“Do you feel like you’re constantly putting things off?
Does the phrase “I’ll do it later” sound somewhat familiar?
Modern day life is so full of distractions that it’s very easy to put things off, or simply waste valuable time that could be spent on more important things.
Surfing the internet, catching up on Facebook, texting or simply watching TV can swallow up hours of time without us even noticing it.
Don’t get me wrong…there’s nothing bad with any of these things, but if you actually counted up the hours you spent engaged in the above activities on a weekly basis, you might be quite horrified!
So if you’re feeling annoyed with the lack of results you seem to be getting or upset by some of the opportunities you keep missing, then please keep reading because instead of focussing on this ever growing 21st century habit of procrastination, I would much rather share with you some valuable insights and tips on how to simply GET THINGS DONE!
But first you need to understand WHY we procrastinate…
Procrastination is closely related to how we are motivated. You’re probably unaware of this, but there are two distinct and very different ways in which we as humans are motivated…
The first is “Towards” and the second is “Away From”
What do I mean by this? Well let me explain. If a person is motivated “Towards” it means they are quite literally motivated towards what they want. In other words, they are focussed on what they want to achieve, what they want to acquire and where they are heading in their life. This kind of motivation is focused, very positive, and inherently reduces the threat of procrastination taking place. On the other hand, being motivated “Away From” is very different indeed! This is when we are moving “away” from a place, state, situation, or certain feelings in our life that we just don’t want to happen to us anymore. This type of motivation can be very negative and is often the cause of our procrastination. When you’re motivated “Towards” you endeavour to avoid negative and unpleasant things, however when you are motivated “Away from” you rarely take action until things get worse! Sometimes people who are motivated in this way wait until things are literally on the edge (financially, in relationships, their health) leaving things to the point where they get SO uncomfortable or difficult, that they simply have no other choice but to do something about it! Unfortunately, any action taken at this point (however positive) can often be too late…So clearly, being motivated “Towards” what you want is more enjoyable, less stressful, and produces better and more consistent results.
So what can you do to improve YOUR motivation strategy and eliminate procrastination?
Here’s a few helpful tips…
1. Get clear on your goals and what you really want.
2. Create an action plan so you know exactly what you need to do in order to achieve it on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis.
3. Stick To Your Plan!
4. Every day you should know and be clear on what you want to accomplish by the end of it.
5. Prepare for the following day, the day before.
6. Focus on progress, not perfection.
7. DON’T multi-task, do one thing at a time.
8. Allocate a sensible amount of time for each task and commit to it by avoiding any distractions such as social media, tv, phone, etc.
9. Break things down into manageable chunks. This will create momentum and keep things moving by small wins every day, and make sure you acknowledge yourself for those wins!
10. Schedule your tasks. This will add a depth of reality to them.
11. Make yourself accountable! Tell people what you are planning to do (so long as it doesn’t require a degree of confidentiality of course) so they can hold you to it.
Doing the above will help you make that important shift from being motivated “Away From” to being motivated “Towards” and keep any previous habits of procrastination under control.
If however you feel you need some help in order to get going, please feel free to get in contact. We can have a chat about what you are struggling with right now and more importantly how I can help you.
I hope you found this useful and look forward to hearing your results!