Stress Free Living – 5 Tips to End Procrastination

Tip # 1    Everything starts and ends with the self

If someone said to you that you were a procrastinator, what would  immediate reaction be. Denial, confirmation or a deer in the headlight look.  .

Some people like to blame their lack of action on others. But the truth is, you are procrastinate because you yourself choose to procrastinate.  The sooner you accept that, the better you’ll be able to overcome procrastination.

Tip # 2    Latin phrase Mea Culpa- It’s My Fault So Take Responsibility

You’ve accepted the fact that (a) you’re a procrastinator, and (b) you have a sincere desire to change.  Now tell yourself that if you fail to achieve a particular goal or a given task, it’s because you procrastinated. Mea culpa.  Admitting guilt or responsibility is a giant step.  Note, however, that there is a huge difference between admitting guilt and being too hard on yourself.  Admitting guilt is taking ownership of your actions.  Being too hard on yourself is unjustified self-blame.
Tip # 3    Ask: In what ways do I procrastinate?

Ask yourself, “In what ways do I procrastinate?”  Sit down with pen and paper.  Writing them will help you focus and identify them more clearly.  Here are some ways where you may procrastinate:

• paying bills
• not discussing the complaints you’ve received about a member of your team for fear of hurting his/her feelings
• repeatedly postponing a medical or dental appointment because you’ve got better things to do
• not returning the call of your son’s teacher because you know what the problem is and you’re fed up
  not discussing your resentment about your husband spending too much time at work or with his buddies
• not getting that hair cut, that dress dry-cleaned, that donation mailed
• not visiting a sick relative in the hospital
• not telling your significant other you no longer love her/him
• not calling your doctor about that persistent numbness in your right arm or not fixing a colonoscopy exam date
• not having the car’s squeaking brakes checked
• not going to confession because you never know what the priest’s schedule is
  not sending that overdue thank you note or making that overdue call to your mother-in-law

Tip # 4    Better in black and white than dreaming in technicolor

That’s just our way of saying that when you read things on paper, you’re able to act logically; this is much more effective than just thinking out how to avoid procrastination.

Putting down things in black and white is even better than brainstorming with another person.  Here’s the reason:  if you write down what needs to be done, you’re the only one who knows what’s urgent and important.

You focus on this task from the implementation to completion.  Once it’s completed, you take it off your list.  There’s that sense of accomplishment, no matter how small the accomplishment is.

You go on to the next task, until you actually get used to the idea of doing, rather than procrastinating.

Brainstorming with a friend, on the other hand, can be viewed as a positive, but can be a form of procrastination.  You’ll say to yourself, “what she said makes sense”, so you mull over it, leaving the task undone.

Tip # 5    It’s mantra time once again

Once in awhile you’ll deviate from your intentions.  You’re a human being with limitations, or else life, without warning, takes a detour, and we get derailed.

Let’s take a lesson from our brothers and sisters in the east who live by mantras that they recite to themselves every day.

Here’s one you can recite in the morning as you wake up:  “I will not procrastinate today.  It is unproductive.  I have tasks to do, and I will write them down so I can decide which of them need to be done by 12 noon.  My goal is to finish at least 2 big tasks and 2 small ones”.

Begin using these five tips beginning today and end your procrastination habit.