Have you ever procrastinated? When you know very well what you should do but don’t feel like doing it or when you are afraid to do it you tend to shift the activity or goal forward and then start procrastinating. There are different types of procrastinators from the relaxed to the worried from the rebellious to the perfectionist procrastinator. Would you like to know what kind of procrastinator are you ?
After you understand what kind of procrastinator you are what can you do to break free from this nasty behavior? In these 7 tips you will find the answer to many of your questions:
- Make the To Do List. There are many effective ways to manage your business , and even some personal productivity apps , but pen and paper are certainly very effective to get started. A good way to build your list is to follow these points:
- List everything you would like to do, large or small. If it’s too busy, break it down into smaller parts.
- Do the most challenging and important tasks first and use the Eisenhower matrixto set priorities.
- Always check off the activities you do and list the ones that are not yet a routine. A good way to not procrastinate and achieve your goals is to make activities a habit
- Set a time to perform tasks and check your list regularly
- If you come up with new ideas, write them down on your To Do List in an area dedicated to “I’d like to do” or “new activities”.
- At the end of the day, check the To Do List and get ready for the next day putting in order the activities to do.
These are just a few short tips on how to make a To Do List. If you really want to learn the secrets of this method you can also read how to increase your personal productivity with the To Do List.
- Always start with the hardest things. The first Parkinson’s Law teaches us that we must do first things more difficult and then the simplest ones. Think about it if you have three things to do, for example if you have to study three subjects mathematics, history and literature and you are not at all a champion of science subjects, indeed, at the mere sight of an equation the stomach closes, it is better to start with mathematics or literature? At the beginning of the day or in the afternoon your mind is fresher, less tired so even if you would love to start reading the literature book, you better deal with the equations. Once you are done you will feel free from a burden , satisfied with what you have done and motivatedfrom the fact that if you did math in an hour then literature you can finish it even in less time since you like it so much more. The same thing also applies to non-school, work or personal tasks. For example, for someone to call to make an appointment or to confront the boss at work to ask for vacation can be more strenuous than you think. Many spend the whole day wondering if the time is right instead of getting rid of this burden of enjoying the day! In this type of business they are insecure procrastinators!
And you, do you want to know what kind of procrastinator are you ? - Give yourself a break from time to time. We are not machines so, it’s okay not to procrastinate, but you can’t live without giving yourself a moment’s break either! To avoid that the pause is too frequent or too long you can put a timer or use the Pomodoro technique . In moments of pause try to do something relaxing that you do not work too hard so avoid for example playing video games or watching television, both activities that tire you more than you think. Do you prefer a short walk, or a short chat with a friend, or even a light snack, in short, learn to give your best with the 7 tips .
- Give yourself a time limit. Parkinson’s first law says that “Work expands to occupy all available time; the more time is, the more important and demanding the work seems. “Cyril N. Parkinson. So if you don’t give yourself a limit, your day can last indefinitely and above all you don’t give space to other things that you would like to do and that would do very well. Many people “work” many hours, but besides being harmful to health, they often don’t work: they spend a lot of time in the workplace. This is the case of several executives I have known in my working life: people who wander from one meeting to another asking what the topic of discussion is, who take two-hour lunch breaks but then leave at nine, or who repeat N times the same meeting because they don’t decide to set a time and an agenda to get to the conclusion of the problem! If you want to live a balanced life, one of the best tips I can give you is to use your time well( the time you manage you don’t use ), the most precious resource you have at your disposal.
- Don’t be a perfectionist. Before starting to do something, do you wait until everything is in order and that the moment is right? Rather than doing something badly do you think it is better not to do it at all? Doing your homework well is an important thing, which gives you a lot of satisfaction, but it can also be a big impediment to achieving your small or large goals. Many people say they prefer to go it alone rather than delegate to someone else because they don’t trust the result or because they don’t think the work would be accurate enough, but if you want to learn how to achieve great results you need to start . Some students never feel sufficiently prepared so they prefer to postpone the exam indefinitely: every time there is something to improve or perfect and they don’t even try to face the professor. If you recognized yourself in one of these examples, you can read How to study better: 3 tips to get rid of perfectionism and enjoy life .
- Do one thing at a time. Do you know how long an average employee can stay focused in the office? Not more than three minutes according to a study conducted by VM González and G. Mark !! In fact we are constantly interrupted by phone calls, emails, colleagues, relatives, friends, etc. Today it is more and more frequent to find ourselves in conditions of mental multitaskingand even if we seem to do more activities by acting in this way, we actually tire the mind and are less productive. So make a list of the things you want to do and don’t get distracted.
If you are studying or working, it is better to turn off the television, the mobile phone and only in rare cases use background music. - Focus on the first step. “The only way to start doing something is to stop talking and start doing” Albert Einstein. Especially if the activity we have in front of us is large or it seems so, we are inclined to get discouraged and do not even start the journey. Have you ever gone to the mountains or have you ever tackled a challenging climb with your bicycle? At first it seems very hard, you look at the top and it seems to you that you will never get there, but if you focus on the first one you go back, then on the second and then on the next one, after a while you turn back and find that you have already made halfway . The novelty scares everyone, but if you take it as an adventure then it becomes stimulating and almost by magic you find yourself taking the same path you were afraid to start.
