Help With Procrastination



A definition of procrastination would be:

• the habit of putting of putting tasks off until the last possible moment.

Some people claim that they work better under pressure. This may be true to some degree, but if you find yourself continually putting things off and making excuses to not complete tasks then maybe it is time to deal with this bad habit and get some help with procrastination. Where does this habit come from anyway? Well, some of it is rooted in the thought that we have things that we must do. As soon as the human mind thinks it must do something it seems that we no loner want to do it. Mow the grass. Nope, I'd rather watch baseball. Clean out the attic. Nope, I'd rather go swimming. You get the idea.

You must change your way of thinking to want to do these things. Simply make the choice to do it. You can choose to do it or you can choose not to. When you choose to start, you will.

Procrastination Quiz

What you need are ways to avoid procrastination. Perhaps a cure for procrastination would be good for you.

Here are some ways to avoid procrastination:

• Break large tasks into smaller bites. Cleaning the entire attic is overwhelming, but just doing a portion is more manageable.


• Set a time limit. Just take an hour to get as much done as you can. Do this for a week and the entire attic would be clean.


• Reward yourself after the time limit is up. Any reward will do. This is a powerful tool to help with procrastination.


• Schedule family and leisure time first. Make it a priority, and then schedule your work or home tasks around this. You must create a positive mental image of the benefits of starting and completing these tasks.


• Remember that time for yourself is okay. Do you feel guilty when you take an afternoon or entire day and do nothing? Don't. Relax and recharge. Read. Workout. Meditate. It is okay to do this as well. The world will keep turning.

Realize that procrastination is caused by associating some form of pain or unpleasantness to the task you are contemplating.

Overcoming procrastination is a matter of increasing the pleasure you associate with beginning a task. And if you begin any task again and again, you will finish it.