How to Avoid Procrastinating

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Posted by: " Krishna " Krishna thenewactionhero

Fri May 16, 2008 6:52 pm (PDT)

 

How to Avoid Procrastinating

By: Jason Osborn

 

There are times in life when you are so tempted to keep on

procrastinating by moving deadlines and let little things pile up.

Here's the best way to avoid it - remember these 4S:

 

STOP - Procrastinating is not a good habit to have. It might start

only on one part of your life - housework for example - but pretty

soon it will graduate to aspects like filing your income tax or

finishing your term paper or paying insurance. The spillover from

one will definitely add more work to the other. Avoid

procrastinating at all cost if only because you will have more

stress when things pile up.

 

SCHEDULE - Okay, you let things slide and now you have a ton of

things to organize. Instead of turning a blind eye on it, take out a

calendar and schedule a date to work on it. Having a visual reminder

will serve two purposes: it becomes a commitment and you can

psyche yourself to work on that day. It doesn't have to be a whole-

day-affair kind of thing to finish everything in one sitting.

 

If you really can't bring yourself to complete it, just stagger the

work to certain hours every weekend for example. Apply the same to

other areas of your life where you're lagging behind and you will

see a marked improvement everywhere.

 

STICK WITH IT - Be disciplined enough to follow your schedule. For

example, you designate the third Friday every month to file all the

paperwork on your desk instead of doing it when it's a twelve inch

pile. Stick with it. Pretty soon, you'll have this as part of your

work routine already - no need for psyching up, no more stress, no

more mess.

 

SATISFACTION - Admit it, wouldn't you rather see things around you

in an organized manner? What about the rush when you finish work in

time? Wouldn't it be great to get that novel finally completed? The

emotional impact alone is satisfying! Use that as the top motivation

to avoid procrastinating.

 

To add more zest, why don't you promise yourself a treat when you

finish? It could be as simple as getting ice cream afterwards or

treating yourself to a spa or a day of golf. What's important is

that it will give you something to physically look forward to.

 

So stop, schedule, stick with it and be satisfied in the end.