Procrastination Kills, Kill Procrastination
I am not a fan of procrastination. In fact, I despise it. There are so many benefits associated with acting with immediacy, on impulse—whatever you want to call it—that any delay is just a completely counterproductive act in the pursuit of whatever goal you have in life.
With that said, here are 5 quick and easy ways to kill procrastination:
1) Put off your least appealing task to another time when you have more energy or motivation.
This is a great way to start the process of procrastination. Let's say you have a huge, daunting task that you need to accomplish. But, it's 3 in the morning because you've been working on it for hours and hours and you're exhausted. You need a break! So, instead of pounding through that big project at the moment, take some time off. Rest up and come back later when you'll be more likely to be productive (i.e., when your willpower is higher).
2) Set aside time at the end of the day to tackle your least favorite activity.
Instead of putting off your least favorite task until whenever you think you'll be able to do it, set aside a specific time of day that you can devote towards that goal. Some people prefer to do this in the morning, when they're fresh and energetic. Others prefer to schedule it at the end of the day, after they've accomplished as much as they can throughout the rest of their workday. No matter which time you choose, make a specific commitment to yourself that you'll have time devoted towards your least favorite task and stick to it.
3) Make a list of your most important tasks and do them first thing in the morning.
This one is so basic, but very effective. If you have five or ten tasks that you need to accomplish each day, just look at the list and rank them in order of importance (from 1-10 or A-Z). Get the most important tasks done first. And by most important, I don't mean the ones that you'll enjoy the most, but rather those that are going to have the biggest impact on your success or failure. If you're a writer and you need to write two books this year, get one of them out of the way first thing in the morning. Set yourself up for success by ranking all of your tasks in order of importance and then proceed down that list as efficiently as possible.
4) Make a list of the worst things that could happen. Then, assume they will happen.
We all know that stress is the worst thing that can possibly happen to us—well, in most cases it's not, but for the sake of this example we'll assume it is. In addition to having a good night's sleep and eating a good breakfast (which I highly recommend), I like to also prepare myself for what could go wrong every day. A lot of people don't make time for self-reflection or even put themselves in a state of positivity. Instead, they see the negative things that could happen and immediately go into defense mode. I'd like to conclude this statement by saying that some of the best things that have happened to me have come from accepting the worst things that I could possibly imagine—the good has always come just as a result of accepting those bad outcomes as well.
That being said, get a piece of paper and write down everything that could go wrong in the next few weeks. For example, if you're a banker on Wall Street and you're about to start trading for the first time, write down all of the things that might go wrong. You can add to this list as you come up with new things that you need to consider. Do not think about making any of those things happen… Simply make them happen . And please remember that this is just for fun. Don't be negative.
5) Think about something you're scared of doing. Then do it!
This is something that I talk about a lot in my work, but it's one of my favorite ways to overcome fear or anxiety as well. Most people love to avoid things—the worst case scenarios or the possibility of failure are really not an attractive option, especially when you're trying to make a lot of money (just ask any Wall Street banker!). However, thinking about and acting on what scares you is one of the quickest and easiest ways to get over any fear or anxiety.
You're probably afraid of a lot of things… perhaps working too hard or not working hard enough, speaking in public or not speaking in public, looking stupid or looking smart. The list goes on and on. The biggest thing to remember is that you can't avoid all of these things at all times—that would be counter-productive. Instead, learn to accept your fears and move forward in spite of them. That's usually when you'll experience the most positive result. Whatever your fears are, think about something that's important to you and then go do it.
By following these simple steps, you will soon be putting all of your lesser tasks off to another day and spending more time on what really matters most. Remember: procrastination is the enemy!
Until next time...
Your friend, Joel "The Procrastination Expert" Runyon
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Conclusion
Procrastination Kills, Kill Procrastination