Procrastination is a problem that many of us struggle with on a regular basis. My sister used to be the ultimate procrastinator. I remember visiting her once when she was in college and she was writing two term papers at the same time. Both papers were due the following morning, and she’d only started them that night. That’s what you call putting things off until the last minute!

Procrastination is a habit. You do it so often that it’s what you become accustomed to. Before you know it procrastinating becomes normal.

There are a few basic ways things that cause people to procrastinate. Do you see yourself in any of these?

Poor time management

Allotting less time for a task than it requires is easy to do. I’m guilty of this one. I tend to put things off until the day before it needs to be done thinking that I’ll have plenty of time. When the time to complete the task arrives, I realize that the task is bigger than I thought.

Replacing a task with smaller tasks

Have your ever sat down to do a big project and then noticed that the floor needs vacuuming. When you’re done vacuuming you notice some streaks on the bathroom mirror and start cleaning that. Then you go to the kitchen and see a sink full of dishes that need washing. By the time the day’s over the house is clean, but you haven’t even started that project you were supposed to do.

The right time

Some people seem to think that the time has to be right in order to do just about anything. If you are waiting for the right time to complete a task, be well aware that the right time might never come.

Indecision

Do you have trouble making choices? This might be keeping you from getting tasks completed in a timely manner.

Fear of failure

Sometimes I’m afraid of doing something badly even though I’ve tried my hardest. This causes me to put things off until the last minute. Then I end up doing a rushed job. That way if I complete the task badly, I have an excuse. I know it’s lame, but it’s true.

You just don’t want to do it

If you don’t want to do something you put it off. You may even think that if you put it off long enough, you won’t have to do it at all. Well, it doesn’t work that way.

Crisis Mode

If you procrastinate all the time you end up living your life in crisis mode. This means that you always have some task that needs to be done right away, because you’ve waited too long to try to complete it. When you’re living your life in crisis mode, you tend to ignore your physical health. You have no time to exercise. You skip meals and eat junk food on the run. You drive too fast and are generally more on edge when dealing with family and friends.

Some people think they strive on stress. They put things off because they think that doing something at the last minute will somehow improve their performance.

When under stress your body releases the hormones cortisol and adrenaline. The short term effects of these hormones are good for dealing with stress. They make your mind sharper so you can think more clearly and solve problems more efficiently. The problem is that long term exposure to these hormones reek havoc on your body. They speed the aging process. Prolonged exposure can cause weight gain, short term memory loss, insomnia, poor judgement, weakened immune system and a short temper. Those are just a few of the negative effects. In general, they make you old.

Breaking the Habit

Habits are hard to break, especially the bad habit of procrastination, but with some planning you can learn how to stop doing it.

Divide long tasks into smaller ones

I’ve talked about doing this with long term goals before, but you can do this with any big task. Dividing it into smaller tasks makes it seem easier to accomplish.

Make a schedule

Keep a calender and write down when your projects need to be completed. Schedule in work time for completing each project.

Do unpleasant tasks first

I like get the things I don’t really want to do over and done with quickly. That way they aren’t hanging over my head. If they’re completed and out of the way, you don’t have to think about them.

Don’t try to be perfect

Nobody’s perfect. Do your best, but recognize that it’s not going to be perfect.

Focus

Commit yourself to doing one task in an allotted amount of time. Don’t let other projects distract you.

Reward yourself

When you’ve completed a project, do something nice for yourself.

Photo by Invisible Hour

Tweet This   Stumble This  

Related Posts

• Persistence: An Important Ingredient for Success
• How to Reach Your Full Potential
• Is Your Sense of Entitlement Holding You Back?
• Enjoying the Process