Although there are many factors that contribute to your success or failure, one of the most powerful elements is your productivity. The direct opposite of being a producer in life is to be a procrastinator.

Most marketers would love to be a producer, but sadly many procrastinate and put off their success. There are only 24 hours in a day. How many of those do you actually get something done?

Do you find yourself checking email, watching videos on YouTube, posting non-productive messages in forums, or engaging in other timewasting activities? You may not even realize how much of a procrastinator you actually are — until you begin looking at your sales and wondering why you’re not making the kind of money you we’re expecting to make.

Procrastination is derived from many traits. Some people are actually intimidated by the thought of success. Others have not mapped out a good direction for their business. Some simply have a bad habit that they need to tend to.

Sometimes procrastination crops up on someone who is usually a producer in life. It could be due to an increase in extreme stress, a crisis that has arisen in their personal lives, or even a psychological or physiological issue that needs to be checked out by a doctor.

Those who have low self-esteem often suffer from procrastination more than those who are more confident in life. Many consider them dreamers, rather than doers. They often procrastinate in order to avoid completing something they consider less-than-perfect.

A procrastinator is not a lazy person. In fact, a procrastinator will often find other tasks to absorb their time, such as cleaning a messy workspace. They often make excuses for their procrastination such as, “I can’t get my work done until my desk area is clean.”

Procrastination is not a conscious choice. Once it becomes a habit, a way of life, the person simply feels overwhelmed with everything they cannot get done. Procrastinators often have little self-control over their actions when it comes to workplace tasks. They may prefer to complete a small task, and enjoy the satisfaction, rather than focus on a larger, more difficult task.

From a physiological standpoint, many procrastinators have a different brain function from producers. They are more distracted by outside stimuli than producers. Many procrastinators have been diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). A producer, on the other hand, begins each day with a schedule that guides him or her on their quest for success. They know exactly which tasks need to be completed, and in which order. This organization is a skill that can be learned.

A producer knows exactly which materials they need in order to complete a task. They know how to interact with people on every skill level — whether it’s outsourcing to a freelancer or securing joint venture partnerships with another person who is a producer.

Skills and knowledge are very  important to a producer. They are always trying to increase their expertise in their area of business. Their attitude is flexible, allowing them to adapt to change easily and tap into their resources to achieve their goals.

Do you need help learning to be a producer and get rid of your procrastination habit? Here are some helpful hints to turn your life around and achieve more success:

 1. Choose your tasks carefully. Do not create a to do list that includes anything other than what must be done today.

 2. Map out your goals, and work hard to reach them. You have to know exactly where you’re going in order to get there.

 3. Start with the task that you hate or dread the most. If you wait until it’s last on your list, chances are you’ll procrastinate until the next day (and the next, and the next, etc.).

 4. Figure out what time of day you’re most productive. If you tend to get more work done between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 a.m., then set those as your  workday. Not everyone will have the same routine. Some people are more productive late at night.

 5. Have some smaller milestones in place so that you can feel proud of what you achieved. If you’re working on a 300-page ebook, make it so that you can mark off your smaller goals chapter by chapter.

 6. Buy an egg timer. If you have trouble focusing on the task for a certain amount of time, then get an egg timer and set it so that you can quit looking at the clock and work hard, while the timer counts for you.

 7. Give yourself a deadline. Procrastinators often find it hard to get work for themselves completed. You may have been working on a single e-book for nine months now, when a producer could have had it finished in just three.

 8. Delegate tasks to other people to help you get rid of your workload. You do not have to do it all yourself! In this day and age, there are freelancers and virtual assistants who can help you with almost everything having to do with your online business.

Being a procrastinator may seem easier, but it puts far more stress on you to hold off on tasks you know have to get done eventually than if you would just go ahead and become a producer instead.

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