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Lessons - The High Price of Saying "Tomorrow" | Scott Clary · Success Story with Scott Clary

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  Today, I want to talk about the high price of saying tomorrow.
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  I think the procrastination is much more sinister than we give a credit for.
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  I think we often trick ourselves into thinking the procrastination is free, but it's not.
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  If you procrastinate today, you'll wake up tomorrow as the same person, but with less time,
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  more stress, and fewer options. That's the price you pay for putting things off.
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  I call it the procrastination tax. It's a loan shark that charges compound interest
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  on your future self. So today, I want to cover why Deling tasks today sets you up for stress
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  tomorrow, the sneaky surprise reasons you procrastinate, and how they trap you,
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  the lies you tell yourself to justify the delay, and why that's dangerous, and how procrastination
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  secretly damages your reputation and success. And I know this sounds very doom and gloom, so don't
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  worry at the end. I'm going to give you some simple strategies to break the procrastination cycle
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  and reclaim your future. But first, let's start by looking at what happens when you say tomorrow,
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  because every decision you make about how you spend your time has a cost. When you scroll
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  through social media for just a few minutes, you don't just kill time. You sacrifice something else,
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  something far more important. Maybe it's that client pitch you've been meaning to work on or that
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  marketing strategy that could take your business to the next level. Think about it. Every hour you
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  spend on distraction is an hour you don't spend on your business on your life. That's the real
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  cost. You can't do both. If you spend your time on one thing, you are for going something else.
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  If you decide to focus on social media, your business tasks, your life tasks will wait, but they
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  won't disappear. They'll pile up and before you know it, you're buried. Didn't respond to emails
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  today. They'll still be there tomorrow, along with all the new emails. You just made tomorrow's
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  workload heavier, because now you're playing ketchup. Delaying tasks isn't just a one-time issue.
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  It creates this vicious cycle. Today's delays lead to tomorrow's stress, which leads to missed
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  deadlines, which leads to even more stress. It's a snowball effect that can turn a manageable workload
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  into a nightmare. Another example. You keep postponing running that content. It's on your to-do list,
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  but other things keep coming up. Eventually, the deadline is right around the corner.
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  Instead of thoughtfully writing your content piece, you now rush to get something
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  anything out the door, and that anything will most likely be a low-quality post or newsletter
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  that doesn't do justice to your brand or your expertise. See, procrastination doesn't just cost
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  your time. It costs you quality. It costs you reputation. It costs you peace of mind. When you
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  procrastinate, you constantly choose between what's easy now and what's important later,
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  but those important tasks don't just vanish. They hang around, getting more urgent, more stressful,
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  more overwhelming. So let's look at the real reasons you actually procrastinate. It's not just
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  about being lazier disorganized. It's deeper and more insidious than that. So I want to take a deeper
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  look into the mind to understand why we even procrastinate in the first place. The first reason is
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  let's say you have an incredible idea for a new product or service, but the thought of it flopping
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  keeps you from moving forward. So instead of launching, you tweak, you revise, you stall,
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  this isn't just hesitation, it's procrastination rooted in fear, and the fear of failure is
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  destructive. You might think it's safer to do nothing than to risk failure, but it's a false
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  sense of security, because while you might avoid failure, you also avoid success. So by not trying
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  you automatically fail. This psychologist Pierce Steel at the University of Calgary found that
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  low self-efficacy or the lack of confidence in your abilities leads to procrastination.
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  When you don't believe in your success, you're far more likely to procrastinate. The second reason
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  boredom. When a task feels tedious or pointless, it's easy to push it to the bottom of your
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  to-do list. You might tell yourself it's not urgent, you'll get to it later. But let's be honest,
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  that's just an excuse. If something is boring, it's probably not connected to your core goals or
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  values. And when your heart's not in it, it's hard to find motivation to get it done. This is linked
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  to the concept called low task value. When the task doesn't seem valuable, you're going to do
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  anything to avoid it. The third reason is overwhelm. Have you ever felt completely paralyzed when
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  faced with a massive project? Maybe it's launching a new website or creating a business plan or
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  writing that book that you've been telling everyone about for months. The sheer size of a task
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  can make you freeze up. It's like standing at the base of a mountain, looking up at the peak and
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  thinking there's no way I can climb that. This is common. This is a major reason why people procrastinate.
