Do THIS with your to-do lists and beat procrastination

Do THIS with your to-do lists and beat procrastinationDo THIS with your to-do lists and beat procrastinationFor years I was the king of big dreams and no progress. I loved pacing the living room, imagining what life would be like when my book was written, my business was thriving, and my bank account was bigger.Then I would get sucked back into my inbox, pour over the latest reviews on Rotten Tomatoes (everyone needs a weird hobby), or waste mora time pacing the living room. anything to make sure I was too busy to actually do any work.But after a recent change to the way I use to-do lists. Im slowly becoming mora assertive and procrastinating less.Before I tell you what the strategy is, let me quickly explain why it works, so youll be willing to give it a try.One cause of procrastination - a problem you can solveProcrastination, self-doubt, being undisciplined, lacking motivation - whatever you want to call it One big culprit is a 4-letter word we hate to say out loud.Fear.In this post, Im specifically talking about the fear of failure. The fear of taking responsibility for your goals and getting your hopes uponly to be disappointed. The fear of trying your best only to discover your skills werent ready for the challenge.If fear is keeping you from taking action on your goals, you need more than just positive self-talk to beat procrastination. You need evidence that proves you have what it takes to learn new skills, overcome setbacks, and get crap done.But where can you find this smoking gun evidence?Often, in the trash can.Why you should never throw away a to-do listIn his influential research, Psychologist Albert Bandura sought to understand how people develop confidence in their ability to accomplish tasks.He found the biggest driver to be mastery experiences - past achievements where you tried your best, overcame challenges, and ultimately succeeded.If these moments of success can give us the confidence to counter fear and reduce procrastination, the que stion quickly becomesHow can we rack up more of these experiences?What Im learning is we have them every day. We make lists of tasks we need to complete and plow through them one by one, but we rarely pause to recognize what weve accomplished once were through.The solution? Save your finished to-do lists.These messy pieces of paper tell a story. Theyre diplomas of a hard days works toasts to your ability, ingenuity, and perseverance tiny paper trophy cases that memorialize the battles youve won letters of recommendation that clearly state YOU have loads of potential.Why are you throwing them away?Maybe youre married to one of those weird organized people, who cant stand the thought of papers lying loose.Thats why I created a Done list.Instead of crossing off to-dos and throwing my lists in the trash, Ive started copying my accomplishments over to a Done List on my computer, where I record the tasks Ive completed.Im amazed by how tall this list has already grown and how encouraged I feel every time I look at it.Has my fear vanished? Did I kiss procrastination goodbye forever?Not quite.But I fully believe remembering my successes is slowly building my confidence and giving me the courage to be more assertive and productive.ConclusionWhether you choose to create a Done List or to simply save your old to-do lists, stop throwing away the opportunity to gradually become more confident.You accomplish difficult tasks every day. Pause long enough to memorialize your wins.This strategy isnt a miracle pill, but its a reasonable approach for overcoming fear and reducing procrastination - so you can achieve your goals faster.Give it a try.Want to go deeper?Do you have big goals you long to achieve? The biggest threat to your success is simply giving up.Become a finisher with my short book QuitterProof The 5 Beliefs of Highly Successful People.Download your free copy right here.Kyle Youngis helping creative people achieve big goals that matter.