Writing this quickly because I'm about to run out the door, so please excuse the incomplete answer. In brief, aside from simply recognizing it intellectually (

Writing this quickly because I'm about to run out the door, so please excuse the incomplete answer. In brief, aside from simply recognizing it intellectually (which alone helped me a lot,) I'd start by literally following the advice I wrote above and remove the phrase from your vocabulary. i.e. Don't say things like "I really have to get caught up this weekend." It's a hopelessly imprecise statement that, if you're like me, primarily just engenders stress and shame. Instead use active language re: precise tasks. e.g. "I'm going to fix my bike and go to the store this afternoon." Fiore does talk a lot about similar language issues in the Now Habit. For example, he stresses the importance of saying things like "I choose to work on this report now" versus "I have to work on this report now." His argument is that the latter promotes a victimhood mentality leading to resentment and then procrastination. He also points out that it's simply untrue. If you're going to be precise, there's very little you have to do - there are simply things you choose to do because either you enjoy them, or because you prefer the consequences of having done them versus not having done them. Hope that helps!