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  But that mountain isn't going to climb itself. And the longer you stand there, the bigger and
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  scarier the prospect of climbing it gets. And that's when you start to engage in the many lies
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  that justify procrastination. You convince yourself that tomorrow will be different,
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  that you'll be more motivated, that waiting will somehow make the task easier. But these are
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  just stories you tell yourself to feel better in the moment. Here are some common excuses that
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  people cling to. Maybe you're going to recognize some of these. I'll feel motivated tomorrow.
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  Motivation is fickle. Waiting for it is a trap. It rarely shows up when you need it most.
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  Psychiatrist Dr. David Burns has covered how starting now, no matter how unmotivated you feel,
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  can create the motivation you're waiting for. Action breeds motivation, not the other way around.
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  You may have heard this. I need more information before I start. This is classic procrastination.
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  You tell yourself you need to do more research, gather more data, or just think about it longer.
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  But here's the thing. You'll never have all the information. Perfect conditions don't exist.
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  Start with what you have and learn as you go. Progress is better than perfection.
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  The third excuse you might tell yourself is I work better under pressure. Really? Or do you just
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  tell yourself that because you're used to this adrenaline rush of last minute panic? Sure,
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  some people claim they thrive under pressure. But working this way often leads to stress and mistakes.
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  Take it from the director of Carleton College's procrastination research group Dr. Tim Cycle.
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  In experimental studies we find that people working under pressure make more errors of a mission
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  and commission. So we'd like to believe that we work under pressure. But what it really is
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  is that we only work under pressure. Quality comes from consistency, not chaos.
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  You might also tell yourself I don't have time right now. But if not now, when tomorrow, next week,
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  the truth is you'll have even less time tomorrow if you keep putting things off. Time doesn't
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  magically appear, but it does disappear. Saying you don't have time just means it's not a priority
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  for you. Start with small steps today even if it's just five minutes. Small steps always lead to
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  big progress. You could also tell yourself I'm making a plan. Writing a detailed to-do list
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  can feel incredibly productive. You're organizing your tasks and you're planning your day and it
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  feels like work, right? But for honest, it's often just another form of delay. If you never actually
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  start on those tasks, the list is just a distraction. It's a way to fool yourself into thinking
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  you're being productive when you're really just stalling. Here's a great quote from the CEO of
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  Elements Behavior Health Dr. David Sack. At some point, unless we are content to end our lives with
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  nothing more than good intentions, we have to stop planning and start doing. So don't just make a
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  plan and act it. Otherwise, you'll end up paying the true cost of procrastination. Because procrastination
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  is this vicious cycle that compounds over time. You think you're just putting something off
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  for a little while, but in reality, you're borrowing time from your future self and the interest
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  on that loan is steep. There are both short term and long term payments. Let's look at them.
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  Short term, you're going to get stressed. Imagine you got a big presentation coming up. Instead of
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  preparing early, you put it off as a deadline looms, the pressure mounts, and it turns into a
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  last minute frenzy. Short term, you're going to lose momentum. When you procrastinate on a project,
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  you lose initial excitement and drive. The energy you had at the start fizzles out, which makes
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  it harder to pick up where you left off. You also start to miss out on opportunities.
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  So let's say you want to reach out to a potential client or a potential partner, but you keep
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  putting it off. By the time you finally get around to it, someone else has swooped in, takes
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  that opportunity. And you do damage your reputation. If you constantly delay responding to clients
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  or pushing deadlines, word gets around. You start to be seen as unreliable, and that perception
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  is really hard to shake. And then you start to see some very meaningful long term repercussions.
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  Your career starts to suffer. Because every time you put off learning a new skill, you fall behind.
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  When you stay stagnant, you miss out on promotions. You miss out on the chance to grow your business.
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  And your relationships suffer. Avoiding tough conversations with your partner because it feels
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  uncomfortable can lead to unresolved issues and growing emotional distance. And then your
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  finances start to take a hit, delaying paying bills, that can spiral out of control quickly.
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  It's not just about the late fees you have to pay, but also poor credit scores. If you fail to
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  pay completely collections, lawsuits, whatever it is, things can stack up. And the ultimate long term
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  repercussion is your health, mental and physical. If you keep pushing your urgent, important tasks,
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  work tasks, life tasks to the next day, the next week, your health will deteriorate. You're not
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  going to find time to do the things that you need to do to take care of yourself. You're going to
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  push off doctor's appointments, dentist's appointments. You're going to start ordering take-up
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  because you don't have time to cook good food. You're going to skip the gym. All of this in the
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  next 24 to 48 hours seems harmless. But if you do it enough times, you risk losing the most
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  valuable asset you have. Your body, your health, your wellness. All of this is bad news.
