Oct. 14, 2009 - Win the Battle
This excerpt was in my Psychology textbook, and I thought of how much I needed it! :)
*
How to Win against Procrastination
Have you ever thought of all the things you could do if only you had more time?
If so, it makes sense for you to learn how to overcome the greatest time waster of all - procrastination. Research indicates that procrastination arises partly out of a lack of confidence in one's ability to meet expectations. Once procrastination begins it often persists for years. Nevertheless, anyone can overcome procrastination, and gain self-confidence in the process, by using behavior modification techniques.
Identify ~ what areas and environments do you habitually put off tasks. Are things distracting you, why? Use these distractors to motivate you to complete the task so you can return to them.
Schedule ~ make lists, calendars, and whatever creative tools you can to serve as reminders and don't forget deadlines! If you set a date and time to start on a project instead of a date and time to be finished you will get the task done ahead of time.
Get Started ~ this is the hardest part! Doing something now disturbs the joy of doing it later, it moves you from the comfortable state of ease and laziness. Give yourself rewards for doing it now. This is very important!
Don't Skip ~ beware of jumping to another task when you reach a difficult part of a project. You end up with more things left hanging and less time to complete them! You will see the adantage of progress if you stick to it.
Preparation Overkill ~ you may actually spend more time preparing for a task rather than working on it. This only postpones your completetion! Just get started and do what is necessary. Procrastinators love preparation overkill.
Reasons ~ make a record of the reasons and rationaliztion for postponing a project. Do these reasons seem justifiable and proactive to you? What could you do if you had the project completed? Begin now! Don't procrastinate.
*
This article was written on procrastinating in homework and studying, but I made it general because it seemed a great quick reminder of the advantage of action!
I am a procrastinator who is making steps to change! (I am at the checklist part! lol)
Comments
Oct. 15, 2009 - Good Post !!!
Posted by Anonymous
This is so true. Thanks for sharing. I need to work harder on this area. You are such a blessing:-) and an inspiration, too.
Love
Mom
