Kill The Procrastination Monster!
Okay, I am not normally a man of violence. I was in the Army for 13 years but I was a musician and then a supply and logistics officer. I was not the trained killer type. I have to tell you that one disgusting creature has pushed me to thoughts of violence in the worst way! This slimy individual has stolen productivity, killed the best intentions and robbed me of results. This individual is my procrastination monster!
He is always hanging around getting in the way and causing chaos not to mention annoying my family and friends. He has no social graces and he smells!
I have come to one conclusion.
Procrastination has to die!
I would hire a hit man to take him out but he is always close to me and I can't trust someone else to do the job that is really my responsibility to carry out. Besides, what if the hit man missed procrastination and hurt me instead....
Here is my plan for killing my procrastination monster. (I am writing this while he is asleep so he has no clue what is about to happen to him: he he he)
The first thing I am going to do is to take his food source away.
Every time he gets a hold of food he grows bigger and stronger. (and smells even more) I have got to keep him from eating. Here's how:
1. I am going to make sure that I have well-defined goals in place that are specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and have time limits attached. In other words: SMART goals.
2. I am going to make sure that I have check lists and daily tasks planned out so that I can work the list and work the plan so that I am not tempted to feed my crusty old companion.
3. I am going to tackle the biggest or the hardest tasks first. This way I have the most energy and the most focus early on to complete the difficult tasks of the day. Also when I finish that hard or large task and I cross it off my list, I will build success for myself and motivation which will re-energize me to complete the easier and smaller tasks of the day.
4. Each day I am going to take some time to re-evaluate my daily to do list and compare what I have accomplished that day to what I need to finish this week in order to meet my weekly goals. If I need to re-adjust my plans then I will do so. This will put me in a position to start tomorrow with an up-to-date checklist and to do list so that all I have to do is follow my plan.
The next thing to do is to take away his ego.
He gets his energy from my attitude and my thoughts. I never realized how much credit I give to him simply by thinking about not doing something or rationalizing putting off a task because of one reason or another. My "stinkin thinkin" is the reason why he smells so bad!!! Here is how I am going to kill his ego.
1. I am not going to allow my attitude to run my life unless my attitude is positive and productive. We cannot control the hand that life deals us but we can control how we react to it.
2. I am going to surround myself with positive people that understand what I am wanting to accomplish and that support me along the way to my success. (we have that here at WA)
3. I am going to use posters, charts, quotes, and any other visuals to promote positive motivating slogans to remind me of success. I am going to post them where I can see and review them throughout the day to keep me focused on my goals.
The final thing I need to do is to humiliate him so that he goes away and commits suicide.
He loves attention and thrives on being the center of everything that I do or want to do. I need to ridicule him and put him down to the point where he can't stand to be around me. As he gets weaker from lack of food and smaller with less energy from killing his ego, he won't be as persistent and he will be much easier to handle.
The less I think about him and the more i laugh in his face; the more he will back off and go away to sulk and feel sorry for himself. He will start to wonder why he stays with me and he will start to think about ending his life. Here is how I will humiliate my procrastination monster.
1. Refuse to recognize that he exists. This is hard to do because of his smell but as he gets weaker, he does not smell as much. (use air fresheners if you have to) Completely ignore him and if he gets in your personal space; laugh in his face and be anything but polite to him.
2. Take away anything that reminds me of his existence. I don't want any temptations to be within easy reach throughout my day. I am going to work in an area where I can concentrate on the things that I need to do. If I know or think that something might tempt me or distract me, I am going to take care of it before it has a chance to take care of me.
3. I am going to balance my work from my daily tasks and to do lists with my health and my family, and happiness. If I do not balance this business with my health then I cannot have the energy and fitness to become a success in the first place. If I don't balance this business with my family then I will become distracted and frustrated which will allow the monster to renew his ego because of my attitude and thoughts. I also need to take some time to have fun and relax so that I can re-energize and refocus. In other words, I need to remember to have fun once in awhile.
4. In order to humiliate my procrastination monster, I have to remember not to accidently feed or give energy to any other procrastination monsters in my area. Everybody has them and sometimes they can get too close to each other. This is always a bad thing. It is bad enough to smell one let alone two or three together! My spouse's procrastination monster is the one I have to really watch out for.
Once he is murdered. Leave him dead. Sometimes a procrastination monster can come back to life especially if they were really big and strong to begin with. I don't want that to happen so I won't mourn for him or put flowers on his grave. As a matter of fact, I am not going even think about him once he is buried. (yes, I need to bury him in order to fully understand that he is dead and gone) The smell won't be as bad once some dirt is thrown in his face.
I do not think that there will be any penalties for killing him. Nobody likes a procrastination monster anyway and there is no jail time for the murder of one.
The final thing that I have to guard against is unknowingly advertising that I have some living space for another procrastination monster. These slimy creatures are always multiplying and the young ones venture away from their mothers in search of new homes. I cannot afford to bring another one under my roof.
I will share one final bit of news that I just heard. The International Society of Procrastinators tried to have their annual meeting last week but there was a problem. They couldn't get past their opening speech!
Well, I am going to start the killing right now before my procrastination monster wakes from his daily nap.
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You might also be interested in reading this, my friend: Need More Time to Work on Your Website? Let Me Give It to You!
This has been a major problem for me as far back as I can remember, so this post came at a good time. I've neglected my sites for quite a while due to lack of motivation, but I upgraded to yearly this week so it's time to get shifting and back to work.
I know what needs to be done, but that monster keeps telling me "I'm wasting my time" etc. I just let him chatter away and try to ignore him, I can't let him get the better of me any longer.
Good luck in your fight :)
Hello Jay, YOU can do it. slay your own monster and take action. Let me know how it goes. Dave.
Morning Dave - I think the best place is just to keep the beast lock up in the cupboard!!!!
Yes but not only is he still alive, he smells up the dishes! I say kill him and get rid of him. Thanks Paul
Excellent blog
. I have been attacked by the monster but did not realize how much
of my life he had taken over until my long suffering friend mindset took contol and killed the monteralong with a few others mr overthick and the next best thing.an
Hi Laurence, You are more likely to remember something that is said with humor. It touches more of the senses at the same time. thanks, Dave.
Hi George, I absolutely loved your post and enjoyed reading it. But I realised that if I read all posts like this I would never get anything done:))
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Thank you so much for this advice! Procrastination hits all of us and we do need to hit back! You have given me so many ideas on how to create tools to keep me focused. My mother lives with us but she can feed, bathe herself, and walk with a walker, Thank the Lord! We have talked about how I need to work on WA and how important it is. I told her I need blocks of time each day. Then, she and I can go out or walk around the small pond in our neighborhood. I am having to negotiate with my mother! That is part of life. I am going to reread your advice and implement these resources in my life. I truly appreciate your help dstaple 1490. I love this community!!!!
Hello, Thanks for the comments. It sounds like you can increase productivity by having some tasks that can be completed in a short amount of time. These tasks are well planned out and are needed; they are not just busy work.
This way you can still have the blocks of time to work on major things but you can plan out the quick tasks at the ready for whenever. As an example, you have one article that you need to read and gather some information from. This can be done in 15 min. If you have it handy when you have 5 minutes of time then you are a third of the way done. Think about it and see if it will work for you. Dave.
Perfect blog for WA. It can be hard for me at times and I have to stay focused. Your blog helped me tremendously.
Thanks Angie, Glad it helps. Dave.