Procrastination

I have to admit, I am a terrible procrastinator. I always have been, and I’m hoping I won’t always be. When I started this page, it was my goal to not procrastinate and get ahead of schedule for my blogs. It started out pretty good, but has slowly gotten worse and worse. I wanted to learn some ways to help me with my procrastination, and if I’m learning so will you!

According to this article (https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_96.htm), they state there are 3 steps to overcoming procrastination.
Step 1: Recognize that you are procrastinating.

Obviously, there are reasons that we may put an important task off that are okay. Life happens and other tasks that are more urgent can arise. I’m talking about the times you have put an item on your to-do list and it has been sitting there for days, or weeks, or months. That task that you know needs to get done, but then you decide to clean your house instead. The type of procrastination that is intentional, even if we don’t realize it. I am recognizing that I have been putting this off, and I have been playing on my phone instead of writing this.

Step 2: Work out why you are procrastinating.

Some reasons can include:
-You find the task unpleasant or boring
-You have poor organization
-You feel overwhelmed by the task, or lack confidence while doing it
-Poor decision making
-Afraid of success
-If you’re a perfectionist, you are afraid of the task being imperfect

For myself, I feel it is the combination of poor organization and poor decision making. Lately, I have not been scheduling tasks for myself to do and because of that poor decision I have been lacking a schedule in my life. Now, I know I need to make an effective to-do list, and schedule out my time to use it to its fullest extent.

Step 3: Adopt Anti-procrastination strategies.

These are:
-Forgive yourself for procrastinating
-Commit to the task
-Promise yourself a reward
-Have an accountability buddy
-Act as you go
-Rephrase your internal dialogue
-Minimize distractions
-Get your least favorite tasks done right away in the morning

This list puts in perspective how many things I was doing wrong while trying to write this blog. I always have my phone near me, I never commit to the task, I don’t ask Shaun to hold me accountable, and I make this blog seem like a chore. In reality, I love when I get to write these and I need to take action and own up to my faults. I hope this helps any of you beat your procrastination struggles and gets you to work harder when it is needed.

Work hard
From your Life Tutor
-Sam