Procrastination: This thief of time can quietly rob you of precious minutes, yea hours, before you realize they’re gone. You search for them and wonder where the time has gone, but it’s too late.
The task you intended to complete today was put off until tomorrow and there was good reason to do so, but you can’t remember why just now. Procrastination comes in many disguises. It’s called rationalization sometimes. You say, “I didn’t get started on that project because the weather was too hot or I didn’t have all the parts.”
Before you know it, procrastination has become a habit.
Here are some tips to break it once and for all:
1. Real reason … or excuse?
Ask yourself if that job really needs to be done and if your answer is yes then get it done and then reward yourself for a victory over procrastination.
2. Get Organised!
Disorganization is the father of procrastination. Get organized with a to-do list with the most urgent at the top. Make a deal with yourself that you cannot do anything else until you accomplish at least one thing on the list. You can make giant strides with tiny steps.
Which leads to my third tip:
3. Break Big Tasks Into Tiny Chunks
A small manageable task is much more palatable than trying to swallow an entire project. If you’ve taken on a long project such as writing a book or building a house, you can’t see light at the end of the tunnel because the elephant is standing in the way. Cut small slices out of that elephant one at a time and soon it will be gone. No matter how small the success it’s another step toward completion.
Fear of failure can cause procrastination – and becomes a self fulfilling prophecy if you let it get the better of you.
If you find these tips overwhelming, just take one of them – and use it now!
And then you’ve started.
