Overcoming Procrastination

Procrastination is the habit of putting off planned activities for activities of lesser importance.

Overcoming procrastination is important if it:

• constantly causes you stress
• reduces the quality of your work
• impedes your ability to achieve goals
• ruins your relationship with others
• stops you getting things done
• or acts as a barrier to more enjoyment and satisfaction

But like a comfortable bed "easy to get into, but hard to get out of" overcoming the procrastination habit can be difficult.

Beating procrastination is more than just applying your willpower!

You likely applied your willpower before and it did not work.

To systematically overcome procrastination requires a structured approach. This involves understanding:

• your common time wasters
• what procrastination excuses you use
• the reasons for procrastination
• the consequences of procrastination for you
• precise strategies for overcoming procrastination

Because the reasons for procrastination are different for each person...generally the solution is also different.

This is what I like about this Procrastination Challenge. This 21 day course provides:

• structured daily lessons
• is tailored to you and your unique situation, and
• gets to the heart of your procrastination problem.

As a psychologist and time management consultant I thought it was well-written, systematic, and effective. I look forward to recommending it to my clients.

From a personal level, when I took the Procrastination Challenge I learnt more about why I put things off and more importantly was able to challenge my own procrastination habits.

Here we discuss some of the multitude of forces and inner conflicts that are the causes of procrastination and some of the procrastination strategies that you put into place to overcome it.

Causes of procrastination

We all procrastinate to some degree.

But procrastination becomes a problem when it means you are putting off important activities, are not achieving your goals, and increasing stress and/or negative consequences to your career or personal life.

Knowing why you procrastinate helps you to overcome procrastination.

Do you procrastinate because you don’t want to do the task or find the task unpleasant? Perhaps you fear change or the failure that may arise from completing the task?

Do you have too much to do or unclear goals and changing priorities?

Perhaps you are addicted to the adrenaline rush of the last minute deadline and you think you do your best work under this pressure!

There are many causes of procrastination...some of the causes of procrastination are conscious and others at the sub-conscious level.

Knowing the causes of procrastination means that you can tailor an efficient solution for overcoming procrastination.

How to overcome procrastination when faced with unpleasant tasks

Do you find that you put unpleasant tasks off?

What could be easier than having that difficult chat with an employee, cleaning your house, or writing that tedious report?

Avoiding unpleasant tasks is one of the biggest causes of procrastination.

The more unpleasant the task the farther down the 'to do' list it goes. The task could be put off until the boss and/or customer are breathing down your neck.

The consequences of putting things off are increased stress and reduced quality!

There are a number of strategies for overcoming procrastination to get yourself started on that unpleasant task that you have been putting off. These may include:

• setting a deadline
• breaking the task into chunks
• keeping a daily plan visible
• involving others in reinforcing good habits

Here are some strategies for how to overcome procrastination when faced with unpleasant tasks.

Overcoming procrastination when you are overwhelmed and overworked

With many employees citing information and email overload in the workplace, this is becoming a major cause of procrastination.

With a dozen things that need to be done it can be difficult to decide which to start first!

Often dealing with this cause of procrastination involves planning and scheduling your time.

If you are feeling overwhelmed and frazzled by too much work, then overcome procrastination by harnessing:

• the pareto principle
• minimizing or anticipating disruptions, and
• ensuring that your priorities are getting done.

How to overcome procrastination when you have unclear goals and priorities

When there are unclear goals or a lack of direction it can be very difficult to make a decision!

Personal goal setting provides direction and aids decision-making.

But often this can be difficult if your goals are changing or your boss tells you to make this your number one priority.

How many number one priorities can you have?

Clear long-term goals that are mapped to your key result areas and short-term goals to achieve them give you direction, aid the decision-making process, and help you to conquer procrastination.

Over-commitment and avoiding procrastination

Over-commitment is a common issue for those who are enthusiastic, dedicated, and ambitious.

Noble traits in themselves, they can also cause you to over-commit your time and increase your stress.

If this is the case, then learning to say "No" is beneficial.

But there is a fine line between being an effective multi-tasker and doing too much!

In fact, if you feel you are juggling too many demands then you are going to need to make a tough decision between what is important versus what is urgent.

One of the defining features of people who get things done is that they are able to triage their activities

If you have a tendency to put your hand up and over-commit on tasks then practicing triage on your activities and ensuring you get your top priorities done reduces stress.

Use these strategies for avoiding procrastination today.

Are you addicted to the last minute?

Are you addicted to the last minute?

Do you think you need the pressure of a looming deadline to get things done?

Does the last minute cram session trigger an adrenaline rush?

If you are addicted to the last minute, and you want to do something about it, then kick the procrastination habit.

Do you have any tips to beat procrastination?

Do you have a great story about this? Share it!

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