procrastination
Dean Caporella asked:

Ever wondered if there is a trick on how to use time effectively? The main problem with those people trying to achieve in their lives is while they appear to be busy, the results are not on the board. Sound familiar?

The Importance Of Time Management

The trick is concentrating on the end result rather than appearing to be busy. This achieves nothing and more often than not you’ll end up running around in circles chasing your tail! No one can control time but the secret is how well and how productively you use it.

For those in business, particularly the work-from-homers, the toughest part is getting going. No one is looking over their shoulders and the only person they are accountable to is themselves. This is a real problem. It’s a breeding ground for the biggest killer of people trying to use time effectively…procrastination.

How To Beat Procrastination

Using my case history as an example, as a writer, procrastination hampered my time management efforts to the point of sheer frustration. Don’t get me wrong, I love to write and have written thousands upon thousands of words.

My problem was, when I had a project to complete without a deadline attached to it, I’d get into a comfort zone and any good time management principles would fly out the window! This was bad, particularly being on my own with no one to account to.

Even though the money was good, for some reason it still wasn’t enough incentive to start punching away on my keyboard. I’d sit at my computer and surf the net or, I’d look up at the ceiling and count the vents or, I’d look out the window and try to guess what make and model car would zoom by next…frustrating!

It was procrastination at it’s worst. Other procrastination issues facing people include fear of failure, waiting for the right time, no set goals, being perfectionists or simply being overwhelmed by the task at hand. Is this you? Let’s examine some ways you can use your time effectively and bury procrastination once and for all.

Tips To Beat Procrastination

Try these time management exercises on for size!

1. Firstly, confessing to yourself you are procrastinating is vital. Simple fact is, most people know deep down they are but are still not driven enough to do something about it.

2. Appoint someone you respect enough or even fear in some respects to be accountable to. What better way than to self motivate than out of fear.

3. Check your list of things to do and prioritize. Urgent tasks go to the top. If nothing is extremely urgent, then start with something quick and small but make your next task the most unpleasant and difficult on the list. It’s like exercise. You do a short warm up to get the stiffness out of your muscles before you begin your main workout.

4. Set yourself rewards. This is a great way to use time effectively. Set small rewards during the day and one major reward at the end. I break my task into time blocks. If it’s a three hour writing job, then I’ll take a short break every hour. Also, compete against yourself in your own mind. A three hour job completed in two hours fifty minutes means you’ve got a little extra time to play with.

5. Do one more thing before you retire for the night that will give you a sense of accomplishment. You go to bed in a positive frame of mind and it’s one less task you have to do tomorrow. Be careful not to get complacent though.

6. Finally, have your accountability partner call you before the start of each work day to check you’ve completed each of your listed tasks. You’ll probably **** him/her by the end of the month but check your productivity levels and see what a difference it’s made!

Good time management is a combination of several factors but unless you have the desire to achieve deep down, then it will probably take a little more than just these time management exercises to get you going!

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procrastination
Sami Ben Hassine asked:

To be a doer means to take action. To implement the things you’ve been putting off doing. Thinking is passive. It is comfortable because it doesn’t require very much out of us. Doing is active. We avoid doing because it requires a lot of time and energy. Frankly, most of us just don’t have enough of that at the end of the day.

Following these tips will help you to stop putting your energy toward thinking, and focus it on doing instead.

If you’ve been involved in something like Internet Marketing or business for any length of time, you know that there are a million different reports and a million different people telling you what to do. They are probably giving you excellent advice.

The trouble is, it takes so much out of you to actually to follow through with your plans. You know what it takes to be successful. The next level is to actually take those steps and achieve your goals. What you need is a solid plan. You need some actions that will stop your brain from thinking, and catapult you into action.

Admit That You Have a Problem

This sounds like a line from a recovery program. Yet, it can work wonders in helping you to overcome your procrastination problem. Admit that you are a procrastinator, and the other tips will sink in beautifully.

It is easy enough to blame others for our problems. You can say “oh, the baby was fussy so I didn’t get any work done” or “they didn’t give that to me in time so I couldn’t do it.” However, these are excuses. Admit that you alone hold the keys to your success, and you’ll go a long way toward overcoming procrastination.

Say “I Don’t WANT to Procrastinate Anymore!”

Saying things out loud give them power. You need this power in order to take control of the problem. You DON’T want to procrastinate anymore, so make it so. Actions speak louder than words, but these words can help guide you.

Admit Guilt

Some people may always feel very guilty when they procrastinate. You may have a constant nagging feeling that you should be doing the work you’ve been putting off for ages.

If you have this guilt, admit it. Admission will help get a load off of your mind. You’ll be surprised at how light you’ll feel once you pinpoint the guilt and own it.

Take Stock of Your Procrastination

Ask yourself what things you are currently procrastinating on. Write these down! Getting details down on paper gives your mind space to breath.

Your mind can only hold so much in without feeling overwhelmed. Then, guess what happens? You get the urge to procrastinate because you can’t deal with it all.

So, get it all down on paper. This will help you to stop thinking, and start doing.

You CAN break the procrastination cycle if you put your mind to it. Remember, stop thinking about all that you have to do, and start doing it.

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procrastination
Dennis Harting asked:

How much better would you life be if you could take the actions that you know would make you successful? Would things be different if you had a way to overcome procrastination? For most, the quality of their life increases substantially when they are able to do what they know how to do. It is interesting to note, that the majority of individuals have an idea of what it takes to be a success in any area. However, the failure to act is what stops these people from attaining the level that they desire.

Success in any area of life requires action. Power has been described as “the ability to act”. When one is unable to act in specific situations, powerless has set in. Procrastination promotes this result. This single habit destroys more careers, marriages, and self-esteem than any other single trait. In its’ infancy, it is a minor irritation. However, when it is allowed to grow deep into our psyche, procrastination has the capability of totally paralyzing one from acting. It subtly becomes a bigger motivator (or demotivator) in our decision making. The words “later” and “tomorrow” are the default mindset.

