Overcoming the Plight of Procrastination
Quicker and quicker things are being accomplished in today's
world. Computers, PDAs, cell phones, and many more marvels of
modern technology have enabled us to accomplish more in less
time then we could have imagined a mere 10-15 years ago. With
all this ability to get things done at our fingertips, why do so
many put off their responsibilities and even their dreams? Why
do they put off accomplishing tasks that would launch their
careers, their relationship, or their self-esteem to new
heights? Why do they continue to endure the pain of wondering
"What if?" Let us spend a few minutes answering those questions,
as well as sharing some steps, you can take to avoid becoming
(or remaining) at the mercy of the plight of procrastination.
Fear tops our list as we try to answer these questions. "The
main reason people procrastinate is fear," says Neil Fiore,
Ph.D., and author of The Now Habit. Many procrastinators fear
they will not accomplish what they are setting out to do. They
fear they do not have the necessary talent or the needed tools
to complete the task. They fear they will look foolish or
amateurish in the eyes of their peers. Most of them would prefer
to be called lazy and be seen as lacking in effort. Rather than
make consistent timely attempts, risk faltering in these
attempts, and be seen as lacking in ability. For example - we
all can name any number of students that would blame the failing
of a mid-term on only studying the night prior to the test,
rather than admit to themselves that they could have gotten help
via a tutor or simply by applying their time to hitting the
books more regularly and consistently during the semester.
Perfectionism also ranks high on the procrastination list. So
many believe that they must create the perfect essay, the
perfect presentation, or the perfect business model. In this
push for perfection, they put off even getting started.
Insecurity plays into this as well. Those that do their best
because they have a true desire to win or to succeed tend not to
procrastinate. However, those that think they must be perfect in
order to gain acceptance, or to please those around them, often
put off important tasks. This belief that you must do something
perfectly from the onset will cause you stress. You will then
associate stress to the task, and thus you will tend to avoid
the task to avoid the stress. Eventually when there is not
enough time to complete the task perfectly, you let yourself off
the hook. For then you will be telling yourself, "If only I had
enough time I would..."
Beliefs at times will also be the root cause of procrastination.
Beliefs such as "I work better under pressure," "I don't have
the knowledge (or skills) to accomplish this task," or "this
task is such a mammoth undertaking. Am I up to it?" all have the
potential to cause procrastination. In addition, choice stealing
thoughts/beliefs along the lines of "I must..." will push you to
put off tasks as you will feel a bit of resentment at not having
a choice. Take a moment and ask yourself what thoughts were
keeping you from your task the last time you fell victim to the
plight of procrastination?
Action is the first step to overcoming the plight of
procrastination. While that may sound simple, those that have
fallen victim to procrastination will attest, it is easier said
than done. So let us take a look at some solutions the will
empower you and help you fend off procrastination, allowing you
to reach your goals in a timelier manner.
My first and most impassioned recommendation is to set goals.
Real goal setting will do wonders for most every symptom that
makes us sick with procrastination. Sitting down and seriously
setting out your goals for your desires, your business, your
career and even your family and social life will reap amazing
results, if you follow through. Trust me when I say that follow
through will become much easier with a real set of laid out
goals for all areas of your life. So step one of overcoming the
plight of procrastination if becoming a goal setter. For more
information and some basic guidelines around goals setting,
please review the article "Goal Setting 101." This article is
available via email: mailto:successarticle_9@sendfree.com. Use
the goal setting process to address any/all of your fears as
well. If your fears reside in the area of knowledge - then set
goals to get the knowledge you seek. If time does not allow you
to get the knowledge via conventional means - then find a
resource that already has the needed knowledge and get it from
them. You would be surprised how many people out there would
love to share their hard-earned knowledge. I find most people
are even flattered by the request.
Avoid "I must..." style statements. "I must," and "I have to,"
style assertions affect your outlook to a mood of not having a
choice and you risk feeling resentment. Your control over your
life really starts with what you think on a regular basis. It's
like the saying goes, "You are not what you think you are. But,
what you think, YOU ARE." You must recognize that you do have a
choice. This realization will enable you to move from "I must,"
to "I want to!" Do not get me wrong I know there are situations
where your choice does not seem to be yours, but if you think it
through - the choice is ultimately yours. You do not HAVE to
keep spending money to market your product - but that CHOICE not
to market your product will seriously cramp the growth you want
in your business revenue.
For all my perfectionist friends - allow yourself permission to
do a 50% solution first. Your urge to do it 100% right on the
first try will be your biggest challenge. During your goal
setting process, I encourage you to make the "quick and dirty"
solution one of your sub-goals. If your goal is cleaning the
garage, then perhaps your quick and dirty solution can be -
"Getting rid of all the trash." Surly that does not constitute
the 100% solution of a clean garage but it at least serves a
stepping stone to the level of perfection your striving to
achieve. If you break down your overall goal, in this case
cleaning the garage, into smaller sub-goals; get out all the
trash, organize the garden tools, straighten the shelves, dust,
sweep the floor, paint the walls, etc. Then your perfectionist
urge can help - if you apply it to the smaller sub-goals
appropriately in order to accomplish the overall goal of
cleaning the garage. You have to remember you are only human and
the imperfect job completed today is far superior to the perfect
job postponed indefinitely. You can always revise it and make it
better - once it is started.
The last tip I am going to leave you with is the quickest one
you can put into action today: The 30-minute plan. Select a
small piece of work that you can commit thirty minutes to. Next,
choose a reward for yourself - one that you will claim once you
have worked on this task for the allotted thirty minutes. No
matter what you accomplish in the thirty minutes, the reward is
yours - as long as you put in the time. The reward you choose is
purely up to you and your preferences. For me rewards such as
thirty minutes of game time on my favorite Xbox game are a
motivating reward, or watching my favorite TV program etc. Your
rewards must be meaningful to you. The idea is to shift your
focus from the displeasure of doing the task to the pleasure of
the reward. The idea here is that if the reward is worthy, then
you will be able to endure the mere thirty minutes of real
effort in order to reach it.
What will happen, most of the time, once you sit down to put in
your thirty minutes, is that you will work forty-five, sixty, or
more without giving it a second thought. You will actually get
so involved in the task, even if it is a difficult one, that you
will WANT to keep working on it. The next thing you know, one
hour or more has passed and you have actually accomplished
something. All the while, the reward you identified was there.
Once those first thirty minutes went by you could have
rightfully claimed it. However, what happened was that once you
sat down and began working on your task your focus shifted. It
moved from the worry and fret of the task to focusing on
completing the current piece of work placed before you in this
small thirty-minute window.
Once you decide to stop working, claim your reward (as long as
you have put in your thirty minutes). Enjoy your reward you
earned it! Then quickly schedule your next thirty-minute block
of time and select the reward for that block as well. You will
quickly begin to associate more pleasure to the task and its
completion as you realize that your rewards will immediately
follow your efforts.
Well you now have a few tactics for fighting the plight of
procrastination. I would encourage you to go through the goal
setting process outlined in the article "Goal Setting 101."
Then, combine those goals, sub-goals, and action tasks with the
thirty-minute plan. With that, you will begin to move yourself
quickly along the road towards reaching those goals one half
hour at a time.
Think Successfully & Take Action. Tracy
http://www.SuccessAtlas.com (C) Tracy Brinkmann 2000-2005 all
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