How to Stop Procrastinating: a simple Guide to Mastering Difficult Tasks and Breaking the Procrastination Habit

Attainable
Attainable goals stretch the limits of what you think is possible. While
they’re not impossible to complete, they’re often challenging and full of
obstacles. The key to creating an attainable goal is to look at your current
life and set an objective that seems slightly beyond your reach. That way,
even if you fail, you still accomplish something of significance.
Relevant
Relevant goals focus on what you truly desire. They are the exact opposite
of inconsistent or scattered goals. They are in harmony with everything
that is important in your life, from success in your career to happiness
with the people you love.
Time-Bound
Time-bound goals have specific deadlines. You are expected to achieve

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your desired outcome before a target date. Time-bound goals are
challenging and grounding. You can set your target date for today, or you
can set it for a few months, a few weeks, or a few years from now. The key
to creating a time-bound goal is to set a deadline you’ll meet by working
backward and developing habits (more on this later).
Side note: Okay, here’s where it might get confusing. Sometimes the
“three-month rule” doesn’t apply for every situation. Occasionally you’ll
have a major goal that demands your attention, but doesn’t neatly fit
into a quarterly block of time.
For instance, one of my current goals is to complete an IRONMAN
race, which is five months away as I’m writing this. Training for this
race is still a critical part of my day, but I won’t achieve the outcome
until two months after the deadline of this quarter.
The point here is like everything else in this book, the three-month rule
isn’t written in stone. Use it as a general guideline—not as an absolute
must.
Examples of S.M.A.R.T. Goals
A S.M.A.R.T. goal is clear and well-defined. There is no doubt about the
result you want to achieve. At its deadline, you’ll know if you have or
haven’t achieved a particular goal.
As an example, here are S.M.A.R.T. goals related to seven core values that
many people have:
1. Career: “I will acquire five new projects for my web design
consultancy through referrals, networking, and social media
marketing campaigns within three months.”
2. Family: “I will strengthen my bond with my family by taking them
for a vacation at least once in six months. This will be accomplished
by setting aside two hours each month to plan our family trip.”
3. Marriage: “I will identify three things I really love about my