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  So how do we avoid all of this? We have to learn how to finally stop procrastinating.
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  You don't have to find more willpower. You just have to get smart with your routine and your time.
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  Here's how to tackle procrastination head-on and reclaim control of your life,
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  your happiness, and your productivity. First, acknowledge and identify. You have to admit it.
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  You're procrastinating. But don't just stop there. Ask yourself, why am I delaying this task?
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  Is it because I'm overwhelmed? Am I afraid of failing? Or maybe it just feels boring and
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  unimportant? Identify the root cause because you can't fix what you don't understand.
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  Secondly, you got to zero in on your goals. Remember reason number two, why people procrastinate?
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  They get bored. And that's the exact moment you should mind yourself while completing the task
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  is important. Maybe it's about escaping the rat race. Maybe it's about building your business.
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  Maybe it's about providing for your family. Whatever it is, link your daily task to the bigger picture.
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  When your work feels meaningful, procrastination loses its grip.
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  Also, you should break your goals into small tasks. Big and ambitious goals trigger procrastination
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  reason number one and number three, fear and overwhelm. So, break your goals down into bite-sized
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  pieces. Or as a famous psychologist, Dr. Jordan Peterson puts it, the larger vision
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  should be divided into smaller objectives. I guarantee that scheduling tasks and creating routines
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  will help you achieve even your toughest goals. When you accomplish a small task, your brain
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  gets a hit of dopamine. That not only makes you happier, but it also motivates you to take on
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  the next task. If a 5,000-word report feels daunting, start with a 500-word outline.
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  Just putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard will give you the momentum you need to keep going.
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  Every task, no matter how daunting, can be tackled one step at a time. Small wins lead to big victories.
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  The next thing you should always do is eliminate all distractions.
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  Distractions are your worst enemy and they're everywhere on your phone, in your inbox,
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  even in your workspace. So, to stay focused, turn off notifications on your phone. Those
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  pings pull you away from what matters. Set a specific time for checking emails. Don't let your
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  inbox dictate your day. Work in a clutter-free space. A messy environment equals a messy mind.
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  And if you want to go all-in, then consider monk mode, where you shut off and laser focus
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  on what matters. My favorite idea around laser focus is something called single handling.
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  Because you know what multitasking is and multitasking really is a form of procrastination.
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  You trick yourself into believing that you're working on multiple tasks at the same time,
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  but you're just doing them all badly. Instead, try single handling. Personal development
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  author Steve Pavlina says, a lot of time lost in task switching is because you have to reload
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  the context for each new task. Single handling minimizes time lost in task switching.
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  Focus on one task, complete it fully, then move on to the next. Another strategy that works is
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  to make it a habit. Success doesn't come from single epic moments like in the movies.
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  In the real world, it comes from small, consistent actions. Not sure how to get started. Read
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  some books. Atomic habits by James Clear. Better than before by Gretchen Ruben. The power of habit
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  by Charles DuHig. Create daily routines with dedicated time for your essential tasks.
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  Make them non-negotiable, like brushing your teeth or drinking your morning coffee.
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  And lastly, plan to fail. You won't be perfect every day. You'll have moments of weakness,
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  slip ups, setbacks, and that's okay. Don't beat yourself up. I just mentioned James Clear.
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  Here's his take on this. If you realize that individual failures have little impact on your long
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  term success, then you can more easily rebound from failures and setbacks. Being consistent is not
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  the same as being perfect. Life happens. And sometimes you'll need to adjust your plans.
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  The key is to get back on track without guilt or frustration. Remember every time you say tomorrow,
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  you're paying the procrastination tax. Attacks that robs you of opportunities and piles on stress.
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  The cost is the life you could have lived. But here's the good news. You can start reversing the
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  tax right now. Start small, but start today. The best time to act was yesterday. The second best
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  time is now. Here's what I want you to remember. Procrastination is a thief. It robs you of time,
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  opportunities, and peace of mind. It's fueled by fear, boredom, and overwhelm. Cut off its air
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  supply. Excuses are just lies. Waiting for motivation or the perfect time is a trap.
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  An action breeds success. Start small, break tasks into steps, and keep moving forward.
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  Don't let procrastination steal any more of your future. Your future self will thank you for
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  choosing actions over delay.