Let's not lie: each of us is familiar with procrastination firsthand. Most are even able to courageously admit that from time to time we intentionally (or not?) delay making an important decision that can affect our lives. It could be a trip to the dentist, a large or small task waiting to be completed, or something as simple as cleaning the house. Today we will try to find out in what situations one should be on guard and what can help in the guerrilla fight against this unfavorable quality for a person.
Without delay, let's get started.
Determine if you really need to do this
Perhaps the reason for your procrastination lies in the lack of a compelling reason to take action. A job that you can’t stand, or something else that you haven’t loved since childhood, that you always wanted to get rid of, is in a completely different category, which does not include dreams and real goals.
In such situations, I would advise you to first of all approach the assessment of the upcoming task critically: why waste time on something that you absolutely do not like, if there are many other tasks that are a pleasure to take on?
Wake up early
Do you want to do everything? You'll have to reconsider your regime. Yes, sitting until the morning with a cup of coffee and frantically typing articles is a very exciting process, but to prevent this from happening regularly, wake up early. This will give you extra time that you can spend on finishing things you have already started and planning further actions. This is especially true for people who are too busy during the daytime.
Conduct a little “reconnaissance in force”
Once you've figured out which tasks are idle, take one of them and complete a small portion of it to get a feel for the difficulty level. Based on the impressions received during the process, decide whether you need help.
Often we overload ourselves with thoughts about how many things need to be done, and then we cannot move, imagining an endless list of tasks: there are many of them, but the worker, that is, you, is alone. This approach is obviously wrong. What if you spend, say, 15 minutes or half an hour on a pressing issue? It is likely that you will get a taste for it, thereby moving the needle.
Making lists is an easy way to stop procrastinating
To stop putting things off until later, it is important to understand: any action, even a mistaken one, is better than inertia and downtime. Moreover, when you make mistakes, you will only work harder, adjust your activities - and ultimately this will lead to the desired result.
By putting it off until tomorrow, you only increase the size of the problem. The issue will still have to be resolved, but this will require much more strength and energy. The task will be completed in a hurry and in a bad mood, and this will certainly affect work efficiency.
Making a to-do list will help you stop procrastinating. The only condition is that this list must be compiled correctly:
- Take a piece of paper and write down all your upcoming tasks.
- Analyze what you have written. Perhaps some things have already lost their relevance and can be crossed off the list? Are there any cases there that can be replaced or combined? Make any necessary corrections.
- Break down tasks into short-term ones, which can be completed immediately, and long-term ones, which will take some time to complete.
- Start doing things by checking the list you received. And start doing this immediately, without putting it off until tomorrow.
Listen to yourself. And do the opposite
Best friend “I’ll do it tomorrow” - “I don’t want something.” If rebellious sentiments grow in the soul, we must fight them as decisively and harshly as international terrorism. After all, if you follow your desire to do nothing, what will happen next? That's right, nothing.
So, before you take on something that cannot be avoided, try to get into a new mood: meditate, take a walk, or resort to another method that works for you.
How to stop putting things off, or what procrastination is
Procrastination is one of the most serious problems for a businessman, especially if this businessman is Russian. Our compatriots have long been famous for constantly putting things off until later; this has already become one of the most striking character traits of a Russian person. “Work is not a wolf, it won’t run away into the forest,” this is what our great-grandfathers believed. And so, unfortunately, many of us still think.
Procrastination refers to the process of coping with the anxiety that arises from the need to start and finish some specific task. Unable to cope with this anxiety, a person cannot stop putting off his affairs for a certain - and sometimes for an indefinite - period.
Few people understand that most cases that are postponed and carried out later than the optimal deadline suffer a significant loss in the quality of execution. The efficiency of work done at the wrong time invariably decreases, which has a very negative impact on the business.
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Let's give an example. The manager does not feel the desire to communicate with the client by phone, because he is lazy or has other, more interesting things to do. And he sends the person an email. As a result, the deal may have been lost. Who knows: what if at this particular moment in time the client was ready to sign the contract, but later changes his mind?
However, stopping procrastination is not so difficult. But first you need to check: do you really suffer from procrastination? This is true if:
- You often decide issues that are not very important in the grand scheme of things. You are constantly busy with those tasks that can easily wait, but you ignore the truly important things.
- You need to get down to business immediately, but you can't tear yourself away from social media or stop looking at photos.
- In your opinion, competently compiling a to-do list guarantees high-quality and timely completion of all tasks.
- You don't consider it necessary to work without inspiration.
- Work has just begun, and it’s already lunch. Then a smoke break - and somehow it turned out that it was time to get ready to go home.
