Proactive People’s Blog

Conquering Procrastination

January 16, 2009 at 12:27 pm (Productivity and Goal setting)

Conquering Procrastination

One of the most obvious and logical qualities of Proactive People, is their ability to overcome any kind of Procrastination. They never say, well.. I have to do this, but let’s do it tomorrow . Actually to be even more precise they never “have to do things” they “want to do them”.

This is a long and greatly effective article, written with no Procrastination, yet with a great deal of Clarity and Vision. Some of the facts written below are based on highly educated researches with a sharp sense of accuracy. So, go make yourself a cup of green tea, get seated, and WANT to read it. Never feel pressured.

Introduction to Procrastination :

What’s procrastination, Procrastination or “task aversion” is the irrational delay of an intended course of action, even while expecting to be worse off for the . The procrastinator deviates from the task, usually in favor of another more enjoyable (or less unenjoyable) activity. This behavior is pervasive throughout society – everyone procrastinates to some degree – but some people are so chronically affected as to be severely debilitated and their actual “doing” is paralyzed with their excessive procrastination.

Procrastination is typically caused by the association of pain or discomfort with the prospective course of action; that is: stress. This may be physical (such as that experienced during hard labor or vigorous exercise) or psychological (such as in the form of frustration or anxiety). The task or the situation requiring the task may be perceived as dangerous, painful, overwhelming, difficult, tedious, uncomfortable, or boring; basically, unenjoyable; that is: stressful. Once habitualized, procrastination can be triggered at any time.

Replace the “Have to do” with “Want to do”

First, The mere thought that you are obligatorily required to do something is an extremely common cause for procrastination. When you tell yourself that you have to do something, you’re implying a lot of “negative” pressure on yourself, by saying subconsciously “I’m forced to do it”, so you’ll mechanically feel a sense of bitterness and rebellion. Procrastination then shapes up as a defense mechanism to keep you away from this “pain”. If the task you are putting off has a real deadline, then when the deadline gets very close, the sense of pain associated with the task becomes overridden by the much greater sense of pain if you don’t get started immediately.

The solution to this first mental block is to stay intensely present and tell yourself, I’m doing this, because I want to. Not because I’m obligated or that I have to do it. Although there might be some serious consequences. Nevertheless, deep inside, you are always free to choose. No one is ever capable of forcing you into doing things the way you do. All of the decisions you’ve pulled the trigger on along the years have brought you to where you are today. If you don’t like where you’ve ended up, you’re free to start making different decisions, and new results will come up along the road. Also be aware that you don’t “actually” procrastinate in every area of your life. Even the worst procrastinators have areas where they never procrastinate. Perhaps you never miss your favorite TV show, or you always manage to check your favorite online forums each day. However, you miss the bus or miss important classes. Which concludes that in each situation you have the absolute freedom of choosing. So if you’re putting off starting that new project you feel you “have to” do this year, realize that you’re choosing to do it of your own free will. Procrastination becomes less likely on tasks that you openly and freely choose to undertake.

As one of the many researches on the danger or some of the consequences that Procrastination could cause, the following are the most common :

• Lost opportunities: for example, somebody else buys the car the procrastinator wanted because they put off making a simple phone call. Or somebody else patents an invention the procrastinator thought of first, because they never got around to patenting it themselves.

• Tardiness: being late to meetings, showing up late at special events, and being late to pick up a date. Missing the beginning of the movie at the theater, and getting bad seats, because the procrastinator did not leave the house on time.

• Missed deadlines: from failing a school assignment by not turning it in on time to missing a flight at the airport because the procrastinator talked on the phone too long.

• Irresponsibility towards others: like failing to keep promises because they kept getting put off until later. Or causing others to be late for their commitments because the procrastinator didn’t pick them up on time.

• Lack of preparedness: such as when the basement floods unnecessarily because the procrastinator kept putting off installing a sump pump.

• Poor performance: failing an exam, because the student waited until the night before the test to begin studying.

• Career troubles: repeatedly missing deadlines on projects at work, making promotion unlikely and potentially leading to getting demoted or fired.

• Unnecessary expenses: like having to pay late fees because the procrastinator didn’t pay the bills on time even though they did have the money. Or having a huge liability from an automobile accident because the person at fault wasn’t covered because they put off paying their insurance bill.

• Financial difficulties: such as the inability to pay the bills due to putting off generating new sales or finding new customers for the business.

• Medical problems: like having to make a painful visit to the dentist to have cavities filled or teeth pulled because the patient kept putting off brushing their teeth. Or having a heart attack because the victim kept delaying the start of their personal health program.

• Dissatisfaction about oneself.

• Dissatisfaction of others about one’s procrastination. A spouse may even end the marriage because their partner put off getting a better paying job as promised.

