Punish Your Failure

Bring that far-off punishment that means nothing to us right now up front and personal.

Make the cost of procrastination immediate and make it hurt you enough to want to avoid the punishment.

One of the best ways to do this is to make yourself accountable. And since we are generally bad at holding ourselves accountable, as we know we can cheat too easily, get a friend to do it for you.

They do not even need to know they have this role if you plan it right.

I need to exercise in my life – I am fantastically bad at doing this.

But I did have a good run for many years at playing squash – I had a standing Tuesday game with some friends.

I can honestly say I never looked forward to going, not once in the 500 or so times I went.

But I was always glad I did afterwards. I had fun, saw my friends and ran around after a small ball for a while.

Each and every week I could have happily not have gone – but had I not I would have failed myself (pah, like I care?) but more importantly I would have failed my friends. (So guess what? I went.)

I was held accountable by my friends, and they never even knew they were my police force.

If you would like to receive these generally bi-monthly Thrive in Five newsletters, sign up here.