- The task that is not completed today, you plan to do tomorrow early in the morning or on the weekend.
- You did not have time to solve some problem, but this is not your fault. It's all because of THEM.
Order first
The environment around you can successfully both contribute to procrastination and help in the fight against it. Take a quick look around your desk, your home decor, or any other place where you will be working.
Surely not everything around you is in a state of perfect order, so find the strength to tidy up: get rid of the trash, put everything in its place so that the eye is happy and the work goes smoothly.
By the way, after a little cleaning it seems easier. See for yourself.
Who is a procrastinator
Procrastinators are usually people with low self-esteem. Most often they were raised by overbearing parents. If adults force children to do everything strictly according to the schedule and control their every step, then by the beginning of adulthood the child does not develop the skill of independently planning his affairs and fulfilling his plans without a clear external incentive (for example, strictly set deadlines or promises). In this case, a person constantly postpones his affairs to tomorrow, to the day after tomorrow. He tells himself that he will do this job when he has more sleep, when he has more time, etc. Soon, the lack of results begins to interfere with the work, and the person begins to feel unsure of his abilities and his professionalism.
Procrastinators don’t just procrastinate for time; they replace the task at hand with other things. For example, they watch news on the Internet or videos on YouTube. Another important feature of procrastinators is low resistance to disease. In psychology, there is a term “going into illness,” when, due to the reluctance to do an important task, a person develops real symptoms of the disease: blood pressure rises, headache, stomach ache.
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Accustom yourself to the thought: now it will always be like this
As a rule, the first steps in anything, be it sports or new responsibilities at work, are always difficult. Probably the simplest example would be a situation in which each of us found ourselves at least once in our lives. Remember the magic Snooze button on your alarm clock? I bet you may not know what this English word means, but you definitely know how this button works: there is nothing easier than pressing it and continuing to sleep peacefully.
So, you should not succumb to this kind of temptation, listening to your inner voice calling you to put everything on the back burner. Forget about the rules of etiquette when he once again sounds in your head: cut off his tirade mid-sentence and do what you have to do.
Eliminate inconvenience
We are talking, in particular, about things that disrupt your concentration. For example, instead of collecting the necessary documents, did you answer calls and emails? Next time, remove all distractions from your environment - for example, turn off your phone and close your email program.
Don't add to your difficulties when you already have a lot going on in your life. Have you accepted a responsible job? It's better not to promise yourself that tomorrow you will spend more time with your children because, most likely, you will not keep your word. Wait (for example, a month) until you get used to the new responsibilities, and only then return to this position. You will feel more confident, you will be calmer and you will not let yourself and your kids down!
Tell a trusted person about your important decision.
It could be your business partner, wife or best friend - or anyone, as long as he is aware. Express your intentions to this person, identifying key points, dates and deadlines. Ask him to monitor you as an experiment.
It may very well be that your ally in the struggle for productivity himself needs help and additional motivation in life. Therefore, we urge you to be honest with each other: gently but firmly point out places that, in your opinion, require special attention. And take action.
Take small steps
Don’t stop with words like: “I’ll do this soon.” Otherwise, any idea will burn out, and instead of enjoying success, you will experience disappointment.
A man goes into the distance
Break difficult long-term tasks into smaller steps. It is better to plan day by day what you will do so that your intention does not turn out to be just a pious wish.
Do you want to have rights? Think very specifically: “Tomorrow I will find out how much the training costs, and next week I will find suitable courses and decide to enroll in the course.” Remember: “sliced” tasks immediately become much easier!
Listen to Indian mantras
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Even if you are not a regular at ethnic festivals and have never thought about traveling to Nepal or Goa, pay attention to the national music of the country of elephants and curry sauce. Mantras are positive attitudes, by listening to them and meditating, you can find peace and tune in to the right mood. The first thing to learn is to control your breathing. When you are able to do this, you can begin to comprehend more complex states - concentration on what you need.
By the way, there are many mantras. You can experiment and choose what you like and what works.
Eliminate sunk costs
Just because you put a lot of effort, time and emotion into a project doesn't mean it's worth it. In economics, this state of affairs is called “sunk costs.” For example, you decided to study programming in your free time, but after a few months, despite all your efforts, you have not made much progress, and your enthusiasm has faded.
Perhaps programming is simply not your thing and you will achieve much greater heights faster by switching to another field - for example, design.
Create some problems for yourself
Or a lot, depending on who needs it. What am I talking about? The fact is that suffering and various types of grief are also sources of motivation: a feeling of unsettlement pushes us forward, and we change jobs, move, learn something new.
