Hey guys! Thanks for taking the time out to stop by my little corner of the interwebs!
How hard have you tried to overcome procrastination? It’s like the plague, isn’t it? It just never goes away no matter how many times we make that conscious decision or put in that extra effort to kick it to the curb. Procrastination just never goes away. Think of all the things you said you would’ve done in 2019. What does your list look like? Did you make a dent? There are only 76 days left in the year but…no pressure! Believe me you, I’m procrastinating right now while preparing this blog post. Lol. The truth is that we know the consequences of procrastination. Can you remember a time when you had a deadline. Maybe 2 weeks. You thought you had enough time so you didn’t start the task right away. Perhaps, you already worked out a timeline in your head. “It really only takes 3 days to do this…I can start 5 days before the deadline and still be on time.” Then something happens and you don’t even start until like 2 days before the deadline. CRUNCH TIME! You’re now scrambling around, being irritable, team no sleep and all. Maybe you did meet the deadline but you could’ve avoided the stress with an earlier start time. Sounds familiar? There has to be a way to trick our minds into doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done how it needs to be done. I’ve searched high and low for some tips to share with you. Hope it helps!
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What is the reason for your procrastination? Is it due to your perfectionist ways? Worried about not getting it right? The fear of failure may be partly credited for why we hesitate to launch that big idea we’ve had for years. Time passes by quickly and we still haven’t made the first move. The truth is, failure is a natural part of life. Who even says your’e gonna fail, anyways? You’ll never know until you start. Imagine if instead of putting it off, you actually started when you said you would’ve…like 3 years ago! Don’t mind me, I’m talking to myself here. Don’t be afraid to fail. Don’t be afraid to try something new either. It’s worth a shot.
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Prepare but don’t over-prepare. We tend to over-prepare…trying to work out ALL the kinks in our head before doing what needs to be done. We think of ALL the possible things that we need a solution for before the problem even arises. Meanwhile, someone else is out there doing the damn thing and working through the kinks as they go along. Before you know it, we never actually did anything besides planning. All that preparation was for nought. Am I just talking to myself, here?
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Understand why you need to take a particular action in the first place. What will it profit me to not hit the snooze button for the third time this morning? This one hits hard. I know if I sleep for an extra 30 minutes, I’ll still be early for work…very early…but I probably won’t get my choice of a parking spot. I’ll probably encounter so much traffic. What about that appointment you set for 11 am. If you’re like me, you’re probably chilling at home until maybe 10:15 when you finally decide to get ready and eventually leave the house at like 10:55. Have you ever stopped to think about what prevented you from doing something earlier? Was the reason valid?
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It all starts with the first step. Not the first big step, not the moving of the first mountain nor the first jump off the cliff…it just starts with the first step. Take the first step towards whatever it is that you’ve been planning to do. Even if you don’t feel the vibe at the moment, take the first step. It’s quite likely that after you take step number 1, you’ll want to take step number 2. Soon after you’ll see some progress, albeit small. Then comes step number 3. After that, ride the momentum til’ the wheels fall off!
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Try breaking up large tasks into smaller chunks. Oftentimes we are overwhelmed with the magnitude of the task. Think of cardio for a second. Trick your brain into thinking you have four 5 minute segments instead of a whole 20 minutes to go. Well, maybe that won’t work but you know what I’m talking about. Consider dividing the task and knock them out of the way one by one until you’re done.
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Definitely set a deadline and stick to it. A realistic deadline…without too much leeway. You don’t want to give yourself room to take a mile when all you need is an inch. Short term goals that lead to an ultimate goal seem to work well.
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You might need an accountability partner. Accountability usually drives commitment. Find someone who will give you that extra push or encouragement when you need it. Have little meetings to discuss your progress. Perhaps, you both need to kick procrastination’s butt. Help each other out.
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Limit the distractions. Social media, though! Youtube!!! Need I say more? Perhaps, try powering off your phone for an hour. Start with just one hour. You an do it. Get something done within that time. You’ll see that it was worth it.
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And now for the fun part! Reward yourself for crushing goals. Motivation is key. This is a whole other topic that I’ll save for another time.
Whatever you do, tell yourself that you need to accomplish X,Y and Z within a definite time period. I know it’s not that simple and it’s easier said than done. Imagine all that you could really be accomplishing in a week, a month, a year if you adopt these tips.
Until next time, my dears, be well!