Get things DONE.

Put Off Procrastination - Get things Done

If constantly putting tasks off till later is causing you stress and consistently making you feel dissapointed in yourself, then here are a few tips to help you to stop procrastination in its tracks once and for all!

Causes of Procrastination

Identifying the causes of procrastination is the first step in overcoming procrastination.

You've probably resolved to make a change, but once again you find yourself in familiar territory of leaving things till the last minute.

Procrastination has the potential to rob you of your potential.

Is procrastination:

• causing you stress
• reducing the quality of your work
• souring your relationships with colleagues and family?

If so, then it is time to act.

Procrastination is not about a lack of willpower!

Psychologists have identified a number of causes of procrastination. These include:

• a lack of clear goals
• indecision
• fear of failure
• anger and resentment
• feeling overwhelmed
• fatigued or tired.

1) Do the unpleasant stuff first.

One of the reasons we put off certain tasks is because some aspect of them is unpleasant; for example we may need to make a difficult telephone call or perform our least favorite chore. Write down the worst tasks which need doing each day and make sure you do them first. Try not to think about it too much, just get stuck in- you find that the most unpleasant tasks often turn out to be a lot easier than you think once you take action. Give yourself a little reward when you have completed them, such as a coffee and an hour of T.V relaxation time.

 Once these are out the way, you will feel more motivated to tackle the easier stuff on your list.

2) Sometimes we procrastinate because we lack focus and direction
of what needs to be done. Make a list of what tasks need to be completed each day, and prioritize them in order of importance (or unpleasantness!) Commit to starting and finishing the first item on the list before moving to the next. Make a step by step plan for each task and commit yourself to completing one step at a time.

3) The task appears too big.

Any task which appears to be too big can cause us to procrastinate, as we can feel overwhelmed by it, such as clearing your whole house or starting a business. The best way of dealing with this is to break each task down into smaller, more manageable steps- for the house clearance example, you may decide to start with one room, or an area of one room. If the task is starting your own business you may set yourself smaller tasks such as spending time researching your business idea, then working on acquiring skills you may need.

Steps 4-6 in the next issue.

Until then:  GET THINGS DONE and you can feel like these guys -