when we don't do the most basic thing.

So if there's an important project you've

been procrastinating in,

do yourself the greatest gift I can give you today.

And that is tonight, sit down with your journal

and step it all the way out.

Even if you have to make it up.

Even if you're like,

I'm not sure this is actually the big activities.

It's not about having the perfect Project Plan,

it's having one that is completed

with at least the knowledge you know now.

Because then you're ready and go, okay,

let's get into this and keep making this thing better.

But your brain won't get into it

if you haven't Project Planned 'em.

So this is really important.

What I do to avoid procrastination each week,

is every single Sunday, for me that's my Sunday review days,

Sunday work days, I'll sit down

and I'll literally step through the entire week

of all the major things on my email, on my to-do list.

I'll think about the bigger projects

and I'll just kind of step it all the way through.

And guess what?

I enter the week more engaged, more joyous and confident,

cause I know what he heck is going on.

So if you keep procrastinating I promise,

if it's not lots of worry or it's not, you know,

lots of randomness, it's you haven't seen it through yet.

Other brain hack.

Very related, but a little different and more immediate.

And you'll love this one.

So number two is this, and it's so basic,

but I'm gonna test you

and see how often you've been doin' it.

And that is visualize.

Remember I said you won't do it

if your brain can't see it stepped through?

Well here specifically

what I do to make sure I don't procrastinate.

I literally visualize and affirm what I'm about to go do.

So if it's Sunday and I'd say, okay,

you know tomorrow in the afternoon,

I've got all these things, I can procrastinate

because I'm the only one holding myself accountable.

And could say well, you know what um, let's see here.

How would I avoid that?

I will sit down

and I'll do this twenty, thirty minutes a day,

visualizing the next day.

Of that morning I'll sit down and visualize the day.

And I'll just step it through, Ill say, okay.

Let me see myself going into the kitchen,

gettin' my little green tea, going over to the office,

sittin' down at the computer, opening up that blank page,

happily typing along, sensing

and feeling those great emotions

of doing my calling as a writer.

Let me feel the power and the joy

of finishing a great day of writing.

Let me imagine myself goin' to dinner,

gettin' to sit down with my wife and saying,