What You Can Do About Procrastination


Goals stalled? Always running behind? Stuck in a rut?

Procrastination means "putting it off". Whether it's a career goal, a home project, or something about your daily life, a sustained plateau on a goal can rattle your motivation, challenge your thinking. And that can eventually mean that you're putting off your LIFE, not just a task.

The key is to push through these plateaus to see the finish line. Take a good look, reassess your strategy, ask some questions, make some changes. Not dealing with it, won't make it go away. Stop putting off your life!

What can I do when I find it hard to just get started?

The hardest thing about everyday tasks is getting started on them. It's kind of like pushing a stalled car -- once you get going, everything rolls right along. You can beat procrastination in daily life tasks by setting up systems that help you. Set a time to pay bills (Wed mornings, for example). Then you do it and forget it. Most people don't decide "not to" do something -- they just don't every consciously decide TO do it. Decide. Put life on your schedule.

What can I do when I don't feel qualified to perform the task?

Being afraid that you will fail at something is a sure-fire way to get you to stop before you've started. You can beat procrastination by being honest with yourself about your level of training in that particular task. Don't complain or delay. Simply request help from someone qualified who can help you learn.

What can I do when I'm not sure this is something I really want?

I was having trouble finishing painting my kitchen and I couldn't figure out why. As I started to really think about it, I realized that I didn't really like the color. "Martha Stewart" said I ought to like it, but I just didn't. As soon as I mentally fired Martha and got the color I really wanted, I finished in no time. You can beat procrastination by telling the truth about what you really want out of life. Live as the star of your own life, not as an extra in someone else's.

What can I do when the task seems huge, overwhelming?

Beware of over-exaggeration. While it may seem like it will take lightening years to complete a job, you can control procrastination by using a timer to help you see what you can really accomplish in 30 minutes. I guarantee you'll be shocked. Schedule a specific amount of time that you will spend on it each day, or week -- set the timer. Devote that time to it, and then return next time. You'll move forward without exaggeration or exasperation.

What can I do when there are many things demanding my attention?

When there is too much crammed into 24 hours, often nothing of real value gets done You can control procrastination by setting priorities. Do things that are important to you and your life. Weed out the junk in your life, the same way you pull the weeds in your garden - just because they volunteered to show up doesn't mean you want them there!

Making a task easier often comes with making a choice to adjust your schedule, re-allocate your money, or choosing how to spend your energy. We all know that, like mom taught us, we have to get our work done before we can go out and "play". Put your work on a schedule, keep it realistic (you're only human!), and that makes play time all the more enjoyable. Your happiness depends on it!

Professional Life Coach Kathy Gates specializes in helping people who are ready to create a simpler, less stressful, more joyful and meaningful lifestyle. Visit http://www.reallifecoach.com for information, products and services, and sign up for a free newsletter.

MORE RESOURCES:
RELATED ARTICLES
How to Use the Power of Words to Your Benefit - Part II
A friend of mine read the article, How to Use the Power of Words to Your Benefit, and dryly made the comment, "So what?"At first it didn't concern me, but a few days later I began thinking about his comment. I had obviously not made the point clear, and therefore I decided to expand on this concept.
How To Be Motivated To Create The Life Of Your Dreams
When it comes to motivating yourself to be a better person, to do better at work or to create a happier family life you need to understand the importance of taking control of your self-talk. You really need to know how to motivate yourself through thick and thin.
Get Things Done: Take 21!
Ever begin doing something that you do for a few days, and then simply stop doing it?For example, let's say you promised yourself that you were going to file papers immediately before they got out of hand, but then something else came up, and the next thing you knew, you had another pile of papers that needed to be filed.Or perhaps, on January 1 you made a vow to yourself to exercise for 20 minutes every day.
Fear Emotions - Positive or Negative?
What is fear's purpose? How do you handle it? While I am working in my pest control business, I meet people on an almost daily basis who are influenced by negative fear thoughts regarding pests invading their premises. A good size spider, rat, or unexpected insect can set someone off pretty quickly, and literally immobilize them.
So What Is Your Real Motivation?
We are all guilty of wanting to change our circumstances, bettering ourselves and altering our life's plans, but unfortunately a lot of us fail to see the bigger picture. In fact many of us don't even realise that there may be a bigger picture.
Keep the Channel Open
Why do you do what you do? What is your real work in the world, and why is it important to know the answer?I'm an entrepreneur at heart. I have started and run several businesses, and as I look back, I think the most important element in financial and personal success is awareness of purpose and the capacity to stay open to it.
5 Fun & Easy Ways to Get Out of the Rut
I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel less than great. Low, grouchy, fed-up and bored are all words you could use to describe what I'm like on those days.
Motivation: Small Changes, Big Results
When I was 8 years old, my parents let me go to the toy store with my buddy Mike and his Mom.My dad gave me a whole dollar to spend.
Success -- The Key and the Fire
Self-discipline is a powerful tool that can help you accomplish about anything you can dream or imagine. Self-discipline is the act of controlling our emotions, actions, thoughts, words and personal direction.
How To Get Through A Bad Day
No matter how hard you try to make them otherwise, some days are just awful. They start off bad, they never get any better, and they end on a low and sometimes even gloomier note.
Book Summary: Self Motivation
Gail Lindenfield is a well-known British author who has written several self-help books. In Self Motivation, she does a good job of going over many aspects of self development and she provides solutions to a variety of everyday problems.
Wake Up to the Life You Love
While speaking at a San Diego university recently, I was fortunate that I was not asked to leave the stage. You see, I chose to share with the students in my audience some frightening statistics.
4 Qualities of Highly Successful People
What if you can be, do or have anything you want, what would you desire in your life?Now do you believe it can happen? Yes? No? In the words of Henry Ford, "If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right."Well then what actually happens for those people who do seem to get everything they desire?Let's take a closer look.
Why Do Flowers Inspire Me So Much?
I grew up in a very cold climate where winter seemed go on for 6 months and ice, snow and barren trees is what you saw on a daily basis. Plus the bone chilling cold and cloudy skies all made for a long dreary winter.
Discover The Upside of Anger
Most of us are prone to anger! As we grow older, a certain degree of control keeps us in check, but the pot is on simmer and the lid is loosely fixed. An unexpected jolt, or a sudden increase in heat will nearly always result in a boiling cauldron.
How to Stay Motivated Until You Get What You Want
And somehow you knew how to stay motivated..
Procrastination Emancipation
It's early January as I sit down to research and write this newsletter. I launch my web browser, surf over to MSN.
7 Hot Tips for Self Improvement Part 1
Have you ever imagined that life could be a lot better and more fulfilling than yours is right now? Are you eager to learn a self improvement technique that will make it so?If you are read on.I am going to lay down 7 simple steps for your self improvement plan.
The P Word... Procrastination
A problem many of us are familiar with. Its showing up in your work environment interfering with your daily life?.
Its Not Your Fault
Have you ever wondered what's really holding you back from achieving all your dreams and making the money you really want to make?Well, worry no more. It's not your fault.