Tuesday, June 26, 2012

SIX WAYS TO OUTSMART PROCRASTINATION


Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.

We all procrastinate. Whatever the task, whatever the excuse, the tips below will help you do today what most people put off to next month.

1. Ask yourself, What's the holdup? People procrastinate for many reasons. Some fear failure. Some avoid boring jobs. Others shy away from getting tangled in a complicated mess. Knowing the cause of the problem may open your eyes to an obvious solution.

2. Do you need to do it? Simple question, but it's a good one. Sometimes we put something off because it's not important. If you don't really need to do it, free yourself of the mental burden and drop the task from your to-do list.

3. Ask for help. There are times we all should ask for help. Why is it we like to help others, but find it so difficult to accept help?  If something needs to be finished – put your pride away – and ask for help.

4. Commit just five minutes. That's it--just 300 seconds. Telling yourself you only have to do something for a sliver of time does two things.
 
It transforms a big job into a tiny matter: Five minutes? I can do that. And because getting started is the hardest part, once your five minutes is up you'll often drive right on through to the finish.

5. Focus on the end. Thinking about how you'll feel when you've done whatever needs to be done may motivate you to make it happen.
  
6. Just do it. Quit stalling. Quit rationalizing. Stand up, walk to the danger zone, and get to work.

7 comments:

  1. okay. Just 5 minutes. One paragraph to half a page. :) Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love this. It helps me to break up my tasks into short bursts so they don't overwhelm me. 1000 words is a 1000 words whether you do it in one session or three!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great post on procrastination! I need more of the "just do it"!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I see what you are saying - but on the other hand, if I just knuckle down and do it regardless, chances are I'll mess it up and regret it at a later date and have to re-do it, or apologise. Far better to wait until I am mentally prepared and confident I can complete the job properly. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Five minutes, right. Good idea. I will just grab a cuppa and let the dogs out and check on Mum. Then I will get right to it and nothing will stop me. Five minutes. Easy.
    :) Great post.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you! Now I'm going to deal with that DMV ticket I've been hoping will just go away!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Just one sentence led to one paragraph to one scene. Thank you. Now I'm trying to apply this method to housework. It's not working. Back to one more sentence, one more paragraph... :)

    ReplyDelete

Romance Reviews

The Romance Reviews