PROCRASTINATION:
The Time Robber
It’s a simple fact of life that
most of us procrastinate.
When there’s something that we don’t want to do,
it’s amazing what our brains can come up with to avoid
doing what needs to be done. It’s an ironic situation because we all realize that
procrastination
only makes us feel worse and continues to nag away at our mind so we can’t fully
enjoy what we’re doing anyway. What can we do to keep procrastination, that robber of
our time, in check?
We need to learn some very specific
strategies to deal effectively with this problem.
Myth: I might as
well not even try.....I just can’t seem to motivate myself until someone
"forces" me to get it done.
Fact: Many times
it is too hard to do everything you need to do at once. The secret is to make a
list of things that need to be done and then break the tasks up. For each task that
you’ve broken up, you’ll have a beginning and an ending. The tasks should be
broken into small enough pieces that you can always see the "light at the end of the
tunnel".
The next key is just to start
whether you feel like it or not. Use some self-talk to remind yourself you’ve
got to get this done and you’re making a stab at it now. As the moments go by,
you’ll begin to feel better and better. The secret here is not to wait until you
"feel better" first before you start. You have to make
the start first, and then the feelings of accomplishment and competence will
follow after.
When you’ve finished with your
first task, reward yourself. Read that magazine or watch that TV show. Go swimming. Do
something positive to reward your effort and renew your mind.
Myth: That all
sounds well and good. But I tried and I can’t even get started.
Fact: Maybe
you’re having a hard time because you’re trying to jump in too
fast. After you’ve been resting, watching TV, reading, or doing something
relatively inactive, it IS harder to get going on a new task. The strategy here is to
move
toward the starting gate slowly. If you’ve been sitting or lying down, stand up,
stretch, and do a short physical task, such as watering the flowers, vacuuming one room,
or loading the dishwasher. While you’re doing this, determine in your mind you are
going to start your first task just as soon as you finish.
Question:
Aren’t you just talking about willpower?
Answer: In a
way, yes. But, despite what some people think, EVERYONE has will power. The difference
between those who procrastinate and those who don’t is that non-procrastinators have
a specific strategy or system to help them through tasks that are
not much fun.
Non-procrastinators get their mind in
gear and then ACT. It is always a
surprise how quickly things get done when they’ve been started. Many of us who have
spent day after day procrastinating and feeling badly about it, are shocked to notice the
difference a little movement in the right direction makes.
After you’ve finished each task,
reward yourself. Some people finish that book, others go swimming, still others listen to
music. The reward needs to be something you enjoy.
Perhaps now you can see the benefit of
starting early when you have a new
job to do. If you start early enough and don’t put everything off until the last
minute, every day will be more enjoyable, you’ll feel
like you’re accomplishing something (because you
are), and you won’t have that nagging feeling that turns into depression as your
deadline draws closer and closer and you haven’t even started yet. Don't give in to
the anxiety/procrastination monster: JUST DO IT AND YOU'LL FEEL BETTER.
-- Thomas A. Richards, Ph.D.,
Psychologist
The Anxiety Network Bookstore
For
more detailed help with procrastination,
please see the following article at Dr. Albert
Ellis' website:
Procrastination
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