Stopping procrastination can be challenging, especially
since you can”t put it off until tomorrow! Most people who
procrastinate did not do so overnight. Like any other bad
habit, procrastination starts small and builds itself up.
Returning to a more dependable lifestyle however is
possible. Follow these simple steps below and eventually,
with dedication and self discipline your procrastination
should be under control and your tomorrows will be a little
less full!
Step #1 Start Small.
Usually if people procrastinate in their business lives
they also procrastinate in their personal life too and vice
versa.
Start small by making an everyday to do list. Examples
include, but are not limited to; taking out the trash,
doing the dishes, hanging up clothes, and maybe even
littler things like making the bed or tidying up the living
room.
When you have things under control at a personal level it
is easier to get things under control at a business level.
Getting yourself into the routine of not putting things off
at home will be difficult since the home is the easiest
place to procrastinate: it is always there, you always have
an extra day to work on it, and no one besides you or those
who live you will know what you are putting off.
However, if you have noticed, the places that we feel most
comfortable in are the easiest to begin a bad habit and
also the hardest place to get rid of that bad habit.
A smoker”s hardest place to deal with is their personal
space and yours is too. So take control and shape yourself
up at home to start the process of stopping procrastination.
Step #2 Take control at work.
No doubt if you are a procrastinator at home then you
usually have things piling up at work to do or you find
yourself at the end of the day hurrying to get things done
that you should have done that morning or the day before.
Well stop that!
Make a list, just like you did for at home. Start the day
by making a list of things you must check off by a certain
time in the day.
For example, say you want to get the reports done on time
that usually you put off until the end of the day. Make a
list and note that reports must be checked off by 10:00
that morning.
At first you may find yourself racing and checking off that
item on the list right at ten or slightly before but keep
at it and you just might find yourself checking off your
list long before the time its due!
Practice makes perfect and the more you practice and being
on time the easier it gets and soon it becomes as second
habit as procrastination is or hopefully used to be.
Step #3 If All else fails, weight the guilty consequences.
You know how mad you feel or even embarrassed when you have
pushed yourself to the last minute or even past the last
minute?
Whenever you feel yourself giving into the urge to
procrastinate just remember that feeling and predict how
you will feel the next day when you are faced with your
normal circumstances plus those you have avoided and waited
to do. A very simple form of self discipline but a very
effective one.
Stopping procrastination isn”t always easy but it can be
done. Follow these steps diligently; just be careful to get
started today even if only in a small way.
