The 3 Secret Signals of Procrastination

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  1

  M. Bison

  05/06/08 | Report as spam

  How to overcome procrastination and maintain course

  Well I learned that I do in fact need to take a break, so while I'm at it, let me share some tips I use to overcome procrastination:
  
  1. Put the task into your to-do list, specifying the initial actions you need to take: This way if you are taking a break, you won't be distracted with that lingering thought of what you have to do to get started. It also makes you feel like you've taken your first steps, thus making the task less overwhelming.
  
  2. Break it down to little pieces and set a deadline. Sometimes we procrastinate because the task overwhelms us. As mundane as it sounds, breaking the task into bite sized chunks allows you to get drawn in to the job, and before you know it, you've built momentum.
  
  3. Once you've gotten started, procrastinate instead on taking breaks. I call this reverse procrastination. Despite how much people encourage you to take breaks, being the procrastinator you are, catching a breather in the middle of a small task may throw you off course. Before you know it, you've gotten distracted and would require some motivation to get started again.
  
  4. Reward yourself only when the job is done. Similar to taking breaks, people reward themselves mid-course, leaving little incentive to continue. Make sure you reward yourself when you've truly reached the finish line.
  
  5. Just start. Reaching back to square one, if you hadn't begun yet, simply start working. Some of us wait for the right moment to work on a project, but guess what, there's never really a right moment. If you wait until the end of the day, you'll be too tired and will be tempted to leave it for tomorrow. Remember, it's better to start and make corrections along the way than wait for the absolute perfect moment that will probably never come.
  
  Ok, back to work!

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  CC Holland

  05/06/08 | Report as spam

  Great ideas!

  Thanks for posting. Good ideas here. #5 in particular works well for those in the creative world. As a writer, I'd often get frozen into immobility by waiting for inspiration to strike for the perfect opening line -- until an editor told me to just slap some words on the page to get things rolling (even random, lame, or laughable ones!) and reminded me I could always go back and change 'em later. To this day, that's how I give myself a kick in the pants for every assignment.

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  suzette_pasustento@...

  05/06/08 | Report as spam

  RE: The 3 Secret Signals of Procrastination

  i seem to procastinate more on the jobs i know well... it's like.. i know how to do it so i tend to push it to one side until the 11th hour.. but this approach gives me unnecessary stress and regrets for not having enough time to do it better... so i use TO DO LIST for a week... displayed where I can always see or check it... on my PDA, computer desktop and on the wall in front of my desk. i also have post its on my fridge and apartment door for those monthly errands/tasks.

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  CC Holland

  05/06/08 | Report as spam

  I love lists too

  The best part? The sense of satisfaction when you cross something off!

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  heyjoeyb

  06/10/08 | Report as spam

  RE: The 3 Secret Signals of Procrastination

  Actually, i find procrastination productive because, subconsciously, I am organizing my thoughts about the task that needs to be accomplished. When I finally sit down to do it, it just seems to flow.
  
  Joe

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  donaldrbrown1952@...

  06/19/08 | Report as spam

  RE: The 3 Secret Signals of Procrastination

  I find procrastination comes easiest for me when I have a deskfull of things to do and don't effectively decide on which to do first. And I'm good at this.

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  chaos_master@...

  07/18/08 | Report as spam

  RE: The 3 Secret Signals of Procrastination

  I'm a huge procrastinator unless it absolutely interests me of coarse. On a lighter side think of it this way:
  Procrastination atleast has a good side....atleast you'll have something to do tomarrow

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  Sumeetmj

  10/14/08 | Report as spam

  RE: The 3 Secret Signals of Procrastination

  I believe that your Value System, Beliefs and Reverence to work will greatly help you to reduce Procrastination. It's your culture framework that is more important.
  
  For example, I often procrastinate on my waking up from bed until I finally realized that in order to getup early, I only need to overcome slumber barring a few exceptions when you are stressed out or over-exerted.