A Few Tips To Help Stop Procrastinating
I didn’t realize that it’s been a week since I updated this blog. I was offline for about 5 days except for an occasional check on e-mail, but I did no ec dropping or updates for my other 2 blogs either, it was a welcome break because I know I was getting eyestrain from this computer.
Thanksgiving of course has come and gone which was very nice, but I’m tired of turkey now. It wont be long till Christmas and thank goodness we have the shopping done, now all I have to do is wrap them and put them under the tree which I meant to put up today, but didn’t get around to it.
I am a procrastinator and quite good at it and when I found this article among some of the articles I have on my computer I thought it was very helpful so I have decided to post it below. If you’ve decided you also would like to stop putting things off and avoiding things that you don’t want to do then you might appreciate some of these ideas.
Take an Inventory of what needs to be done.
Sometimes we avoid even bringing to the forefront of our brains what we have to do, and if we don’t think about it, we can’t do it. So THINK about what needs to be done. Make it a priority in your head.
How Do You Procrastinate?
Are you of the mindset that if I ignore it, it will magically go away? Here’s a news flash for you: WRONG! It won’t go away. Those dirty dishes in the sink that are now covered in a pretty green hairy-looking fur? Nope, they won’t do themselves and they won’t disappear either. Ignoring things never makes them better.
Do you try to do everything BUT what you SHOULD be doing? Once you recognize how you procrastinate, you’ll better be able to put a stop to it. Often we don’t even realize that we are procrastinating until it’s too late and we’ve missed a deadline.
Create a Productive Environment.
Turn the TV off, unplug the phone, close your door and concentrate. It’s difficult to put your mind to something and get it done if there are distractions around. Lessen the distractions and you’ll see a drop in your procrastination.
I work better under pressure.
So in order to fulfill that self-fulfilling prophecy, you wait until the very last minute, right before that term paper is due, or that report is due at work and then you pull an all-nighter to make it happen. This is not a healthy habit as it increases your stress level.
Break Down the Job.
You have a job to do and it looks enormous. You could never, ever complete a job that big, so why even start? If that’s your mindset, then you probably won’t finish the job. In order to combat this kind of thinking, break the job or task down into small, manageable chunks.
Change Your Attitude.
Often times we don’t begin something we have to do because we tell ourselves how difficult it’s going to be, or how disgusting the job is and how much we’re going to hate doing it. By giving ourselves reverse-pep talks we give ourselves permission to avoid beginning the task at hand. When you hear yourself doing this, change your attitude. .
Ask Someone for Help.
If you have a big job to do, then ask a friend or a coworker to help you be accountable for working on it. Let them check up on you every so often to see that you’re making progress and soon you’ll find that the job is completed. The Buddy System isn’t just for deep sea divers anymore!
Keep What Needs to be Accomplished in Plain Sight.
If something is hidden, you are less likely to think about it and it’s even more unlikely that you’ll ever finish it, much less start it. Keep what needs to be done where you can see it. A visual reminder is always a good thing.
Once you know how you procrastinate, you will be better able to catch yourself before it gets out of hand.
