Procrastination Problems

As I hurried to finish an article before my 10 am meeting, i wondered to myself "why did I put this off 'till now??"  I had a relatively free weekend and I could have easily devoted 45 mintues of that time to writing an easy 500 word article.  Instead, I literally waited until the last possible second to complete it, causing myself stress and not allowing myself to do the best possible job.

Unfortunately, this is just a small example of the many times I've found myself in such a situation.  It happens every semester without fail.  I'd like to think I'm getting a little better but it's still a persistant problem in my life.  After thinking a bit about it I've come to the conclusion that procastination is ultimately caused by choices I consciously make to do or not do something.  I know I can fight procrastination by simply chosing to do something but for some reason doing that sometimes seems like the hardest thing in the world.

I did a little online searching for ways to help me fight this terrible disease...I really like these tips I found on personaldevelopmentmaster.com

1. Take small steps. When you’re putting off starting a large project it may be because it seems like a huge task that’ll eat up all of your time. Instead of expecting yourself to work for hours on end, try starting with 10 minutes. This will get you going on it and then it will be easier to continue.

2. Give yourself breaks. While sitting down for 8 hours to complete a task sounds daunting, try dividing it up into small steps and take a break when you complete each step. Another method is to give yourself a 10 minute break every hour.
* Go for a walk in the fresh air, surf the ‘net, or text a friend on your break. Doing so will refresh your mind so you can get back to your project with renewed energy.

3. Make a plan. It’s easy to continue on the path of procrastination when your goals remain unclear. Give yourself a strict deadline if necessary. Write down the tasks you need to complete and the details of those tasks. It’s a way of holding yourself accountable for what is or isn’t done at the end of the day.

4. Get to the root of the problem. Sometimes there’s an underlying reason why you’ve been procrastinating on one specific issue. You might not be able to identify this reason until you really think about it. If you can identify the reason, you might solve your procrastination problem for that specific issue.

5. Reward yourself. While a break might seem like a reward, you can promise yourself other types of rewards for completing tough tasks. Decide on something you want to have or want to do. Allow yourself this luxury once you’ve completed the task at hand.

6. Believe in yourself. When you believe in yourself, you gain a passion for life and an enthusiasm that will help you get through the day. Once you believe in yourself, you have the power to get over procrastination and reach your ultimate goals in life.

7. Do the least-liked task first. When your day consists of many tasks you need to complete, start with the one that’s hanging over your head. While you might be procrastinating against all of them, once the bad ones are out of the way, your day will improve.

8. Schedule fun tasks, too! It’s important to make time for yourself, so enjoyable tasks should be a part of your day, too. Since your to-do list is usually packed with undesirable tasks, you should include enjoyable activities as well.


I'm definitely going to try to put some of these into practice today and hopefully improve a little in this area.  I guess this first thing I should do is stop procrastinating homework by blogging....

Over and Out ;)

Ellen