So You're a Procrastinator. What Do You Do About It? by Michael Masterson

This article was updated and reprinted on June 23, 2008.
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There’s nothing wrong with putting off unimportant tasks, but you will go to your grave with regrets unless you learn to take care of your important Life Goals. And, if like most AWAI members, becoming a successful copywriter or travel writer is one of your Life Goals, here’s s fool-proof system that doesn’t leave any room for procrastination.

First: Make a list of everything you want to accomplish in your life. Everything. Like making a lot of money. Writing books. Traveling to Rome. Learning to tap dance. Write till you are done. Let your list sit for a few hours. Even a day. Then narrow it down to your top 10 choices. Take another rest. Now make another cut. This time, select your top four Life Goals.

I’m going to assume that one of your goals is to become a successful copywriter or travel writer. (Afterall, if you achieve this goal, you'll have the personal and financial freedom to accomplish your other three main goals!) So let's focus on that here.

Now, answer these questions: Where do you want your copywriting career to be in five years? Do you want to have a couple of controls under your belt? How many clients would you like to have?

What will it take to achieve those five-year goals?

For example, how many packages do you think you'll need to write before you get a control? Once you've got that number in mind, you can figure out how many packages you need to write in a year to reach your five-year goal … how many you need to write in a month to reach your one-year goal … and what you need to accomplish each week to achieve that monthly goal. You then use that information to create your daily "to-do" lists.

I use a great system for accomplishing every single thing on my daily to-do lists … which gets me one day closer to my Life Goals each and every day. I encourage everyone I work with to use it too. I’ve tried dozens, but none beat this one.