Overcoming Procrastination

I’m sure everybody is familiar with the old saying, “Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow” . . . oops, wait a second. Did I get that right? Sorry.

I meant to say, “Why put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” Right. That sounds better.

Can you tell that I’m a procrastinator? I bet you can, and you know, it’s one of the easiest bad habits to fall into because, at the time, there doesn’t seem to be any immediate, negative repercussions, especially if it’s something that doesn’t have a particular deadline.

What with all the juggling we have to do everyday, it’s no wonder we never find the time to get the stuff we really hate to do most done in a timely fashion. But that’s just fooling yourself, isn’t it? I do that to myself all the time.

Okay, all you procrastinators, let’s list all our favorite reasons why we put things off until we can’t put them off anymore.

1) We always think the work that really needs to get done can wait or be delayed.

2) When we’re busy with something else we always think it’s more important

3) We don’t like the work involved, and besides, I never do a good job when I don’t enjoy what I’m doing, so better not to do it than to do it badly, right?

4) Oh, I don’t have all the information I need to do it right now, so I’ll have to wait until _____________________ (fill in the blank).

5) Since it’s not something we enjoy doing, it’s easy to put it out our minds and forget about it altogether.

And sometimes we’re just too lazy, plain and simple.

Okay, but what if you want to break this habit. Try the following:

1) When you think the work can be delayed, remember, it can also not be delayed. By doing the work immediately, we always feel a sense of relief, which is a good feeling. So isn’t it better to feel relief than to feel lousy because we didn’t get the work done and perhaps let someone down who was counting on us?

2) If you’ve been busy with something more important, why not take a short break from time to time to nibble away at those other things you’ve been putting off. Even if it’s only for ten or fifteen minutes, at least you’re making progress.

3) Let’s face it, delaying work that is difficult makes the work even more difficult. A leaky roof may not be harmful if it doesn’t rain, but once it rains, water gets into the house resulting in wet floors and carpets and could eventually result in extensive damage and added cost.

4) If you’re not sure if you’ll be very effective getting the work done, why not get advice from someone who is more knowledgeable. That way you can determine if you should hire someone else to do the work.

5) Delaying work because we don’t have all the information or materials needed is a fine excuse (one of my favorites), but what are you doing to get the information you need to complete the task. It’s not going to fall from the sky, so why not take action.

6) Make a To Do list of all pending work and post it somewhere close at hand to make sure you don’t forget. There’s no better feeling than scratching things off your list as they’re completed … trust me on this one.

Bottom line is:

It’s understandable that ‘starting’ is the most difficult part, but once you’ve started, it’s amazing how quickly the rest of the job will go.

Remember, the sooner you get those things done that you don’t like doing, the more time you’ll have to do the things you really enjoy doing. This, in itself, should be more than enough of a reward to stop procrastinating and just get it done!

Now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?

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Glenn Cutforth is a writer, eBook publisher and graphic designer.

Visit his websites at: Self-Help and Wellness.com and The Complete Cat.com

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