So I need your help. I am a procrastinator by nature and I need some tips for planning.  I usually wait until the last minute to get my dry-cleaning done, get my car serviced, or begin that detailed project at work. I end up with no clean clothes, unnecessary car repairs, and a big headache because I delivered a rushed project to my boss.  And in the end, I kick myself because I could have alleviated frustration by thinking ahead. Got any suggestions?

 Justin - A Lumen

I've been on this boat one too many times.....since we're talking about breaking bad habits this month on Ignite, I find myself discovering more bad habits than I knew I had. I got one for you Justin - To Do Lists. When I find myself buried with way too many things to do I make a list and prioritize. That way if I have 10 things to do, I make a commitment to knock down 2 or 3 tasks a day. I know exactly what I need to complete each day and if I go back to procastinating I know that the list will just get bigger, so that motivates me to finish my daily 'to dos'. I also love it when I can finally scratch things off the list because they are complete..makes my day!

Wow, I live with two procrastinators, my husband and daughter! It drives me nuts! Plan ahead. Seriously. You plan when you are going to exercise, right? Plan on what day each week you will get dry cleaning done and picked up. Write it down, numerous places if necessary. Same goes for oil changes with the car. Get a yearly calendar and write down every three months or so that the car needs the oil changed. Even make the appt. where you have it serviced and ask them if they will give you a reminder call or postcard. About the project for the boss... not sure about that one. Start small I guess and work up to the big things. I know writing down priorities are helpful. We often spend time on things that are trivial and least important. Because they are usually less stressful and more fun! But in the end as you stated, you get kicked with frustration. Try to find the time wasters in your life and minimize them or eliminate them altogether. I hope this was helpful to you. Let me know how you are doing.

I finally broke down and purchase one of those Franklin-Covey planners. It has helped me tremendously. I prioritize my daily tasks from high to low and just focus on the high priority things first. I make sure I have the planner open on my desk, in plain view, so I am always looking at it. I find that when the prioritized tasks are always in front of me, I tend to get them done. The bonus is that I have gotten so much more accomplished in much less time than I otherwise would have (if left to my own devices) and I feel less stressed, harried or frustrated (plus I feel so good scratching things off the list).

My husband is a super procastinator and could be awarded that title last year.  But he's doing a better job at it this year.....kudos to him.  What I have found to be helpful is to have a normal calendar and write out the routine events I need to do each month, each quarter, each year.  Then I go back to my outlook calendar and mark in those dates.  I'm so dependent on my computer and my outlook calendar during office hours but then on the weekends and in the evenings - I can refer to my normal calendar that I have lying around.  I like to see things at a month's glance to review if I have too much going on or not enough to get my TO DOs done.