5 ways to beat procrastination today

We put things off all the time and it doesn’t really  matter if it’s an important task or not.  Procrastination is simply a habit, and an alarmingly easy one to develop and there’s much already written about the psychology of it which won’t be repeated here. Instead assuming that the idea of putting things off is frustrating, annoying and causes feelings of guilt then  here are 5 ways to just get moving on something that needs to get done. These can be tried,  individually or as a set of steps:

Why do it?

To feel better about putting something off we often think of other less important things we ‘need’  to do instead.  So, try clearing everything else, from your mind and think exclusively and intensely for a few minutes about why you need to do it.  Concentrate on what you will get out of starting and finally completing the task. If you need to, write down a quick list which you only need to do for while as you get used to this exercise.

Break it down

See a job as too big and you will think of every reason to put off doing it. It’s human nature and takes discipline to take on something big. Break it down into small chunks and it is much more manageable and your confidence will grow as you realise that each part can be done.

Spend 5 minutes

Whether it’s  mowing the lawn, writing a report or going to the gym make up your mind to spend 5 minutes to just get started. So get your gym gear together and walk to the front door. Just observe how you feel when you have started. If it feels OK then go forward and get in the car or walk to the gym. Momentum is the name of the game, get started and then realise that it wasn’t so bad after all.

Tell a friend

If there is a goal or task you have been planning to do then tell someone. Give them details and a time when you think you will have it done. You will give yourself an added incentive to follow through knowing that someone you respect knows you are going to do something by a certain time or date.

Drop it
If you just can’t get started on something then a  great way to free yourself from the nagging guilt of putting the task off is to ask yourself what would you lose by dropping it from your list of things to do.

Again a do a brief list and be really honest. If the list is vague or has very little that inspires you then be disciplined enough to consciously shelve the idea or even drop it.  If it is important enough to you then It will, of course, re-emerge in your mind again with maybe stronger reasons for you to get started.

The aim of these steps are to help you to move away from the wasteful feelings of guilt and frustration which will take away your energy and enthusiasm in other areas of your life. Make sure you are clear about why you do or don’t need to something and then take immediate action.

3 steps to improving your life balance

The frustrations of life often come about because we lack information or sufficient control over how we choose to use our time. In order to make adjustments to the way we use your valuable minutes its important to really know how we are choosing to use them now. Here’s a technique to start straight away which may give you some surprising information about your life.

1 Start a 7 day life log

This might seem like a big job but you need to keep it simple, a list and maybe a couple of words for each activity. This will paint a good picture of how you are using your minutes and highlight areas where you could save time by combining activities and also illustrate just how balanced your days are between the stuff you ought to do and the stuff you want to do. Just like a food diary, if you can see it all laid before you then you can start to see opportunities for more fun activities, improving the way you complete tasks and the things that waste your time. Achieving balance is all about putting everything on the scales and adjusting as you go.

2 Use three highlighter pens on your log to identify:

• Necessary tasks – such as work, paying bills and caring responsibilities.

• Time wasters – such as looking at junk emails throughout the day and channel surfing when not actually watching a programme of interest, there are lots more you can think of!

• Fun things – reading, catching up with friends, time with the kids

You need to be totally ruthless with this exercise, remember the aim is to get to know your life so that you can gain some control over your minutes.

3 Seek and change

List the time wasters you highlighted and pick one off the list to replace with a fun activity or a necessary one such as doing the shopping earlier in the week to allow more time for something else after. If you feel able maybe do this with up to three time wasters. It’s a gradual process and you can reduce channel surfing by half if that feels more manageable.

You can also list the necessary and fun things and identify where you can improve how you carry out a task to save time or increase the amount of time you spend on something you enjoy.

The key to this exercise is to feel completely familiar and present with how you spend your life rather than blindly frittering away your minutes and feeling more frustrated or stressed.

Good luck and do Let me know how you get on.