Why is it that every great company, sooner or later, meets with competitors ready to eat their lunch. Smart business owners know this ahead of time, and put plans in place to meet their competitors head-on.
Smart Super Achievers do the same thing to fight their dreaded enemy, procrastination. Hence the sign, Warning: Procrastination Ahead. It never fails, at one time or another, procrastination is something that we all have to deal with.
What Is Procrastination
Procrastination is the conscious act of deferring to do some activity in place doing another activity that is either easier, or more enjoyable. That choice is not a passive one. It is an active choice. And that choice is the one we make every time we procrastinate. Most of the time, this comes with damaging consequences.
The damaging effects of putting off certain tasks vary depending on the extent of the procrastination. How many people will be let down, disappointed, and lose trust in your ability to come through for them.
Not only are others affected, but also, the damage you inflict on yourself is sometimes worst. You can become stressed and overwhelmed. When you start disappointing others, feelings of shame and regret can affect your outlook on everything you do.
On the extreme side, procrastination can turn into deep depression. Continuing for long periods of time, problems of self confidence and self esteem can debilitate you even more. At that point, professional help may be in order. You could be experiencing the affects of ADD, or OCD.
Hopefully, we can tackle procrastination by applying a few suggestions covered in this article.
Enough Beating Yourself Up
Procrastination is a problem that everyone faces sooner or later. And like most things in life, when it shows up, we have a choice to make. We can beat ourself up and say how badly we feel for putting things off so long, or we can stop beating ourselves up, and decide to handle it now.
Going through the “Blame-Shame Game” might feel like a justified reaction, but in the end, nothing productive gets done. We feel ashamed and regretful, but the problem still exists. Nothing get rectified.
Why not try a different approach. Know that some of the most intelligent people on the planet procrastinate. It’s not unusual when it happens to you. So take it easy on yourself. Take the first step to changing the situation, and decide to tackle it head-on. Decide today to make a positive change. And here’s how to begin.
Make A List
With so many tasks that need done running through your mind, it’s easy to get overwhelmed, and consequently do nothing. What do we do to overcome this mental overload?
Talk out a piece paper and start making a list. Write down everything that you have put off. Don’t filter or prioritize. Just write.
List everything you can think, not matter how big or small. The point is to clear the clutter in your mind. Putting these items on paper helps clear you mind giving you some perspective.
Once you have everything on your list, now it’s time to prioritize.
Prioritize From Most Harmful to the Least
Prioritizing your list can be done in many ways. You can prioritize by the amount of time it takes to complete each task, arranged from shortest to the longest. Or you can break it down by doing the ones you enjoy the most first.
My recommendations is to list the tasks causing the most pain, and tackle them first. Look at the consequences of not doing something. What is the result? How much pain will it cause? Who will it affect besides yourself?
Prioritize this way, and you will ease the pain with each task you eliminate. As the pain subsides, you feel more motivated to keep going.
The method you choose to prioritize is up to you. And once you have your list prioritized, let’s take a look at each item to see if we can break them down even further.
Break Down Each Task Further
Taking the first item on your list, ask yourself, “Can this be broken down even further?” With so many things on our plate these days, sometimes it is better to squeeze smaller tasks into our limited schedule.
Also, smaller tasks are more manageable. We are more inclined to do the smaller tasks because they’re easier to complete. And the quicker we complete the task, the faster it gets checked off the list. The more check offs we see, the more excited we get.
As the saying goes, “How do we eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
Select An Accountability Partner
We are almost ready to jump in. But before we do, now is the time to get some backup support to encourage you along the way. Selecting an accountability partner to support you, takes the loneliness out of the process.
An accountability partner helps keep you focused, and motivated to get through your list. They can also help keep you from slipping back into procrastination mode. Sometimes procrastination is hard to detect. We do it without ever realizing it. But an accountability partner can keep an eye on things.
The job of an accountability partner is a tricky one, because they have to be firm at times, yet encouraging at the same time. Not everyone can successfully strike that delicate balance. So make sure you pick the right partner who can fill this role.
We don’t need beaten with a stick, because we’ve punished ourselves enough. We need support and encouragement.
When we find the right person, now is the time to engage them. Before we start making our way down the list, share it with your partner so they know what you’re doing. Put timeframes on each task so your accountability partner can check to make sure you get finished.
Later, we will also need to check in with our partner when the we complete each task.
Go To Work
It’s now time to get busy with your first task. This time, to fight the tendency to procrastinate, we are going to apply some techniques that will be helpful. The first one is the 15 Minute Rule.
