They say ‘if you snooze, you lose’. That is true. One of the first decisions you make in the morning is getting out of bed. This decision is a very significant one and can sometimes affect the rest of your day. Many times, when the alarm clock rings, people tend to hit the snooze button. For those who do not use alarms, you may look at your time and realize that you are supposed to be up and decide to go back to bed for a few more minutes. Hitting the snooze button is a form of procrastination. Procrastination is the biggest enemy of your future and a terrible dream killer.

The one thing that I learnt early in life is that if you negotiate with complacency, you hardly win. This is because as human beings, we love to choose the comfortable and easy option. The easy way is the most popular route. Procrastination robs you of your time and leaves a trail of regret. The steps and actions that you take today will determine tomorrow’s outcome. In life, you don’t get what you want, or what you think you deserve, instead, you get exactly what you prepare and work for, what you focus on, what you take action upon every single day.

You cannot be a master of life until you have learnt to master your time. One thing that God has given all men equally is time. Time is value. That is why you give your time in exchange for money. If you do not design your own agenda, you will end up in other peoples’ agenda. Set realistic timelines for tasks and make sure you honour them. People always ask me how we do all we do, operating a 24-hour channel, publishing three regularly-scheduled magazines, running two annual awards shows while raising four kids. The answer is simple: time management. I am still working on it, but I schedule everything. Time lost can never be regained. Be intentional about how you use your time, for seconds become minutes, minutes become hours, hours become days, days become years and there goes your life.

In today’s world, distractions are a normal part of life. A study showed that over 90% of employees admit to using social media during work hours. Discipline is a very important ingredient for success in today’s world. You cannot achieve significant success if you do not master the art of focus. Your future is easily predictable by looking at what you spend your time on. Sometimes you have to shut out distractions. Have definite times for fun and social media. Reward yourself after work but know when you have to focus and be unavailable. You are in this world for a purpose, so make each second count. Time is a not a replaceable commodity.

The best ways to beat procrastination

1. Face your fears. What are you afraid of? Work on those weaknesses. Nelson Mandela said, “let your choice reflect your hopes and not your fears.”

2. Set realistic goals for yourself. Instead of pursuing perfection, pursue excellence. Break the work into small achievable tasks.

3. Measure your progress. This will motivate you to do more. In whatever you do, keep moving. Standing still is your worse enemy.

4. Be purposeful. Be certain about the value you bring to humanity and why you do what you do. This bothers on purpose. Many times, when I ask guests on my TV show the question, "what makes you get out of bed every day?", they often mention their kids, spouses, or another person. I usually wonder what happens if these people were no longer there or if they disappointed them. It is better to be motivated by the impact you make and the value you bring as this inspires you to want to do more and get out of bed every day.

5. Avoid excuses. As Nike says, ‘just do it!’ If you keep saying I will do it tomorrow, one day you will wake up and realize that today is the tomorrow you had the opportunity to design yesterday.

Remember that willpower is a muscle. As you discipline yourself to focus and do what you need to do, you will get closer to being a high-performance individual. If you prefer to have it easy today, your life will be hard tomorrow. What legacy are you leaving? Ask yourself each day, “what value have I brought to humanity. What did I do with the 24 hours I was given.” Make today count. Get up and slay!

"If you do not have a clear conviction of who you really are, you may begin to believe other people's opinion of you"

― Patricia Bebia Mawa