For quite some time, I’ve been putting off writing a post about procrastination. In fact, I saved this post as a draft quite some time ago, but have neglected to publish until now. So, what is there to write about procrastination? Well, in this post, I will teach you to identify whether or not you procrastinate, the rich history of procrastination, and finally, how to stop it.
Well, it’s really quite easy to identify yourself as a procrastinator. Do you ever say to yourself, “I’ll do it later?” That is an obvious sign of procrastination. Pretty much everybody does it at some point, usually with school or work-related projects. Acknowledging that you have this problem is the first step to beating it.
Next, I think about how much time I think the task will take. Then I ask myself what I would rather be doing. If I can think of something I’d rather be doing, like watching TV, I go and unplug the TV. If I can’t think of anything better to do, I know that I need to do it.
But what if I still don’t want to do the task? One strategy I have found useful is to write down the different components of the task. For instance, when my son has to do a book report for school, he breaks it down into writing the summary, drawing a picture of the significant scene, and gluing it to posterboard. Suddenly the ominous book report doesn’t seem quite so big, huh? Make a list, and gradually check things off. The sense of accomplishment will keep you going.
If the above still doesn’t work, I diagnose you to be an extreme procrastinator, and recommend counseling. And no, you can’t put that off until next week!
I’d love to post up a great comment, but I think I’ll do it later.