Being Consistent by Beating Procrastination
No one has ever complained that I was too consistent.
In fact many people have told me throughout my life that I lacked consistency. After a small amount of reflection I am forced to agree with them.
A few days ago I wrote an article for my website 'Success at Working From Home | 3 Make it or Break It Tips," the last nugget of said article was dealing with staying consistent. It's now time for me to shut up and put up in regards to my own advice it seems.
I have had a hard week, and there are plenty of things I just do not feel like doing. There are plenty of things that I would rather be doing then some of the tasks I have put on my priority list. If I continue along my usual lines then I will give into my natural habit of procrastinating. Procrastinating does not a successful business grow.
So, I went back and I reread my OWN words.
Now I have come up with a few more golden nuggets of advice to keep from falling into the habit of procrastination. You just might find them useful in your own life.
- Complete tasks you do not want to complete first: When you finish with them you will not only be a little proud of yourself for just getting it done, but you can then easily move on to completing the tasks you actually look forward to doing.
- Write down you short term goals, and return to them weekly: Goals give us something to work towards, but if you just write them down and do not keep them at the forefront of your mind then it is easy to forget all about them. If you return to a visual reminder of your goals once a week then the urge to procrastinate is lessened. It is easy to keep in mind what you are working towards.
- Surround yourself with things that inspire you: It can be motivational quotes, pictures of a beautiful landscape you would one day want to explore, a killer article that really makes sense to you and get your kicked up into high gear, whatever. Come back to that. Come back to the things that make you kinetic. Come back to the things that make you move, keep you focused.
- Cut back on as many distractions as possible: If all else fails and you leave yourself with not much else to do it become really easy to work up the motivation to do the less desirable tasks.
Old habits are hard to break, and procrastination is a large problem amongst a lot of the world's population today. The good news is procrastination is simply a habit, and with a little effort and work it is a habit that can be broken.
Be sure to let me know if you have any time tested advice of your own for beating the habit to procrastinate on things. I would really love to know.
Recent Comments
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Doing the worst job first gets it out of the way, gives a sense of achievement and less of a reason to procrastinate. I KNOW this, but like a lot of us, don't always put it into practice!. Thanks for the reminders. Cheers Jill
Faith I've wanted to write a blog about procrastination but I keep putting it off. Alright I will admit it you do not have to force it out of me.
I am so guilty! One of the things I do is bribe myself. Yes I use a reward system. If I get my work done early then I get to eat chocolate or have a celebratory glass of wine or two..lol
Love your blog and your tips. Good to see you and look forward to reading more.
Namaste
Angela
Chocolate does have a way of getting me into motion..... most recently the chocolate brownies from Barnes and Noble. My god, so good.
the best way to deal with procrastination is through your imagination
image yourself having completed the project you are working on -- imagine the end result -- and let that image pull you to it like a magnet
if you have no desire to for the end result, you will find ways to avoid doing it
but once the desire is great enough, nothing will stop you
just a thought
That is great advice, and something I have not tried before. I am grateful for the tip I will have to put that into practice the next time I am thinking about putting something off.
You are the 2nd person in less then 24 hours who has mentioned there use of mantras to me. I used to be in the habit of using them as well, but then life happened and I just got distracted somehow and forgot all about how much they used to help me. This must be some sort of sign I need to get back on track. Thanks for delivering the message ;)
You are welcome. Here in WA, everybody can improve not just websites, but traits of character too. All the best to you, good luck:)
Great article Faith and thanks for pointing me here Heather, nothing like a good inspirational article to uplift the soul!
Great post Faith, and so well written! I'm so with you on writing down what you need to get done. Somehow when it's written down it magically gets done for me...even if, when I wrote it down I had my doubts. Today I wrote down two non-WA related things, exercise and wash the kitchen floor. Two of my not so favorite things to do. By evening they were done despite the great doubt I had this morning! Love your advice. Warmly, Heather
Ya know, now that you mention it I think I will try writing down that I need to go to the gym. I always say I am going to....and then I just....don't. Maybe this is the start of me turning over a new leaf? Lets hope.
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Great insight to what makes us tick! I appreciate the honesty of your writing and the finish as well- Procrastination is surely a habit! It can be overcome.
Thank you for the share,
Sami