This same man held a news conference to state that he was going to lobby auto manufacturers to be required to put safety devices in all cars to remind parents that their children are in car with them. Let me repeat that. There is a proposal for legislation to require auto manufacturers to install devices in all vehicles to remind parents to be aware that their children may be in car with them.

These heartbreaking stories bring awareness to our awareness. Something we take for granted, like breathing, becomes a precious commodity.

We realize how much we live in our heads and how little we live in our visual field.

Of course, awareness is always a matter of life or death. Like love or wellness, however, we don’t value it until we experience consequences of its absence.

You can practice awareness at any moment of day. When you’re waiting at a car wash instead of daydreaming or obsessing on work pay attention to people around you or worker drying your car. Does he have a system? Does he dry glass first or body? How old is he? If you find yourself living too much inside your head take a walk. Don’t come back until you’ve counted 30 red cars. Why? No reason. It’ll put you in motion and you’ll be surprised what you notice about your neighborhood while you’re peering down side streets and driveways.

Life is a great adventure and sleepwalking through it is not an option. Pay attention to your attention. If you want to realize your dream in life you’re going to have to stay awake to do it.

I also strongly recommend that you take at least one full day off each week with no work whatsoever. This will really recharge you and make you eager to start coming week. Having a guaranteed work-free day will increase your motivation for work and make you less likely to procrastinate. If you know that next day is your day off, you'll be less likely to put off tasks, since you won't allow yourself luxury of allowing them to spill over into your day off. When you think that every day is a work day, however, work seems never-ending, and you always tell yourself, "I should be working." Thus, your brain will use procrastination as a way to guarantee that you get some form of pleasure in your life.

Use Timeboxing

For tasks you've been putting off for a while, I recommend using timeboxing method to get started. Here's how it works: First, select a small piece of task you can work on for just 30 minutes. Then choose a reward you will give yourself immediately afterwards. The reward is guaranteed if you simply put in time; it doesn't depend on any meaningful accomplishment. Examples include watching your favorite TV show, seeing a movie, enjoying a meal or snack, going out with friends, going for a walk, or doing anything you find pleasurable. Because amount of time you'll be working on task is so short, your focus will shift to impending pleasure of reward instead of difficulty of task. No matter how unpleasant task, there's virtually nothing you can't endure for just 30 minutes if you have a big enough reward waiting for you.

When you timebox your tasks, you may discover that something very interesting happens. You will probably find that you continue working much longer than 30 minutes. You will often get so involved in a task, even a difficult one, that you actually want to keep working on it. Before you know it, you've put in an hour or even several hours. The certainty of your reward is still there, so you know you can enjoy it whenever you're ready to stop. Once you begin taking action, your focus shifts away from worrying about difficulty of task and towards finishing current piece of task which now has your full attention.

When you do decide to stop working, claim your reward, and enjoy it. Then schedule another 30-minute period to work on task with another reward. This will help you associate more and more pleasure to task, knowing that you will always be immediately rewarded for your efforts. Working towards distant and uncertain long-term rewards is not nearly as motivating as immediate short-term rewards. By rewarding yourself for simply putting in time, instead of for any specific achievements, you'll be eager to return to work on your task again and again, and you'll ultimately finish it.

The writing of this article serves as a good example of applying above techniques. I could have said to myself, "I have to finish this 2000-word article, and it has to be perfect." So first I remember that I don't have to write anything; I freely choose to write articles. Then I realize that I have plenty of time to do a good job, and that I don't need to be perfect because if I start early enough, I have plenty of time to make revisions. I also tell myself that if I just keep starting, I will eventually be done. Before I started this article, I didn't have a topic selected, so I used timeboxing method to get that done. Having dinner was my reward. I knew that at end of 30 minutes of working on task, I could eat, and I was hungry at time, so that was good motivation for me. It took me a few minutes to pick topic of overcoming procrastination, and I spent rest of time writing down some ideas and making a very rough outline. When time was up, I stopped working and had dinner, and it really felt like I'd earned that meal.

The next morning I used same 30-minute timeboxing method, making breakfast my reward. However, I got so involved in task that I'm still writing 90 minutes later. I know I'm free to stop at any time and that my reward is waiting for me, but having overcome inertia of getting started, natural tendency is to continue working. In essence I've reversed problem of procrastination by staying with task and delaying gratification. The net result is that I finish my article early and have a rewarding breakfast.

I hope this article has helped you gain a greater insight into causes of procrastination and how you can overcome it. Realize that procrastination is caused by associating some form of pain or unpleasantness to task you are contemplating. The way to overcome procrastination is simply to reduce pain and increase pleasure you associate with beginning a task, thus allowing you to overcome inertia and build positive forward momentum. And if you begin any task again and again, you will ultimately finish it.