Apply the 15 Minute Rule
The 15 Minute Rules goes like this. Take the first task, and determine to spend no less than 15 minutes on that task. It’s not a lot of time out of our day, and goes very quickly. But the point is to start working. Do this, and you can say you’ve got the task underway.
Determine those 15 minutes to be an isolated capsule of concentrated work. Let nothing interrupt you. Turn you phone off, if you have to, and make sure you are busy using every minute.
The 15 minutes goes fast, but you will be surprised how much you can actually get done. Once you get started, completing tasks may not take as long as you think. You may find that 15 minutes turns into 30, or even 60. Time flies when you’re having fun.
When your 15 minutes are over, see how much more it will take to complete the task. Then put it on the list for the next 15 minute session. Repeat this process every day, and you will soon get completely caught up.
Use The Hourglass Technique To Avoid the Digital Distractions
The extension of our arms, called the cell phone, is one of the biggest distractions of our generation, entertaining us when we’re bored, and keeping us company when we’re lonely. It even helps us avoid important things that we need to get done.
To combat the digital distractions to completing the items on our task list, apply the Hourglass Method. The Hourglass Method is an idea that was introduced to me by my son during one of our conversations about getting things done. He suggested that when you want to avoid the distractions from your cell phone or computer, just use an hourglass to time each activity.
Why the hourglass? We generally keep track of time by grabbing our cell phones. And while we have it in our hands, we end up checking Facebook to see what’s going on, email to see who send us a message, and send a quick text, or two, to let people know what were doing. Next thing you know, we are totally off track.
To circumvent all the noise, my son suggested getting an hourglass to measure your time. This might seem a little analog in our digital world, but it keeps us focused on one thing; How fast the sand is running out.
This is clearly a visual stimulator. How much can we get done before the sand runs out. We can see it right before our eyes. No cell phone, not computer, just sand running though the hourglass. Simple.
When the sand runs out, your time is up. No temptations, distractions, or questions about how much time we have left. When the sand runs out, we’re done. Simple, yet powerful.
Get yourself an hourglass, and give the Hourglass Technique a try.
Check In With Your Accountability Partner
Once you complete your first task, check in with your accountability partner to report your progress. They can give you a pat on the back to celebrate you accomplishment. Having a trustworthy partner helps keep you engaged.
You both can talk about your progress to see if improvements can be make for future tasks. Most importantly, you can make a schedule for the next step. Keep the momentum going.
Check In With Your Accountability Partner
Once you complete your first task, check in with your accountability partner to report your progress. They can give you a pat on the back to celebrate you accomplishment. Having a trustworthy partner helps keep you engaged.
You both can talk about your progress to see if improvements can be make for future tasks. Most importantly, you can make a schedule for the next step. Keep the momentum going.
Reward Yourself
Rewarding yourself may see a little self-indulgent at first, but it isn’t. Rewarded behaviors only ensures that it will be repeated. So reward yourself for every good thing you do. That way, the good behavior will continue.
The “Do It Now” attitude that you are developing is worth repeating many times until it becomes a habit. Since we have a tendency to do what is most pleasurable, the association of rewards for action can be just what’s needed.
Physical rewards are important, but rewarding ourselves with kind words builds our self confidence, and ultimately boosts our self-esteem. Make sure you always remember this step. Alway reward taking action.
Keep Going
Now we have come full circle, the next thing to do is just keep going. Keep identifying items that aren’t getting done, and putting them on your list. Prioritize them, and break them down into smaller parts. Then get your accountability partner on board, and use the Hourglass Technique for a distraction-free environment. And make sure you reward yourself for getting things done.
Procrastination is a certain, but overcoming it is a must, if you want to enjoy a life full of accomplishment. Keep reaching for the best, and nothing can stop you.
You are never alone on your journey when you tap into the Super Achiever's Network.
PS: About this article.
This article was inspired by my loving Aunt and fellow blogger, Sandy Wilson.
Her blog, SandysSpiritualFood.com encourages people with faith-filled messages that keep them growing on their spiritual journey.
She made it a point to call me one night, to tell me that she was prompted to go to her basement to write a blog post about the New Year. While looking around, she noticed that the light on her freezer was out. Upon further examination, it turned out that a contractor who was working in their house accidentally pulled the plug.
Point being, if she would have procrastinated on going to the basement to write her blog post, she never would have noticed the freezer, and would have lost all the food in it.
So, Thank you Aunt Sandy for the inspiration.
The moral of the story: “Don’t put off tomorrow, what you can do today.”