Are you an acute procrastinator? I was. Twenty years ago I made a new promise to myself and wrote these words… “I am an introverted, procrastinating perfectionist who is striving to change to be an extroverted, results-oriented champion.”

It was a time for me to move on and take charge of my life. I wanted to write a book, write articles, but I was stuck. I easily got overwhelmed with things to do. I wanted to learn how discipline myself, achieve my goals, and get rid of that negative behavior that crept into my life. I called it ”The Doubt Syndrome.” “I’m not sure I can do it.” “It might be too tough for me to start.” “Someone else is much better at this than I am.” …No one else had to criticize me as I was doing a good job all by myself.

I used the above new promise to introduce myself at many of the writing and personal success workshops I presented at that time. I brought a Big Black cardboard box to my sessions and labeled it, “My Box” (my life). It displayed all the worn out, frayed edges of behaviors and attitudes I wanted to change—procrastination and perfectionism were at the top of the list. My audience had fun with it. People would come up to me afterwards and say they could relate to my presentation. I soon learned that a lot of us are procrastinating perfectionists. We want to change because it is slowing us down from achieving our goals and getting things down.

Putting things off to another time or another day gave me anxiety attacks but I would continue to do it anyway. I had too much to do and got overwhelmed. Many times I held back from doing the things that would bring me the most success because it was out of my comfort zone—writing that new book, new computer programs to learn, making phone calls to new contacts, getting organized, and more. I put off dull activities although they would help me achieve my goals. I had great excuses as to why I could not stay organized. Things that really should be done now: making that phone call, making appointments, responding to that email or letter, but for some reason waves of discomfort overcame me and prevented me from doing it right away. The longer I put it off the more stressful I felt about getting-it-done.

Perfectionism was the key reason I put off things. “It isn’t perfect yet,” I told myself. In business, personal planning and writing projects all had deadlines. I worked on them, but they weren’t exactly the way I wanted them to look yet.

It was time for me to move on and take charge of my life and not let activities overwhelm me. It was time for me to eliminate “The Doubt Syndrome” from my life. I began reading success-oriented books, listening to tapes (remember those?), CDs and attending workshops. I learned how to discipline myself, achieve my goals and get rid of that negative behavior that had crept into my life.

Do you have similar challenges in your life? How do we change? The answer is we have to WANT (the WILL) to change. We must have a burning desire to change before anything will happen. Wishful Thinkers will have to wait. They are not ready yet for a commitment. I know many people, who want to quit smoking, lose weight, or write a book. They talk about it. They know what they have to do to achieve that goal. Nothing happens because they are just Wishful Thinkers. They love to talk about it because it makes them feel like they are doing something about it—they are thinking.

Don’t let perfectionism paralyze you. Keep on going. Pretend it is perfect if you get stuck. Don’t stop or you will never get anything done. Most important, get a buddy to support you. Tell your buddy your goal. Tell friends your goal. They will start asking you how you are doing and you will begin to feel accountable for your dreams and promises.

The most important task you can do towards your success is to reserve private time and avoid interruptions during this time. I learned early on in my career the importance of private time when I was an operations supervisor at a bank. During budgeting time my boss sent me to a hotel away from the office to work on my budget. I carried my “state of the art” IBM Selectric typewriter up to my hotel room and spent two days working on that budget. I was surprised when my boss, the Associate Vice President, said my budget was the best of the team. I then learned the power of quiet time and being committed to a project.

Don’t let perfectionism paralyze you. It may not be perfect but keep on going or you will never get anything done. Above all, reserve private time to write or finish a project and avoid interruptions during this time. Your success in combating perfectionism and procrastination in your life means you will achieve your goals. You will be a results-oriented champion.

Author's Bio: 

Joan Clout-Kruse is an authority on achieving goals and getting things done. She wrote thousands of reports, articles, and studies for Silicon Valley companies. She has spent the past 15 years as a writing coach and Ghostwriter helping her clients achieve their dreams and goals.

Clout-Kruse assisted the beloved celebrity, Shirley Temple Black, with her writing needs in the 70s. She developed and implemented the first Zip+4 mail code system for Stanford University in the 80s, and at UC Berkeley in the 90s managed one of the largest mail operations in the East Bay (Northern California) handling more than 100,000 pieces of mail and packages per day. Achieving writing and production goals was the primary target of these positions.

Clout-Kruse is the Author of “Top 10 Traits of Silicon Valley Dynamos.” "How to Write Your Great Book in 90 Days or Less," and a handbook, "The ABCs of Success." She is a contributing author of "Power and Soul: Secrets of Creating the Business and Life of Your Dreams," and "How Did You Do That?" Her topics on writing, goal setting, and personal success have appeared thousands of times on the Internet.