So what are the causes to begin with?. I’ll be addressing the fifteen most common AND destructive causes that lead to Procrastination :

• Anxiety and fear
• Bad habits
• Discouragement
• Disorganization
• Distraction
• Family problems
• Fear of failure
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Frustration
• Lack of awareness
• Lack of time management skills
• Low ambition
• Low self-esteem
• Perception of difficulty
• Poor self-control skills

How to Overcome Procrastination :

• Recognize self-defeating problems such as; fear and anxiety, difficulty concentrating, poor time management, indecisiveness and perfectionism.
• Identify your own goals, strengths and weaknesses, values and priorities.
• Compare your actions with the values you feel you have. Are your values consistent with your actions?
• Discipline yourself to use time wisely: Set priorities.
• Study in small blocks instead of long time periods. For example, you will accomplish more if you study/work in 60 minute blocks and take frequent 10 minute breaks in between, than if you study/work for 2-3 hours straight, with no breaks. Reward yourself after you complete a task.
• Motivate yourself to study: Dwell on success, not on failure. Try to study in small groups. Break large assignments into small tasks. Keep a reminder schedule and checklist.
• Set realistic goals.
• Modify your environment: Eliminate or minimize noise/ distraction. Ensure adequate lighting. Have necessary equipment at hand. Don’t waste time going back and forth to get things. Don’t get too comfortable when studying. A desk and straight-backed chair is usually best (a bed is no place to study). Be neat! Take a few minutes to straighten your desk. This can help to reduce day-dreaming.

The Just Do it Method :

• Do the worst job (or part of the job) first and get it out of the way
• Once you tackle the part you are dreading, the rest is a breeze
• Stop spending time planning and just jump into doing it
• Set a time limit — “I’ll file papers for 5 minutes”
• Alternate unpleasant jobs with tasks you enjoy
• Delegate out items you can’t make yourself do

If you can’t do it, drop it :

A lot people experience what I like to call too many dreams or even worse “goals”
Goals’ precise definition is “A desired end result”. So, you never go around shouting about your goals. Goal are set “no matter how minor they seem to be” with immediate steps toward your desired end result and a clear deadline. So say for instance, you want your dream job, you want to travel around the world, you want to be an expert Chess player, or whatsoever is that you want. You have to have a plan of attack that you review and work on everyday all the time. Otherwise, just drop it. Yes, I’m not suggesting that you give up on your goals or dreams. But again, if you are an intelligent person you ought to know what’s best for you. You know what’s “more” important. And you simply do it, and drop those which level of importance is so low or even important on the long run, however currently so not urgent .

Level of urgency and Importance :

There are four different types of tasks.

Urgent and Important
Urgent not important
AND
Not Urgent but Important
Not Urgent not Important

Note that each of these four types depend entirely on different factors from one person to another.

QUADRANT I, are the ones that you start doing right away without the smallest sign of Procrastination. Obviously they are the Urgent and Important tasks, such as :

Visiting your dying close relative .
Quitting drugs or weed.
Ending a forbidden destructive manner.
Being in schedule with psychotherapist .

QUADRANT II, are the ones that you start doing as soon as you can, however, their importance is so limited. They are the Urgent yet not Important tasks, such as :

Going grocery shopping
Calling wife to ask about what’s for dinner
Responding to certain work-related e-mails

QUADRANT III, are the ones that you start doing as soon as possible, however they are extremely important, thus must be done correctly. They are the not Urgent but Important tasks, such as :

Preparation for important meetings
Serious problem prevention
Intimate relationship building
Religious or values clarification

QUADRANT IIII, are obviously the not Urgent not Important tasks, which some of them might need the “drop it” method, such as :

Junk mail cleaning
“Escape” unnecessary social activities
Mindless web surfing, etc.

How do you decide which ones you “usually” start working on?. That’s easily done by

The Payoff versus Time Method :

With this method, you weight each task by the payoff you expect from it versus the time it takes to do it. Tasks that have high payoff and that take little time are the ones you would do first. Correspondingly, tasks that have low payoff and that take a lot of time are ones you would do last or not at all.
Now Where do you spend most of your time? While it’s undeniable that Quadrant I requires attention and Quadrant II calls for attention (though the call may be illusory), Quadrant III is the critical zone. That’s where the real work that truly moves us forward gets done.

Some other ways for a better approach :

• Break the project into a set of smaller, more manageable tasks. You may find it helpful to create an action plan.
  
• Start with some quick, small tasks if you can, even if these aren’t the logical first actions. You’ll feel that you’re achieving things, and so perhaps the whole project won’t be so overwhelming after all.

• Finish one task at a time, no matter how long it takes, you are not allowed to begin another task till you finish what you started.

• Develop a higher sense of responsibility towards what you are doing. Again don’t feel “obligated” to doing it, but feel responsible.

• Understand and even analyze thoroughly the real importance of you are doing or about to do.

• Make the project and environment as pleasant as possible.
• Give yourself the best tools and work space for the project.
• Take a few minutes to organize your work space.
• A clean desk allows you to focus without visual distraction.
• It’s only a chore if you think of it as a chore.

Stay motivated all the time :

• Find an “accountability partner” to track your progress.

• Schedule a regular time to check in with a friend or colleague.

• Rewarding your accomplishments encourages productivity.

• Give yourself a break, a treat, a nap — whatever is a reward for you.
  
• Reward every step along the way, not just the end result.

• The bigger the accomplishment, the bigger the reward.

• Feel good about yourself, and enjoy what you are doing.

• Occasionally throw a celebration party for a big accomplishment.

• Go take some time out, like traveling to somewhere you always wanted.

Key Points :

To have a good chance of conquering procrastination, you need to spot straight away that you’re doing it. Then, you need to identify why you’re procrastinating and taken appropriate steps to overcome the block.
Part of the solution is to develop good time management, organizational and personal effectiveness habits, and that’s easily done by reading books, attending seminars, and reading Blogs and articles like this one. These things help you establish the right priorities, and manage your time in such a way that you make the most of the opportunities open to you.