Having reached a certain point of awareness of a situation that he does not like, a normal person begins to act. So, if you are still sitting still and prefer not to think about the problem, then everything suits you, nothing else.
In general, you are the very wizard who can help you cope with everything. As the wise Mahatma Gandhi taught us, if you want a change in the future, become that change in the present.
Use the Pomodoro Method
This time management technique is named after the kitchen tomato timer. Its creator, Francesco Cirillo, suggested breaking tasks into 25-minute periods (called “pomodoros”) and taking 5-minute breaks between them:
- Choose something to do right now and set a timer.
- As soon as one “pomodoro” comes to an end, put a mark on a piece of paper.
- After every 4th pomodoro, take a break of 15-30 minutes.
Many experts are confident that this approach will help cope with both a large list of tasks and one project.
He who dares wins
Curb your fear! Fear of something is the surest accomplice of procrastination. Just tell yourself: “No, I’m not afraid of anything, I will succeed.” Repeat this more often, write it down on a piece of paper and hang it in a visible place - we have already talked about the benefits of visualizing thoughts in point number 12. If you manage to gain control over fear at least once, you will succeed in the future.
How to do it? Talk to yourself - everyone has done this at least once in their life. So why not make it a good, healthy habit? Alone with your thoughts, you can not bend your heart and not look for excuses for your negative traits: fear, laziness, reluctance to change something. Try to identify your problem areas and start dealing with them.
5. I have a good holiday ahead of me
PROBLEM: Repeating dull statements like “I’ll have to work all weekend...”; “Don’t wait, go have lunch without me, I have to finish one thing...”, we only cause ourselves to be rejected from work, a feeling of hopelessness and isolation. Without allowing ourselves a moment of rest, we begin to perceive life as one continuous obligation, as a heavy burden that makes us miss out on more significant and enjoyable things.
HOW TO DECIDE: Replace the words “I don’t have time for fun...” with “I have to find time to have fun...”. Give yourself breaks and come up with rewards for completing a certain amount of work. Schedule walks, sports, meetings with friends, trips to the theater and cinema in your calendar. Such a plan helps to realistically estimate the time that is actually available for work. And the rest, deserved even if by short but effective work, will not be burdened with a feeling of guilt.
Work on self-discipline
To be honest, the choice is often not that great: either muster all your willpower today and take the path of change, or reap the bitter fruits of disappointment in the foreseeable future. Leaving the solution to important life issues for later is too easy and, alas, completely ineffective.
Many people know the proverb “If you sow a thought, you will reap an action; if you sow an action, you will reap a habit; if you sow a habit, you will reap a character; if you sow a character, you will reap a destiny.” Charge yourself with the right thoughts, acquire good habits, because everything is in your hands.
In general, each of us is nothing more than a collection of habits and ways of life. You can train yourself to do absolutely anything. Take advantage of this feature of human consciousness!
Declare war on perfectionism
In fact, there is absolutely nothing good about it. First, let's look at the definition. Perfectionism is the belief that the best results can (or should) be achieved. It would seem that there is nothing bad, but by thinking in this way, we are infinitely moving away from the true goal, which is to get the job done - get sh*t done, as they say overseas.
The main mistake that many people tend to make is substituting concepts. Perfectionism has nothing to do with high quality. No matter what anyone tells us about this, the answer will be the same: time is money. Learn to control it the same way an experienced commander controls his army.
Refer friends
No, we do not encourage asking your loved ones to do all the work for you. Just promise your friends or colleagues that you will complete the task on time. Find a group of people who practice healthy eating, or create your own chat on Whatsapp or Telegram, where you and other people losing weight will post daily reports about what you eat and workouts.
Researchers believe that people who make commitments to others and communicate their results periodically are twice as likely to achieve their goals. Don't feel ashamed to ask your loved ones to motivate you when you're off track or feeling drained.
Don't forget to encourage yourself
It happens that we lack the reward for a task completed successfully. We must not forget about encouragement, because it is one of the most powerful sources of internal motivation. That's why it's so important to celebrate your victories, both big and small. Have an extraordinary day off, treat yourself to a purchase you have long dreamed of, and be imbued with the joy of triumph!
After all, fighting procrastination is not easy. As Jim Rohn, a famous American speaker and business coach, said in his book “Vitamins for the Mind”:
We all must experience two kinds of pain: the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. The difference is that discipline weighs ounces, while regret weighs tons.
Are you prone to procrastination? What and for what reason do you tend to put off over and over again? Share with us your opinion and successful experience in dealing with the scourge!
