Don’t Put Off For Tomorrow What Should Be Done Already

Posted by Trisha Wagner on November 3, 2008

Procrastination……something that I must really work on….one day. I’m fairly certain they didn’t coin this term for my behavior alone, so I’m guessing the rest of you probably face the same dilemma on occasion. So what can you do to put a stop to the delay in starting something?

First you must acknowledge why you are putting things off. Are you avoiding unpleasant or time consuming tasks? Are you overwhelmed with all you have to do? Maybe you feel like you will never get to the end of the to-do list?. I know I feel all of those things and more just about each day anymore. A good friend sent me some info today (hint, hint) and I decided to outline my take on it here to perhaps ingrain it into my mind and maybe even help someone else who might be suffering the same ailment.

Pick Your Poison. Every person I know has too much going on. Too much at work, after work, in the home, outside the home. You name it, we are a society that runs itself ragged and then we ponder why we are losing our minds. Some times you have to sit down and make yourself (yet another list) only this time you are going to list your projects, tasks, or things you otherwise want to accomplish in order of importance. What things must be done first to benefit you the most. What things can be delegated, eliminated, or put off for later. By making your list more manageable you are more likely to start and finish the important tasks. In most cases once you begin the process you will likely find your list is really not that unmanageable as you once thought.
Report Your Progress. Be it a friend, your mom, your lawyer, someone. If you are the only one who knows what you are putting off, you have no accountability and therefore no one to answer to if you put off the work. However it is human nature that if you tell someone else you are working on a project or have a deadline or would like their help to review your work, you will be more likely to complete the task.
Break Down Big Projects. We’ve all heard the saying, a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step….or something like that. The same theory applies for large or daunting tasks. By breaking it down to many smaller steps it doesn’t seem quite so unattainable. Make yourself a deadline for each step rather than the entire project to see your progress much quicker. The key is to get started. If you can’t possible consider working for even an hour, make yourself work for five minutes. In most cases you will find that once you get rolling, you can go beyond your first milestone. And if you don’t, you have at least started the journey and can pick up there the next time.
Don’t Defeat Yourself With Distractions. Turn off the TV, turn off the phone, lock yourself in your closet, do whatever you have to in order to work uninterrupted. If this means putting in some hours when the kids go to bed or getting up an hour earlier before the rest of the house, then do it. If you are struggling in the first place to work on something, you will likely welcome any reason to continue putting it off. However if you allow yourself time to focus and take the first step you are one step closer to success.