Am I right in assuming that nearly all of us suffer from the affliction of procrastination at some time? That awkward telephone call that we'd rather not make, the task that we are unsure of our ability to carry out, the potentially difficult conversation that we know we have to initiate. It's so easy to put off the task, in the vain hope that it will go away.
But what happens to us whilst we delay doing something that we know we must do? We worry about it. If it's a task we are putting off at work, it hangs over our head, maybe even nagging at us over the weekend, when we should be relaxing. Generally it's not the things that we are doing that cause us stress, but the things that we have to do.
To do something about procrastination, we need to know how life feels without it. I suggest that to start with, you set yourself a rule to banish procrastination for the next two weeks.
The first step is to indentify the reason for procrastination. You could be putting off doing something because you regard it as uncomforable, unpleasant or boring. I find the best way to stop procrastinating for these reasons is to promise myself a reward for completing the task. Surprisingly, the reward does not have to be great. A ten-minute break, a cup of tea and buscuit or an ice cream all work for me.
You could also procratinate because the task seems overwhelming or too difficult. In these circumstances I break down the task into small parts and start of by doing the bits I feel comfortable with. I find that once this is done, the rest of the task does not seem so daunting. Difficult or complex tasks, of course, deserve a bigger reward once completed!
We all know that if we write down a jobs list at the start of each day, we get a lot more done. Everyone knows that you should always do the important jobs first - the ones that will give you the maximum return on investment. For jobs that I know I am prone to procrastination on, I break this rule and get them done first. They are then out of the way and I remove the stress of them hanging over my head as quickly as possible.
By banishing procrastination at work, I found my job became less stressful and I got a greater sense of achievement. I then decided to tackle procrastination at home. Mowing the lawns when I plan to instead of putting it off. Doing the washing-up straight after a meal, putting things away as I go along. It's surprising how quickly my new approach has become habit and even more surprising that I seem to have much more (and better quality) free time.
Procrastination causes stress and don't we all have enough of that already? Deciding to do something about it is the first step to achieving more, feeling more relaxed, enjoying a better quality environment and a greater sense of achievement. The real beauty is - it's not hard to do!
I always try to remember that jobs I am putting off because I have a negative view of them, are invariably never as difficult as I think they are going to be, once I do them.
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