Procrastination is driven by two factors: laziness and fear. Often, when we have something that is rather quick and not difficult to do, we still put it off. These situations are driven by laziness, We simply do not feel like doing that activity at the moment. A “Just Do It” attitude helps in overcoming this. At the same time, there are things that we put off doing because we fear the results that we will receive. Our projections are negative which cause us to avoid acting. We believe that perhaps if we wait, things will pass by. Of course, this only compounds the issue. Time acts to magnify the circumstances. In these instances, we will act when the fear of the consequence of not doing it is greater than the fear associated with doing it.

A procrastination list is a valuable tool in challenging the habit of procrastination. Regardless of the motivator, it enable us to take action in an orderly manner. A great deal of a procrastinator’s problem is in their thinking. By using this list. much of the thought process is removed. We set down all that we are putting off on paper as they come to mind. The order is set without any pre-qualification. Everything is listed regardless of the size of the task. If it is being put off, it is written down.

Once the list is completed, the tasks are handled one-by-one in the sequence listed. There is no jumping around. If it is next on the list, that is what is focused upon. The process of thinking is removed entirely from the equation. Also, it is vitally important to concentrate on one activity until it is fully completed before moving onto something else. Procrastinator’s tend to bail out when things get a little difficult. Resist this temptation while finishing the task at hand.

The other technique that is really effective against procrastination is the procrastination partner. This is someone who you decide you will be accountable to for helping with your list. We seem to be able to take action when we have someone else that we are answering to. This is an ideal way to set up those parameters for yourself.

With this resource, we find someone who we can put trust in to have the gumption to honestly push us. If you find someone who will let you be lax, it will not work. Upon sitting with this person, we show them our procrastination list. A schedule is set down as to what actions we will take and when. Regular interaction is required to monitor the progress and report the results. Sometimes people will each establish a list and help each other work on it. The more you can involve the other person in motivating you, the better. It is similar to having a workout partner. The accountability is often enough to get us to act.

Our thinking is what creates the thoughts to put something off. When we remove that process or we are working with someone else who does not carry that same idea, the fear that we conjured up loses its power. This is the starting point to regaining our personal power. Our success increases immediately when we are able to take the proper action. The ability to act is a quality that the highest achievers have.

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procrastination
Abhishek Agarwal asked:

Is making excuses is your first thing when you lose deadlines?

- Will you reason out your failure, rather than trying to finish the project?

- Was your failure in finishing the job unavoidable?

- Do you think finishing the job is important?

- Is a plan put down to finish a job really soon?

You should start taking responsibility for your failures. If you ever think of giving a excuse again, think about the great American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s saying about predicament procrastinators get in: “It takes less time to do a thing right than explain why you did it wrong.”

Are you finding yourself victimized by circumstance and events? Do you excel others in complaining? What you plan to do when you postpone your work? How is your time spent when you postpone a job which should be done? Are you really trying to change? Are the causes for your procrastination hidden which is yet to be discovered?

Procrastinators will find it easy to get a reason not to start. To take charge of life, you should taking responsibility for everything which happens in your project. If you do fail, try a self analysis and check if you could produce a better result by trying something different. This will help you to complete your next project successfully, you will be eager to get started with the project as soon as you can. Try to find out the needs and the perfect starting circumstance will never come.

Asking hard questions is the only way out of procrastination’s vicious circle. Circumstances do not victimize us. You can do what is to be done. You should learn to prioritize things, and separate things which should be done immediately and things which can wait. If you thinking to delay a project ask the following questions:

- Is there much benefit in the delay?

- Is the reason justifiable for postponing the job?

- Will I like to live with the consequence of delaying this project?

Get in front of a mirror and question yourself if the reason for your delay is quite justifiable. Scan your reasons for your want to delay this project, with a microscope; think of the possibility if the reasons are just excuses delaying the start of this project. Try to recollect what happened when your last project got delayed which is something similar to this. What are the possible benefits expected to come from this delay? Note down them. Now question your self how the project is coming up. Does the project get any kind of benefits from this delay?

Is it just excuses or is it actually a justifiable reason? What could have possibly happened if you moved on with the project without a delay? Always keep in mind the saying of Napoleon Hill on waiting: “Do not wait. The time will never be just right.”

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procrastination
Michael Lee asked:

“Do not put off for tomorrow what you can do today,” so says the famous adage. Yet people all over the world are still victims of procrastination. Despite the presence of deadlines, people still do things at the last minute. What are the real causes of procrastination?

There are many causes of procrastination; but in this article; you’ll find the ones which plague humankind the most.

1) Fear Of Failure

One of the top three causes of procrastination is the fear of failure. When you feel that the task is simply too difficult or complex for you to take on, you tend to put it off.

Sometimes, you end up preparing too much for the task that you actually fail to finish the assignment itself. Other times, you keep yourself preoccupied with other activities, just so you don’t have to deal with the assignment right away.

2) Finding The Right Mood

When you’re an artist, finding the right mood is a big deal. But when you have a looming deadline, you don’t have time to get into the mood. You have to delve into the task assigned to you and let the mood follow in your footsteps. In other words, you just have to do it.

3) Underestimating The Time Required

Another one of the top causes of procrastination is thinking that you have all the time in the world to finish a project.

You might find yourself calculating that you only need an hour to write that essay. What you don’t include in your computation is the extra time you need when ideas don’t come pouring in or when your computer fizzes out.

Procrastination is a habit a lot of people have and will always have. However, knowing the top three causes of procrastination will surely help you deal with deadlines better and get ahead of others in life.

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