"Daction" is another mechanical technique that can provide instant impetus and help you overcome procrastination. "D" stands for direction and the rest of the word means that it is followed by action.

        It is based on the thesis that you have been taking orders from others and giving orders to others all your life. The only difference is that with Daction you give orders to yourself before and as you take the action necessary to achieve your objective.

        It is simplicity itself because you have already been conditioned to obey. When you were young, your parents were always telling you what to do. You followed their directions because they knew best and you knew you would be disciplined if you did not.

        When you were in school, the teachers told you what to do and you complied. Likewise, for when you were at work. Or when you were stopped by a traffic cop. Or when you were in the service.

        Almost everyone living in an organized society has learned to obey those in authority or control most of the time. That is the way things work. Even those who have been convicted of crimes and sent to prison learn that adherence to rules and regulations and obeying the dictates of the warden and the guards is the quickest way to adapt or even get early release.

        So whether you respect authority or disdain government and bureaucracy, you follow directions regardless. You have been conditioned to do so all your life.

        Why not capitalize on that to overcome procrastination? It will propel you forward and it will blot out peripheral negatives and resistances.

        All that is necessary is to give mental orders to yourself. Put on the parent's or teacher's or policeman's hat and follow the directions that are given.

        For example, let us take a mundane activity you have resisted doing for weeks. Your garage is a mess, winter snow is on the way, and the space within has to be cleared of the summer's accumulation of gardening tools, household appliances, bicycles, tires, spring bulbs, barbecue paraphernalia, clothes, and several classifications of general debris. It is a boring and backbreaking  job which you have been putting off until the weather forecast and your wife have told you it is now or never.

        Daction can come to your rescue. All you have to do is give yourself specific mental directions and immediately obey them. You will usually find that once you have started and are a few minutes into the project, it is no longer necessary to issue directives. You can turn them off and navigate very effectively from that point on. If, for any reason, you find yourself in a vacillating mode again, just flick the Daction switch and start consciously directing.

        Keep in mind that it is not the end result that should be the content of your directives. It is the nitty-gritty of the process itself, step by step, each immediately followed by action.

        Daction works for jobs that are no-brainers and it works for objectives that loom large from the window of your comfort zone. The key is to break the biggies into sub-goals and then apply Daction. After a while, your natural enthusiasm will supplant the directions you have been issuing and you will be pleasantly surprised at the progress you make.

        The reason why it works so well, in addition to your lifelong conditioning, is because you are removing extraneous thoughts and resistances and concentrating more effectively on the task at hand.