Procrastination without a doubt is one of the worst productivity killers alive. if you have a goal or a dream you wish to achieve, than your arch-enemy is procrastination.
I didn’t realize just how rampant this thief of hopes and aspirations really was until I watched my 10-year-old son.
He will put off just about anything that rings of responsibility.
I realize he is not alone. This is a trait very common among school age children and adults as well. But just because it is unfortunately common, does not mean we are helpless. Quite the contrary.
When it comes to getting things done, I am pretty rigid on this one. I have seen far to many people catch the distraction virus and lose sight of what it is he or she wants to achieve in his or her life.
Time is one of our most precious gifts.
We can use it to our advantage or it can become a huge disadvantage.
On my refrigerator we have the following printed out on a 8 X 11 paper, as a reminder to tend to those things that are most important:
You need to ask two very straightforward questions:
1. Is what you are about to do important?
2. Is what you are about to do urgent?
There are varying degrees to answer these two questions, and really four possible scenarios.
As you can see you just follow the squares and you can then decide your course of action.
The RED color means that whatever you about to embark on it is extremely important. The RED is meant as a warning.
The ORANGE color is in the middle just like a traffic signal light.
The GREEN color is meant to move you to some type of action albeit your own involvement in the process is not required thus you delegate to someone else to complete.
The GREY color are all those items on your to do list that you toss to the waste basket.
23 Procrastination Tips – Pearls of Wisdom
- Follow your bliss. When you do what makes you happy it is very hard to put it off. Your passion will help keep the fire of productivity alive.
- The first 30-45 minutes of each day devote to work. Routines are important towards getting things done. When you make it a habit to devote the first 30-45 minutes to work each day you will notice that it becomes almost impossible to procrastinate.
- Self awareness. By being self aware you know when your are procrastinating and when its a detriment or a benefit. You also are more attentive of your strengths and weaknesses.
- Block out distractions. With all the latest and greatest technological advances it’s easy to become distracted and major on the minors of life. I personally have LeechBlock installed on my Mozilla Browser to prevent me from getting distracted and watching non-productive YouTube videos.
- Embrace imperfection. We only do the best we can with what we have and where we are. Nothing more and nothing less. Focus on improvement, perfection is not the goal. When we focus on being perfect we sometimes never even begin.
- Make a special date with yourself. Blocking out time for you is probably one of the best tools I use to avoid procrastination. If you don’t make time for yourself you may find that you are doing things you don’t necessarily want to do. Time for yourself leads to the next item.
- Timing. Being aware is one thing, but being time aware is another. Its under promising and over delivering. I handle this by doubling the time for just about everything, sometimes even triple or quadruple. When I say I am going to do something in two weeks, I really know that I could get it done in 1 week but I padded the time to allow for any mishaps. And mishaps happen trust me. You never know when something unexpected pops up that takes you off course. I plan according by doubling the time to any commitment, engagement, appointment, etc.
- Find your best workspace. Your workplace is your sanctuary. Everyone needs a place where they can focus and get whatever it is they need to do. Finding your place is essential because it is your oasis where you can make things happen. Where you can work undisturbed. This is critical and vital to reducing the excuses when it comes to getting things done.
- Set goals. I set goals all the time. I first officially started setting goals when I was 19 when I heard the late Zig Ziglar talk about it. He spoke about the confusion between action and actual accomplishment.
- Break tasks down.
- Prioritize.
- Find your rhythm.
- Make up your own rewards.
- Ask someone else to check up on you.
- Identify the unpleasant consequences of NOT doing the task.
- Keep a to-do list.
- Start easy.
- Start anywhere.
- Beware excuses.
- Don’t rely on memory.
- Avoid over-thinking.
- Forgive yourself.
- Stop blog posts about how to overcome procrastination & just get to work!
In the end, time is our friend when we use it to our advantage and do the very best and most with what we have and with what is possible at the time.
Sometimes just starting something for the first time, can be seem like the hardest thing to do in the world. And it doesn’t necessarily need to be something new it can be finishing something we already have begun.
The trick is remember to take it slow and steady.
If you focus on the whole you might get overwhelmed and just quit. Instead think in small bite sized pieces doing your very best to get it done.
That’s really all you can do.
