Procrastination – A Time Management Trap to Avoid

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It’s easy to put things off, to tell yourself you’ll get to it later. Especially if that task is particularly hard and you are not sure how to start it. Consequences of procrastination can be many. Things such as: loss of opportunities (not tendering for the job you’ve wanted to try but haven’t had the courage to attempt), failing exams (put off studying until the night before and having to cram), or even medical problems (avoiding going to the dentist). Procrastination is the one of the main things good time management will help you eradicate.

It is rare that a procrastinator will do nothing. They might do smaller simpler tasks such as writing out a shopping list or filing away journals – things that need to be done. But what they are really doing is not doing something more important. How can you avoid the trap of procrastination?

Most importantly, you want to work on your high priority tasks. Often these are difficult ones that require a lot of effort in some way. You need to make these priorities more attractive. One way to do this is not to say ‘I have to go to the gym because I’m trying to lose weight.’ Replace ‘I have to’ with ‘I want to go to the gym because I’m trying to lose weight’. That sounds like a much more inviting proposition, doesn’t it? Remember no one is forcing you to do anything. You are in control of your actions. If you want to do things, the drive to do them becomes much stronger.

Breaking down your goals into smaller steps helps take the enormity out of some tasks. Your action plan tells you how to do things. It will also tell you how to start a project. If one of your goals is to become a photographer you may be tentative to get started on this goal because you can’t see how you are going to get there. If, however, you have action planned this goal the first thing for you to do is staring you in the face. You have already decided on the steps that you will take so you go and enroll in a photography course. Focus on the beginning of your journey towards your goal, rather than the end. This makes the task more manageable.

Are you a perfectionist? Perfectionists make great procrastinators. They can’t do the job because they want it to be perfect first go. You can’t write a manuscript of publishable standard first go. No one is that good – not even Stephen King. Having a time limit for a task and knowing that everyone makes mistakes will help the perfectionist in you to let go. You want to write that book so do it and give yourself a time limit for the first draft to be completed.

If you need an extra reason to do that job you’ve been putting off, give yourself a reward when you’re finished. Promise yourself something tempting on the completion of the task. You’re guaranteed to really enjoy your reward when you’ve finished the job you’ve been procrastinating over.

Reduce the pain of the project at hand by making it seem more attractive. You want to do it, because it is a part of your goals. You can take small steps to begin your project, focus on the journey, rather than on falling over the finish line. Nobody is perfect; just do the best you can. And look forward to a little reward at the end. There now, that wasn’t worth procrastinating over – was it?

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