Having understood what is procrastination and having done a personal evaluation to see if you have been procrastinating, the next thing one should look out for are the reasons why one procrastinates and how to avoid this.
- Do you find some tasks boring?
- Do you lack proper organizational skills?
How do you avoid procrastination?
- Forgive yourself – This will help you feel better about yourself and avoid procrastinating in the future
- Commit to the task – focus on the doing not the avoiding, write down the tasks that you need to complete, and specify a time for doing them. Setting yourself specific deadlines to complete tasks will keep you on track to achieve your goals, and will mean that you have no time for procrastination! Successful effective people are those who launch directly into their major tasks and then discipline themselves to work steadily and single-mindedly until those tasks are complete.
- Aim to “eat that frog” first thing, every day! If you have to eat two frogs, Start with the ugliest! Get those tasks that you find least pleasant and the hardest out of the way early at your peak times. This will give you the rest of the day to concentrate on work that you find more enjoyable.
- Act as you go. Tackle tasks as soon as they arise, rather than letting them build up over another day. “ if you have to eat a live frog at all, it doesn’t pay to sit and look at it for very long.’ Brian Tracy
- Be accountable to someone, ask someone to check up on you. It could be a colleague or a friend or family member. Peer pressure works! This is the principle behind self-help groups
- Rephrase your internal dialog. The phrases “need to” and “have to,” for example, imply that you have no choice in what you do. This can make you feel disempowered and might even result in self sabotage. However, saying, “I choose to,” implies that you own a project, and can make you feel more in control of your workload.
- Minimize distractions turn off your email and social media, and avoid sitting anywhere near a television while you work!
- Promise yourself a reward. If you complete a difficult task on time, reward yourself with a treat. And make sure you notice how good it feels to finish things!
Action point:
Try the above and evaluate how you feel. Focus on the emotion that results from doing a task that you would have otherwise put off. Feel the surge of positive energy, your enthusiasm, your self-esteem and the desire to tackle more tasks that yield great satisfaction. The more important the completed task, the happier, more confident and more powerful you will feel about yourself and your world. Remember to reward yourself as you go!
