Are you putting something off that you have been meaning to do for ages? Whether it's applying for a new job, doing more exercise or spending more time with the family, if you want to achieve it but haven't done anything about it yet, PROCRASTINATION is the name of the game!

I'd like to share with you Andrea Perry's Action Spiral taken from "Isn't it about time? How to stop putting things off and get on with your life" (Worth Publishing)

STAGE 1 - BECOMING AWARE
Unless you raise your awareness and actually acknowledge you're procrastinating you're unlikely to act at all.

STAGE 2- EXPLORING AND EXPERIMENTING
You've started to think about what it is you need to do differently and what it will mean for you. You're working out how on earth you can achieve the change you want and considering the options.

STAGE 3 - CHOOSING AND GETTING INVOLVED
You're made a choice to do something about it and have started doing things differently to achieve the change you desire.

STAGE 4 - SAYING "ENOUGH" AND COMPLETING
You know when you have achieved what you set out to achieve.

STAGE 5 - PAUSING AND REFLECTING
Look how far you've come. Look how good it felt to achieve your aims. What went well and what was more tricky? Did you have any set backs along the way? What learning can you take forward from your experience to your next goal?

Knowing where you are currently sitting on the Action Spiral could really be the difference between moving forward with your dreams or staying where you are.

Andrea Perry is an expert about procrastination and an interesting speaker on the subject. You can find out more at www.overcomingprocrastination.net