Procrastination; beat the beast and manage your time. Get everything done!
Is procrastination, indecision or lack of motivation holding you back? Read on!
Do you want to learn how to get motivated and overcome procrastination once and for all?
If you have found yourself putting off tasks over and again and when you read headlines about procrastination you cringe, then you’re not alone.
In fact most people procrastinate to some degree – however there are degrees that some people work with and manage to achieve part of their goals and still have the frustration of not getting all that they are hoping for done. Some people are so affected that they are stopped from fulfilling their potential and this then disrupts their career and breeds an unsettled spirit in them.
There are three steps that you can use right now to deal with procrastination and control your outcomes to achieve your goals, all of this will happen while you do not have to work harder, it is a question of working smarter and understanding the outcomes you want. When setting an outcome, Stephen Covey says: “Begin with the end in mind” Decide what you want and believe that you will get it. This first step of knowing your outcome will help you make great decisions.
When setting the outcome the most important thing to focus on is what do you want. This may seem obvious, however, this is the time to set powerful goals and focus on them. The outcome needs to be measurable and stated in the positive. This enables the mind’s eye to see where it needs to go and what it needs to achieve.
Step One
Recognise that you are doing it.
As with many self-sabotaging behaviors, the first step in stopping procrastinating is to recognize that you’re doing it. But this isn’t always as straightforward as it sounds! Many procrastinators persuade themselves that they have good reasons for delaying getting on with what they have to do. And once you’ve got into a “victim” mindset (which many procrastinators do), you may not realize that what you’re doing is procrastinating, and that it’s up to you to overcome it.
Here are a few signs of a procrastinator:
1) Doing each day tasks that can easily be achieved with out tackling the major projects
2) They keep thinking about all the things that could go wrong
3) They don’t do something to achieve their goal at least once a week
4) They spend their time planning but not doing
5) Having items on your to-do-list for a long time and even though you know they are important
6) Noticing that when you are about to tackle a high priority task you need a coffee or your desk needs to be tidied
7) Reading your emails as soon as they arrive
Allowing your time to be dictated by being in the “right mood” for working
Step Two
Recognise why you are doing it.
As humans we do more to avoid pain than we do to feel pleasure. Which means we will do more to stay safe and comfortable than we will to take a risk of failing. This aspect of being human is the Number One Reason people fall short of their goals and don’t achieve their outcomes.
One reason for procrastination is that people find a particular job unpleasant, and try to avoid it because of that. Most jobs have unpleasant or boring aspects to them, and often the best way of dealing with these is to get them over and done with quickly, so that you can focus on the more enjoyable aspects of the job.
Being disorganised is a major problem for many people who want to achieve their goals and continually fall short. To overcome this, many highly productive people schedule specific activities in preplanned time slots all day long. These people build their work lives around accomplishing key tasks one at a time. As a result, they become more and more productive and eventually produce two times, three times and five times as much as the average person.
To beat Overwhelm, Some people allocate specific 30-60 minute time periods each day for exercise. Many people read in the great books 15 minutes each night before retiring. In this way, over time, they eventually read dozens of the best books ever written. The key to the success of this method of working in specific time segments is for you to plan your day in advance and specifically schedule a fixed time period for a particular activity or task.
You will make work appointments with yourself and then discipline yourself to keep them. You set aside thirty, sixty and ninety minute time segments that you use to work on and complete important tasks.
Step Three
How to Beat Procrastination
There is a powerful formula for setting and achieving goals that you can use for the rest of your life. It consists of seven simple steps. Any one of these steps can double and triple your productivity if you are not currently using it.
• Step one: Have clarity in your thoughts and decide exactly what you want.
• Step two: Write them down and state it as you want it to be.
• Step three: Set a deadline on your goal, use times and dates that have realistic time frames
• Step four: Develop a priorities list. List everything that you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal.
• Step five: Organize the list into a plan.
• Step six: Take action on your plan immediately.
• Step seven: Resolve to do something every single day that moves you toward your major goal.
All our worries, doubts and fears don’t change the one truth: we are here to become the best versions of ourselves we can be. For that to happen we have to find a way to overcome whatever we think is holding us back.
That is where we need a Business Mentor.
When setting the outcome the most important thing to focus on is what do you want. This may seem obvious, however, this is the time to set powerful goals and focus on them. The outcome needs to be measurable and stated in the positive. This enables the mind’s eye to see where it needs to go and what it needs to achieve.
Clear, written outcomes and goals have a wonderful effect on your thinking. They motivate you and galvanize you into action. They stimulate your creativity, release your energy, and help you to overcome procrastination as much as any other factor.
These are the two steps that you can take right now:
Firstly, apply all that you have read
Secondly, engage the services of a Business Mentor to work alongside you
To know more about making Time Management and how to have success in your life and work email Peter Blasch.
Also to become a Time Management Master, visit http://www.timemanagementmastery.com.au
I look forward to spending more time with you soon
Cheers
Peter
