Posts Tagged ‘balance’

What To Consider To Assist One To Overcome Procrastination

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

Our daily tasks are normally a mixture of hard and simple tasks. Different people handle these tasks differently with the majority opting to lay off the hard tasks until later. However, those who have a strong will strive to complete such tasks immediately hence avoid procrastinating. For perfect time management and efficiency in production, one has to take measures to overcome procrastination.

The main need for people to avoid procrastinating is to maintain their productivity levels. The condition manifests in different ways hence it is good to understand it better in order to take the correct measures. For instance, a person with four or five tasks to handle in a day might opt to start with the simpler ones. The other ones will be pushed back and at the end of the day such, a person will find that they remain undone. In most of these cases, the remaining work is usually the most important one.

For some people, the situation is a bit different since they start working on the tasks then midway through they become bored. This creates a window for one to search for other tasks such as surfing the internet looking for information, doing the months travel expenses or even getting more coffee. This can greatly affect your time management meaning that you need to extend your working hours until late in order to catch up.

So how can one overcome procrastination? There are many ways you can handle this problem. However, all these fall into two main categories. These are acute solutions and preventive solutions. Acute solutions are those that help you start doing things now while preventive solutions are those that help you avoid getting into such a situation in future.

If your problem lies in avoiding doing things, a good solution is to start doing. You can start anywhere but you should note that the first steps will be very hard. When you get started, there will be various issues, which will keep you moving until you finish.

Acute solutions are usually very helpful in dealing with individual cases and therefore they do not present the best long-lasting solution. It is better to seek for ways that boost confidence increasing productivity. This means taking preventive measures that minimize the occurrence of such situations in future.

Although most people postpone hard tasks all the time, most still remember when they used to handle very many tasks in one day. During such times productivity was high and so was the courage to handle new and unfamiliar tasks. To understand this better, you can compare it to surfing. Total productivity leaves you feeling like you are on top of the wave while reduced productivity makes you feel like you are behind the wave.

The best preventive measure that will protect you from compromising situations is starting early. This way you can stay on top of the wave all the time hence avoid procrastinating. With all this in mind, it is clear that you do not need a very special time management system in order to overcome procrastination

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Overcoming Procrastination: Steps to Have You Beating Procrastination In No Time

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Sometimes it can feel like overcoming procrastination is impossible! It isn’t. Here are a few methods you can try to avoid procrastinating again.

Do The Hardest and Toughest Jobs First.

By doing this your self-esteem will be boosted, and you will feel like you have achieved something. This will also have the roll on effect that other tasks will seem pretty easy to do.

When making a to-do list, make sure you follow everything you’ve written chronologically by listing the most important things to be done on top and ticking them off as you go along. Not only will this be more organized but it will be easier for you to follow and focus on what’s next rather than choosing what you think you should do on the list.

Don’t Wait for The Right Time and to Be In The Right Mood.

There is no point hanging out to be in the right mood, or the right time to happen. Waiting around for this “special time” or “special mood” is a hindrance to your productivity!

Perfectionism is a Trap.

Self-esteem is closely tied into a job done well. Some people take things to the extreme however and are constantly delaying tasks because they feel that they cannot do the job perfectly. This will not help with overcoming procrastination!

Often a perfectionist will beat themselves up over trying to get a job done perfectly. Pressuring themselves with unrealistic deadlines and viewing the outcome of their work negatively. This puts a mental barrier in peoples minds - stopping them from getting the task done. Perfectionism actually results in poor work because of their obsession with messing up!

Perfectionists are not the peak performers. This is because perfectionists spend all their time worrying about messing up rather than actually getting the job done!

If you suffer from being a perfectionist, reassess you priorities. Take small brave steps. Create an action plan with realistic deadlines. The key to doing your best is to start really early. That way you give yourself plenty of time to review your work and spot errors. By maintaining a fresh and relaxed attitude, you are able to give your best.

Create Momentum.

If you are sitting down unsure how to start your next task, stand up. This alone can make a lot of difference to your procrastination. Doing something physical is recommended to help increase efficiency.

Clean up your desk. Go for a walk around the block. Do some other small task. This will help create momentum and get you going. The great thing about momentum is that once it is going it is hard to stop! Getting up and doing something will help pump you up to get into that task you have been procrastinating about!

A little procrastination is fine. But some people get really pulled into the procrastination cycle. This can lead to chronic depression. If you are trying to overcome procrastination - be realistic. You are unlikely to stop procrastinating overnight. There is no quick fix. To be successful you need to develop a routine that works for you.

Michelle is the editor of a website about time management skills. You can learn more about overcoming procrastination, time management skills, the importance of time management and a lot more!