Procrastination - words of advice

Chatting with cousins last night at Joseph's birthday party our conversation ground to a brief halt as we touched on procrastination. The frustration we each felt about this weakness of ours seemed to block words that would have smoothed us to the next topic. Being older then they, I've since been indulging in thoughts of good advice. Happily for all involved, this afternoon I began to suspect this good advice is for myself, so don't need to chase them down and force my wisdom upon anyone. I've brainstormed amazing ideas, and sifted it down to one:

Imagine yourself doing it.

That is, in that moment that I decide it can wait for later or that I don't want to do it, I at least briefly imagine my body doing it.

For example I don't want to take out the trash just now, though it needs it. As I admit this to myself -- as I tell my inner nag no -- I at least think about standing up, walking to the garbage can, taking out the liner, replacing the new liner, walking outside, and on and on. It gets my body ready. I'm slightly looking forward to it, rather than slightly dreading it. And sometimes I realize its not that bad, and it do it. It seems to move the idea from one part of my brain to another. From the to-do-list, conceptual part, to the moving the body part. My to-do-list part knows how to sometimes not do.

The challenge is to do this every time my inner nag reengages me. My actions go where my thoughts are, in a sometimes inevitable path. For some reason there are times that simply the thought "I should take out the trash" isn't the kind of thought that leads to action. Imagining myself doing it, though, is a form of beginning to do it -- in the preparation step.

I need to respect my inner nag more.