(Excerpts from Effortless Freedom From Clutter and Debt by Janet Hall and Paula Langguth Ryan)

“An excuse is a universally accepted lie about why we don’t do something we want or ought to do.” – Rick Butts

Are you a procrastinator when it comes to dealing with your clutter and debt? If you’re not sure, take this quiz: Have you ever said either of the following: “I’ll pick that up later,” or “I’ll pay this bill tomorrow?” If you answered “yes” – Congratulations! You’re a procrastinator and you’ve just successfully justified or excused your procrastination.

There’s a quick and easy way to stop justifying and excusing your procrastination. Start by reminding yourself that there’s no time like the present. When you take action now, you have more time to do the things you want to do, and you relieve yourself from stress and worry about your clutter and debt.

It’s time to climb the top of the mountain and set in stone your goals and intentions regarding eliminating your debt and clutter. It’s time to admit to yourself that you will accomplish the things that will bring you peace of mind. How? By figuring out what is going to give you the most benefit in your life. How do you figure out what is most beneficial? Set priorities.

In order to set priorities, you need to get out of your own way and stop interrupting yourself. Start by looking at each task you wish to accomplish regarding your clutter and debt using the 5 W’s of Prioritizing. When you feel yourself wanting to put something off, stop and ask:

1) Why don’t I want to do this task?
2) What am I afraid of?
3) What would I rather be doing?
4) What would happen if I accomplished this goal?
5) What do I really want? What am I really trying to achieve?

If you stop procrastinating and get focused, you create more time to do what you truly want to do, or enjoy doing, instead of being stressed out over what you haven’t done.

Sit still, take a deep breath and get centered, letting the whirlwind of ideas, thoughts and worries – all the “I shoulds” and “I shouldn’ts” – come to a standstill. Settle down. Now, take a deep breath and ask yourself: “What’s the first step I need to take to move forward toward eliminating my clutter or paying down my debts?”

Today take one step toward three of your goals, knowing that you are the strong and steady tortoise, always moving forward toward your heart’s desire to be debt-free and clutter-free. Know that your success is assured and that are now ready to accept your success. Just for today, don’t procrastinate. Take that first step, and keep taking each new first step, one at a time. A 100-mile journey by car at night is made even though you can only see as far as your headlights in each moment.