We are reevaluating one of our vendors, and have met with two companies so far. One sent the quote he promised right away and followed up when he said he would. He was knowledgeable, and genuinely interested in the growth and success of our company, and it was clear he enjoys his work. The other company was knowledgeable, enthusiastic and caring during our meeting, but the answers to the questions we asked are yet to be answered. It’s been weeks.

To whom would you be more naturally drawn? Who would have more credibility with you? Who do you think attracts more opportunities for success? Has more energy and vitality?

If you see yourself as someone who puts things off, don't despair. Eliminating delay is a skill that can be learned. And if you want more serendipity in your life, more chances to be in the right place at the right time, more "lucky breaks," and even more energy, it is well worth the effort required to develop this skill. Here are five easy steps to ending delay:

Step 1: Identify when you procrastinate. Is it in business situations? Social situations? With family? Do you procrastinate with a certain person or type of person, or in particular situations? Awareness is the first step to success, because, if something is flying under your radar, you canÍt possibly impact it. Once you really look at it, you have many more options available to you.

Step 2: Find out why you delay. What is the underlying reason you put things off? Are there many different reasons, or do you see a commonality? It is worth understanding why, even if you choose to do nothing about it. Some common reasons include:

• You are afraid of making the wrong decision.
• You need more information to make a decision.
• You feel like there is no time to think it through – you'll have more time later.
• You want to say no, but don't want to hurt someone's feelings.
• It's become a habit. You never choose right away.
• You defer to someone else you think knows more.

Step 3: Clarify your vision and values. When you are clear about what you want in life and present to your personal core values, decision-making becomes almost automatic. When an opportunity presents itself, you can look to see if it aligns with your vision and values, and decide what to do quickly and with confidence, because you now have a yardstick, a benchmark you can use to true yourself as you go along.

One of my core values is enjoyment. Life is too short not to enjoy myself along the way, so when I am invited to do something personally or professionally, I look to see if it will be an enjoyable experience. If yes, I'll check it against my other core values and my vision of how I want my life to be, so I can choose yes or no quickly and without second-guessing my decision later. If it doesn't align with my vision and values, I say no right away, so the invitation can be extended to someone else.

Step 4: Set up systems, so you are not just responding to the current situation, but have a plan in place to eliminate delay every time that situation comes up. For example, in business, I find it frustrating to call or email requests and not hear back from the recipients. As time goes on, I begin to wonder if they are going to respond at all, or if they even got the messages. The wonder and angst rob me of precious time, energy and peace of mind, and the longer it takes for them to respond, the less trust I have in them. If they are repeatedly slow in responding, they lose credibility with me, and I will simply choose to work with someone else.

Now, imagine how attractive it would be if they had a system in place whereby they immediately responded, or at least confirmed that they received the request and told me when they would respond – and then did that. I would be much more likely to work with them and refer others to them, creating even more opportunities for their success.

Step 5: Practice, practice, practice! Start with areas in your life that have little risk, and practice doing things now. Pick a scenario and identify your current response time, and then shorten that response time by 50 percent, 75 percent or even 90 percent, and see what happens. Notice how people respond to you, and how much energy you acquire along the way. Henry James said, “Nothing is so fatiguing as the hanging on of an uncompleted task.” I add my own quote here: “No one is more successful and attractive to the good things in life than one who responds immediately to its rhythms.”

About the Author

Patty Cook of Life by Design, LLC is an executive and personal coach, trainer, writer and speaker dedicated to helping people achieve success while improving their health and enjoyment of life. She believes that strong and happy people build strong and happy companies. For more information on her programs, call 636-861-9100 or 866-236-9100 (toll-free).