Alan Draper
You are not alone if you procrastinate.Everybody procrastinates. That being said, however, some of us are better at dealing with procrastination than others. The people that get more things done are more effective at minimizing their procrastination. You can change your mastery of ways ton procrastinate into way to be more productive. You can use some of the things you already do.
Getting things done can be sometimes be challenging. It is much more challenging than not getting things done, in the very short term. It always feel so easy to slide into the not getting stuff done until it is crunch time.
Procrastination has a steep price. It creates a great deal of stress. Even while you are spending time avoiding a task, you are feeling stressed and anxious. You will also begin to feel much more stressed as your deadline approaches.
Here are a few unusual strategies to deal with your procrastination:
1. Use our procrastination effectively.
- Think about what you do when you are procrastinating.
- You choose to perform one activity instead of performing another that you really should be working on.
- Make a list that includes a couple of reasonable, but, at least in your mind, awful, tasks that you can add to your to-do list.
- You will then spend the procrastination time and perform the tasks you need to accomplish.
- It sounds a bit silly, but this technique works well, and is often used by productivity coaches.
- You will find that you are much more willing to do any unpleasant task if you can avoid something that seems even more unpleasant.
2. Location, location, location.
- Head to the library (yes, those still exist), a nearby park, or a coffee shop.
- You can even try moving to a different area inside the house or seek out a vacant workspace at your job.
- A change of scenery can often minimize the tendency to procrastinate.
- Part of our brains associate procrastination with our usual hangouts, like our desk, or the couch in front of the TV.
3. Get an egg timer.
- Getting started is often the most challenging part.
- It is sometimes amazing how easy it is to complete a task once you have made the initial steps.
- Set a timer for two minutes and see how much you can get done.
- Two minutes is too much? Try one minute.
- Too short for what you need to do? Try 15 minutes.
- Have a list of steps and begin on the first one. When you have a list, you won’t waste any mental energy trying to figure out what to do first.
4. Work at a different time.
- Instead of pushing the snooze button 8 times, try getting out of bed at 4 AM and see how much you can get done before your “normal” get up time.
- Try staying up a little later and see what happens.
- Shake your up routine and you will be less likely to engage in your old habits.
5. Boost your mood.
- Most of us procrastinate when we feel badly, and the thought of performing certain task makes us feel even worse.
- We will, at those moments, do almost anything that we think will make us feel better.
- Instead, work on enhancing your mood and you will be much less likely to procrastinate.
- Think happier thoughts, eat a healthier snack, or listen to music that brightens your mood.
- Once you are feeling better, get started on the next task without overthinking it.
6. Bet on yourself for a change.
- You may have enlisted the assistance of trusted friends in the past to help you accomplish things, but there may be a better system.
- Instead of telling your friend that you will give them $50 if you do not complete your task or to-do list by Friday, give her the money upfront.
- You only get your money back if you are successful.
- This dramatically changes the dynamic.
7. Reward yourself.
- Make completing a task as positive as possible.
- Instead of viewing a task as painful, you will begin to view it as desirable.
- Promise yourself a day off, or a meal at your favorite restaurant, or a massage. Whatever excites you.
We fall into the habit of procrastination when not performing a task is perceived as less miserable than performing the task. Procrastination creates all kinds of stress, and can even put your job and relationships in danger.
When we procrastinate too often, we ultimately fail to live up to the reasonable expectations of other people, and ourselves. This is painful.
Deal with your procrastination by tackling it head on. Dig in. Try a couple of these suggestions strategies.
Start today!
You will discover that you can beat procrastination and get more things done in general. You can also get more things that are truly important to you.
Photo Credit: Brett Jordan via Compfight cc
This article was written for Business 2 Community by Alan Draper.
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It’s very useful.offcourse procrastinatination is one of the biggest drawback of all the people.Author have given the nice suggestions in this article for procrastinatination.
bizbilla
As a chronic procrastinator I only ever had luck with procrastination bulldozer method. It really helped me turn my life around.