Avoid the Avoiding Habit and Find More Time and Less Stress

Procrastination can creep in and easily become a habit. Once it does, it erodes your capacity to function effectively. But it can be a hard habit to break.  However, with some honest self-assessment and an organized and attainable plan of attack, it can be overcome successfully.
Be gentle with yourself when you decide to try and kick the procrastination habit.  It may be so ingrained that you don’t fully recognize all the ways you actually procrastinate. Start out by taking a large or complicated task and breaking it down into smaller parts that you can accomplish easier.  It’s important to bear in mind that the most difficult or complex tasks are simply just a series of smaller jobs.
Make a verbal commitment to someone else about improving your time management skills and your desire to avoid procrastinating. Allow others to become involved in your efforts by reviewing your progress, helping you set deadlines or evaluating your results can be very helpful.  This will most likely create a commitment on your part to fulfill the expectations they’ve set for you.
Sit down and map out a plan to manage your time more effectively.  When a deadline is looming, make sure you allot time each day to work on the project so it doesn’t sneak up on you in the final hours or days.  Learn to ask for help when you’re feeling overwhelmed or overworked.
Reward yourself for good behavior and accomplished goals. Don’t wait until you’ve accomplished the ultimate goal, but reward yourself for your successes along the way.  Make sure the reward is something you like to do.  Treat yourself to the newest book by your favorite author and take the time to read it.  Indulge in bubble baths or relaxing music.  If you’ve gotten into the habit of working late, make sure you develop a new habit of going home on time each night.
By making a commitment to avoid the avoiding habit, you’ll soon be well on your way to finding more time and find yourself more relaxed and productive and less stressed in the process.

How To Manage Procrastination

Have you ever found yourself putting off important tasks that you know you need to get done? This is called “procrastination,” and it is very common.  Some people only procrastinate once in a while, and it doesn’t have much effect on their lives.  Others procrastinate on almost every task and the procrastination can take a toll on both their personal and professional lives.

People who tend to procrastinate are not “lazy” by nature.  In fact, they can work just as hard as anyone else.  However, they spend their time on the wrong tasks. This can be because they don’t understand the difference between urgent tasks that need to be completed now and tasks that can wait for another day.  Instead of taking care of the urgent tasks, they spend too much time “putting out small fires.”

Other times, people procrastinate when they are overwhelmed by a task.  They may not know where to start and can almost become fearful or paralyzed at the thought of starting the job.  Instead of tackling it piece by piece, they avoid it all together by keeping themselves busy with other menial tasks.

It may sound silly, but some people procrastinate because they are afraid to fail, or even to succeed.  Perfectionists also tend to procrastinate because they feel they wil be unable to do a good enough job.

Someone with a very messy house may actually suffer from one of these extreme types of procrastination.  They may be so terrified of tackling the job of cleaning, that they ended up letting the mess get out of control.

It is never easy to overcome a problem, and procrastination is no exception.  In order to deal with it, the procrastinator must figure out the reason(s) behind the procrastination.

By being honest with yourself and analyzing how you handle situations, you can recognize when you are starting to procrastinate.  Some signs include:

* When you have a work project due, but instead of working on it, you spend your day doing unimportant tasks that could be completed another day.

* Reading an e-mail or item on your to-do list several times, without starting to work on it.

* When you do sit down to start an important task, you find an excuse to get back up, or you start surfing the net or checking emails.

* You find yourself waiting to be “inspired” or to “get in the mood” to finish your task.

If you are procrastinating because you are working on a task that you don’t enjoy, delegate it to someone or hire someone to do it for you. If that isn’t possible, you will have to find a way to get over your procrastination and get the job done. Here are some tips:

* Motivate yourself with a reward.  If you are working on a large project, treat yourself to a movie when you are finished. To be effective, you cannot give yourself any lee way.  Don’t allow yourself to go until the work is done.

* Find an accountability partner who will check in with you to see how you are progressing.  If you know you have to be accountable to someone, you will be more motivated to get the work done.

* Think about the things that will happen if you do not get the work done.  If you don’t get your child’s birthday presents wrapped before the party, they will be disappointed. If you don’t get work done for a client, you may lose future work from this client in the future.