Research shows that most of us spend up to 80% of our time on activities that have nothing to do with the success of our projects. We load ourselves down with endless tasks that keep us feeling busy, yet at the end of the day we wonder why we have accomplished so little.
Why do we miss deadlines, put off doing things we dislike, and accept stress and procrastination as a necessary part of life? What experiences have shaped the way you think about time? Do you need to rethink your views? If you were asked to speak to a group of students about the best way to use time, what would you say to them?
This quiz will help you identify areas where you can take action to overcome procrastination today:
- I often delay taking action and making decisions because I need to gather more facts.
- I have a hard time knowing when to wrap up the research phase of a project. I worry about not having enough information to complete it.
- I tend to get stuck in the middle of a project if changing circumstances suggest the need to make adjustments.
- I always feel that I'm using my time well as long as I'm gathering information for a project.
If you answered "yes" to any of the above statements, you need to recognize that procrastination is keeping you from achieving all that you can in life. Many people delay taking action by convincing themselves they need to gather more facts. Successful people know that effective decisions are based on opinions and experience first, facts second.
Set deadlines for yourself, even when you don't have to. You will never be able to gather all the facts. You must learn when to say enough. Make the best decision based on the facts you have now. The important thing is to act. We live in an increasingly complex world; our information-gathering techniques can't keep up with all the changing circumstances that affect our lives. We cannot control many of these circumstances, and we cannot control how other people respond to them.
Force yourself to act. Whatever decision we make today, we will have to rethink it-and almost certainly modify it-when circumstances change. No matter what you decide to do now, you will need to make corrections as you make progress toward your goal. Delaying a decision in order to gather more facts is one of the most common ways that people waste time.
Always ask yourself if a task needs to be done at all. The Bible says, "How forceful are right words! But what does your arguing prove?" Ask yourself: What do all my tasks prove? Focus on getting things done, rather than on filling your day with more activities than you can possibly get around to. If you want to overcome procrastination, stop gathering facts and get started on your project.
I believe that procrastination keeps the majority of human beings from getting the most out of life. What is it exactly? The word procrastination literally means to leave something "for tomorrow." It comes from the Latin words pro (for) and cras (tomorrow). Procrastination is the postponement of something that you know you should do.
There are no "born" procrastinators; they develop their bad habits one step at a time. And that's how you can develop new habits to defeat procrastination-one step at a time. But you have to take the first step. You will never become a more active, take-charge person by reading articles and books on how to overcome procrastination. The best advice in the world will do you no good at all unless you act on it.
So I encourage you to make a commitment to act on the tips you find here. You may not agree with everything I say; I fight a daily battle against procrastination, too, and I don't always win. But you and I are on the same side-procrastination is our common enemy, and we both want to beat it.
Procrastination keeps people from living their best lives. Why do we procrastinate? There are many reasons: indecision, stress, fatigue, depression, a desire to gather information, disorganization, fear of failure, and even fear of success. You can't defeat procrastination overnight-if you're a procrastinator, you have been accumulating bad habits over a lifetime. But you can defeat procrastination by making a disciplined effort to get at the roots of the problem.
- Tip No. 1: Take full responsibility for your failures. One of the main causes of procrastination is the habit many people have of blaming their failures on circumstances. When you tell yourself that failures are caused by circumstances beyond your control, you are preparing yourself for a lifetime of procrastination.
- Tip No. 2: Just do it. Successful people know that their success depends on a commitment to do whatever it takes to reach a goal. Success in all projects, large and small, is determined by the actions you take and your ability to stay focused on your goals. This is true whether your goal is to reduce clutter at home, lose weight, restore a relationship, or complete a major project at work. Projects come in all different shapes, sizes, and levels of importance, but the principles that determine their success or failure are always the same: focus, determination, self-discipline, and confidence.
- Tip No. 3: Establish your priorities. What does it mean to change? To change is to choose a behavior different from the one you're using now. We all have to fight the drift toward procrastination every day. If you're losing the war against procrastination, you need to get your priorities right. Make a list of your priorities at work and in your relationships.
Make a commitment to make something happen in at least one of your high-priority items every day. The novelist George Eliot said, "It's never too late to be the person you could have been." The best time to start is now.
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