It's Procrastination-Prevention month at Envision Success, Inc.
How much does procrastination get under your skin? If you're like most of my clients, we could spend a few sessions on it. Almost all working professionals suffer from procrastination at least sometimes, and some have a daily habit.
First, let's define it.
For the purposes of this post, procrastination simply means putting something off until another time instead of completing it on the originally intended timetable.
What it does for us and against us.
Although we tend to think of procrastination as negative because it is frequently accompanied by guilt, sometimes it is good to reprioritize things, shifting plans along the way. You need some down time on a regular basis. If you are chronically overscheduled or overcommitted, you are going to notice some procrastination, and you may want to embrace learning how to balance important tasks better.
As a result, most people are experienced procrastinators, and when we look for symptoms we can find them. Sometimes people are inefficient, ineffective, or just plain lazy. Usually, however, procrastination of important tasks happens only because people aren't being clear about what they NEED to get done each day. One simple change can make a world of difference!
What are you going to do about it?
Considering how procrastination affects your energy level, what's the value of changing your habits? I'm not talking about anything complicated or time-consuming here; IT CAN BE VERY SIMPLE. A significant chunk of procrastination comes from not having a task defined specifically enough. The mind cannot "do" when it doesn't understand what needs to be done. As an example, when you have something like "Sales Project" or "Marketing Plan" on your to-do list, you are much more likely to pracrastinate than if you have "Draft sales goals" or "Make list of sales growth ideas" or "brainstorm 15 marketing themes for next year." Do you see the difference? How can you apply it right now?
You own your life, you own how your time is used. Are you going to blunder through your day wasting 'unused minutes' or are you going to value opportunity? Ultimately, procrastination is a choice and when it brings bad feelings, then you need to question why you continue to tolerate it. Look for the root cause. Sheer discipline is NOT usually the answer...consider redesigning processes or elements or your physical environment to help support you to complete the most important tasks. (Ask your coach how.)
Follow-Up Actions:
1- Clear most distractions around you for the next 10 minutes.
Put the phone on silent, shut your door or plug your ears with earphones if necessary, close your email program, and stare into the corner or at the ceiling. Consider what's on your plate: what really HAS to be done versus what is NICE to do. Have a notebook and pen handly for this, and note down whatever comes to mind, but then add a star next to ONLY the most important THREE things you can do TODAY. You can draw another symbol next to other important ones, but pick ONLY 3 for this exercise. For each one, imagine what it would be like when the task is complete. If something pops into your head that seems helpful, write it down and act on it immediately after your 10 minutes is up.
2- Break bigger items on your to-do list into actionable tasks. Use action verbs and make them specific enough so you won't hestitate to consider what needs to be done.
Enjoy your increased productivity!
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