How precious is your time? Do you value it like you value your money? No? Then stop reading because procrastination is JUST FOR YOU! If you do value your time, then keep reading.
So letβs break this procrastination thing down.
Procrastination is the action of delaying or postponing something, usually because itβs either an undesirable task or a difficult one, but sometimes because of distraction. No matter what the cause, something is keeping you from doing what youβre supposed to do.
The War on Procrastination is ongoing and will never end as long as you have a To-Do list. There will always be an excuse to keep you from getting things done, so the best way to attack it is one battle at a time. Before you go into battle, you must do a little research, or soul searching first.
Know your enemy
You know yourself better than anyone else. Whether you want to admit your flaws or not, you know your likes and dislikes, and thatβs what is being used against you in the Procrastination War. So the best way to defend yourself from procrastination is to know yourself, because βJust Do Itβ is just a slogan, not a strategic plan.
What about Willpower?
Even if you know what youβre capable of and you believe you have maximum mental cosmic strength, willpower is not reliable. If it were, the war would be over, and you wouldnβt be reading this!
Willpower depends on
- Intent – How important is it to you?
- Motivation – How bad do you want to do it?
- Mood – Do you feel like doing it?
- Circumstances – Do you anticipate any distractions?
All of these things can change at any time. Think about the last thing you had to do, but you didnβt want to do. Did you use willpower? Did you procrastinate? Or was it a little bit of both? Itβs not easy to do, is it?
Defeating Procrastination
Of course, there are many different ways to do this, but Iβm going to tell you about what works for me. I also wonβt go into distractions because thatβs a very personal thing that only you can control. I would, however, suggest that you recognize your distractions and limit them as much as possible.
Everyone knows that to eat an elephant you take one bite at a time, but what happens to the elephant while youβre taking those bites? Not sure? Replace the elephant with a fish of the same size.
Now you get it. It smells. It smells so awful that you donβt even want to go NEAR it, much less eat it! Thatβs what leads to procrastination. That brings me to another wise saying that everyone has heard at some point in their lives.
Donβt bite off more than you can chew.
In other words, if you know you canβt handle eating all of an elephant before it starts to smell, then why even attempt it? Of course, there will be times when there wonβt be any choice but to tackle the elephant, and in those times Iβd highly recommend not doing it alone. When you work with someone else, itβs hard to procrastinate because youβre holding each other accountable.
When you have an undesirable thing to do, consider breaking it up into manageable sections, so it doesnβt seem so bad.
Hereβs an example:
After throwing a birthday party in your home, the place is a mess, especially in the kitchen. Youβre exhausted and decide to wait until the morning to clean up (which is completely understandable!). The next morning you get up and immediately remember that your home is in shambles. Now what?
Breakfast and coffee are a must, but the kitchen is a mess. You can either go out for breakfast or clean up and make your own. Itβs just the kitchen, not the whole house, and you canβt eat out forever, or else itβll start to stink like that elephant. So, in order to be able to have breakfast and coffee, you have to do the dishes. Just the dishes. Then you can have breakfast and coffee. An empty stomach is a great motivator! Now that youβve got the kitchen somewhat in order and youβve eaten, the rest wonβt be as bad.
In this example, you gave yourself a break and tackled the worst room first (not to mention you saved yourself some money!). The break was the key component in avoiding procrastination in this example. Self-care is vital to getting anything done. If you arenβt well rested, you will make mistakes that can end up being costly. Imagine trying to clean while being tired and frustrated. Youβd never have another party again! By getting your rest first, youβre able to think clearly and make better decisions. Now, I wouldnβt suggest going for a massage after going out for breakfast because that would definitely be procrastination!
Tackling the worst room is also an important part of avoiding procrastination. When thereβs a list of things to do, people tend to do all of the desirable things first, and then leave the undesirable things for last. Thatβs right, another form of procrastinating. By doing the hardest thing first, youβre rewarding yourself with the more manageable tasks!
Optional Homework:
Make a list of the things that distract you and the excuses you like to use to avoid doing what you need to do. Post it somewhere prominent so youβll be able to know when youβre procrastinating and redirect yourself.