SIX WAYS TO OUTSMART PROCRASTINATION

I must admit ... I been busier than a beaver getting ready for winter!  I'm very excited to share I JUST FINISHED WRITING GYPSY SPIRIT!  I'm so excited how the story unfolded and ended . . . I will wait one more week - read it through and made changes, then send it off to my reader . . . before sending it on to my great publisher, Books We Love!  I'm so in love with my cover ... this is book one of the Tango of Death Series; book two is Partisan Heart, (which I'll start in October - I can hardly wait... I'm so excited.) and book three is Jewish Soul. 

Okay ... okay .... I'll move on.  My apologies for not blogging Monday and Tuesday ... I was finishing GYPSY SPIRIT ... smile!! Okay ... okay.... 

     I follow Jason M. Gracia's (Author, Shifting the Balance) Founder, www.Motivation123.com  - as I've mentioned a time or two.  Below is his article I felt necessary to share.  :)  Hope you like it as much as I do.

     The Spanish have a proverb: Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week. Clever wordsmiths, those Spaniards. 

     We all procrastinate. We dawdle and delay, dally and defer. My office floor is still home to a pile of papers that needed filing two months ago; I'm waiting for them to stop dallying and file themselves.

     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 (i.e., my pile of papers). 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. I have an ancient window mechanism that takes the effort of a drawbridge operator to open. Last month, unsurprisingly, it broke. Someone had to fix it, but I was hoping that someone wasn't me. So I put it off.

     After weeks of gazing at the window without actually doing anything, I asked a friend to help. It wasn't only because I have the mechanical skills of an uncoordinated squid; I knew it would get me moving.

     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.

     I don't much like to organize, but I love to be organized. This is what I focus on--the feeling of having everything in its place, clean and tidy--when I need to declutter a space. Although my pile of papers proves that I have some work to do.

     6. Just do it. Quit stalling. Quit rationalizing. Stand up, walk to the danger zone, and get to work.

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.

WE ALL PROCRASTINATE!

     Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week. What a great line for all those people who say, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” And as we know, most times tomorrow never comes.

     Why is it there are so many things we need to do or get done and we just don’t have the time to do it all?  Or are we just procrastinating? 

     We are busy – yes! But we also delay . . . put-off . . . dawdle . . . and just plain feel lazy sometimes. It seems easier to get busy and so something else because the project we are facing just seems too mammoth to tackle.

     Let’s be honest – whatever the project –we all could use some helpful tips on how to stop making excuses – and get those tasks done today!

1.           Stop for a moment and ask - Why are you putting this project off?  You know there has to be a reason. Is it boring? Is it too big a job and just the thought of starting is enough to make you run in the other direction? Maybe the project will surface emotions you don’t wish to face?  People procrastinate for various reasons. Do you know your reasons?  Understanding why – just might create the solution and stop you from procrastinating.

2.           Some people never tackle a project because it’s truly not that big of a deal. Maybe you really don’t need to tackle a project – because it’s not import to finish. Then you might ask yourself, instead of stressing over the incomplete project – should it be done in the first place. Get rid of it and cross it off your to-do list.

3.           Did you ever think of asking for help?  You love helping others when they need help – right? Don’t you think others might like to help you, too?  If a project on your list is just too big to handle alone ask a family member or a good friend to help. It’ll be a lot of fun to share the time with someone – and you’re making good memories. A comment here and there and you’ll be laughing up a storm together - plus the project will be done before you know it.

4.           I call it baby steps. When a large project needs just your attention – starting can be daunting . . . or let’s face it downright frightening. Consider this, begin using baby steps. Don’t think you have to tackle every part of your project all at once.  Heck I’d be running in the other direction, too. Give yourself thirty minutes at the end of Monday through Friday. (Reward yourself with the weekend off.)

     Give yourself a good direction what you will want to finish in that thirty minutes. Getting started is the hardest decision of any to-do project. There will be days when you’ll feel like doing even more than the thirty minutes because it’s going so well. It’s getting started and committing the time to do it that counts.

5.      Now comes the hard part for so many of us. Focus that commitment to the end. Visualize what it will look like when you’re done. How will you feel? Think of a reward to give yourself when the project is completed – that will motivate you! Just know that when you are done – you will be so proud of yourself.

           We’re done talking about it. You have a plan. You’ve made the commitment. Remember, getting started will take will take the most effort.

a.       Ask why you are putting the project off – and decide if your project needs doing.

b.      Schedule your starting time.

c.       Make a commitment.

d.      Start with baby steps.

e.       Visualize the completed project

f.       Ask for help if you need it.

g.      Focus until the end.

h.      Reward yourself for a job well done!

     There’s nothing to it. After you tackle the first item on your ‘to-do list’ . . . head straight to the list and enjoy a rewarding check-mark in the ‘completed’ box.  Now you’re ready to start all over and tackle the next item on the list.  Procrastination?  What’s that??