"Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn't the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment. "
~Robert Benchley
Does this sound like you?
Here is an article written by my mother Winsome (who also writes for our Secret Website) who has, in the past been a famous procrastinator in my circle of family and friends. They are very simple suggestions about how to deal with procrastination, but are very effective.
Sit down at the start of the day and set your priorities...........Read on.
Procrastination 101 - Don’t do it Now – Put it on Your List
Do you have a “To Do” list?
Do you constantly have trouble completing your “To Do” list?
Here are some of the BEST hints I’ve ever heard about how to tackle something that seems to be innate in most humans – Procrastination!
If you are really well organised, get things done in a timely manner, and do NOT have a huge undoable list called:
“LIST OF THINGS TO DO”,
then don’t waste your time reading this
Procrastination………I am really well qualified to write on this topic, because I have been known to not only have a list of things to do, but in that same list I have even written – ‘read this list’.
I mean to say …….
I am happy to report that I am getting over this ‘List Addiction’
If this strikes a cord with you, then I have discovered the best hint ever. I am not kidding; this has really helped me….
Procrastinate no longer.
We are nearly all aware these days of the importance of goal setting.
You may have read about the recent Harvard study of a class of young men, a generation ago now. Some of whom wrote very clear goals, and some of them didn’t. I don’t think I need to spell out the outcome 40 years later….
So you probably have goals, I hope you do; and have even written them down. We know that goal setting and being very focused about our dream is crucial.
But while you are busy, busy with a list of ‘Things To Do’, a list often of trivial things, you are not really focusing at all.
So what is the BEST hint for Procrastinators?
This is it. From today’s list of things to do – PRIORITISE, look at those tasks and put them in order of importance.
Start with Number 1 and do it until it is done. Then and only then can you allow yourself to move on to Number 2.
Prioritise – what does that really mean?
It means put at the top of the list the MOST IMPORTANT things that will lead you towards your goal.
And all those silly little tasks you put on your list that are easy to do, and that don’t move you directly towards our goal – down to the bottom of the list they go.
It means things like – don’t go checking your emails every 5 minutes to see if something new has arrived, no nipping out for a coffee every so often, instead of doing another task.
It also means doing the important things and NOT the ‘urgent things’. It means not jumping to fill in a survey that was sent to you, or fixing up something for the person who shouts the loudest. It means not putting off something that seems a bit uncomfortable – just get on with it.
Once you start, then you will see what the next step will be.
Bonus Hint Number 2
"To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing." ~Eva Young
If there is a 2 minute job (or less) that pops up – do it NOW.
That’s it, that’s all. Don’t put it on the list to look at over and over again. Just get it out of the way now – and out of your head so that it doesn’t take up valuable space.
Now you will have some time to really work on getting clear about your goals.
"Procrastination is something best put off until tomorrow." ~Gerald Vaughan
This quote is a little rude so I have put it at the bottom of this blog. It made me laugh though:
"Procrastination is like masturbation. At first it feels good, but in the end you're only screwing yourself." ~Author Unknown
