Note: This article is from coach Kelly Adams, who talks about procrastination problems and ways to solve them.
Today, lack of focus is the norm, as people are attracted to different directions, and the demand for time commitment and scheduling increases. As a solution to deal with the pressures of life and work, many spend a lot of time on social networking sites, watch television, and other activities that distract from work.
All these activities make us feel better now, but at the same time, they hinder us from doing our work and achieving our dreams. It is impossible to reach high levels of performance while hampering ourselves.
What is the cause of procrastination?
According to an article by psychologist Murat Balkis and pedagogist Duru Erdinç, procrastination is caused by an inability to manage time, lack of organizational skill, loss of motivation, inability to concentrate at work, non-reality-based expectations, personal problems, negative thinking, low self-confidence, and anxiety about success and failure.
In my private life, I was swinging between the intention to do something and doing it, and I delayed in accomplishing personal and practical tasks, so the result was missing opportunities, misunderstanding, and feeling nervous. I could have avoided all this if I had not postponed. Here are some tips to overcome procrastination and raise the level of performance:
1. Review yourself and be realistic
It may be helpful to look at your situation from a different angle. If you do not know your place, you will not know your destination, so ask yourself some questions that help you be realistic with yourself and with your current situation.
What aspect of your life do you build unreasonable expectations on? How to deal with the pressures of life? How do you see yourself? What is the reason behind what you want or need to achieve? What consequences or rewards will you reap from achieving it? What is holding you back from fulfilling your wishes? Answer these questions transparently.
2. Forgive yourself
The fastest way to make progress and reach peak performance is to accept what has happened, and most of us have procrastinated at some point in our lives, so accept what has happened and forgive yourself instead of reprimanding it, then continue your way, avoid overthinking and take steps that will make you progress.
3. Set Your priorities
There is an effective way to prioritize based on two factors, importance and urgency. This method is called the Eisenhower Matrix. The tasks are divided into four parts:
- Urgent/ Important.
- Urgent/of little importance.
- Not Urgent/ important.
- Not Urgent/ Not important.
This method lets you identify the tasks that need your focus, time, and energy.
4. Start right away
Many people think a lot and do too little, but in fact, what it takes is to start even if you're not ready, so go, no matter how you feel, as all it takes is just getting started.
5. Divide the goal into small tasks
When work requires us to do a lot of tasks, we usually want to do everything at once, which causes confusion and an inability to analyze what we need before we start. The result is that we do not do any action, so divide the big goal into several small tasks. This helps you to do it smoothly, and you will feel self-confident and energy-momentum.
6. Avoid distractions
We resort to procrastination more when we allow the surrounding environment or anything else to distract us.
If we are distracted, we will need about 23 minutes to return the same focus to what we were doing, and if we think about social media, phones, and others, we will find that the world we live in is more distracting than ever before.
To keep your focus from being distracted, turn off notifications of communication applications on your phone, and find a quiet place not to be disturbed.
7. Punish yourself lightly
I learned this method in a seminar delivered by Professor Harv Eker, which is to put a rubber bracelet on the wrist and drag and drop, as it causes you pain every time you find yourself procrastinating or thinking negatively. The method is based on linking physical pain to procrastination and negative thoughts and can be effective to overcome these negatives.
8. Set time to complete tasks
According to a study published by Psychological Science, it turns out that setting a deadline improves the ability to complete the task, so take this test: Set yourself a deadline for a specific task and test whether you can complete it on time. This may be fun and closer to a game of challenge between what you intend to do and what you do.
9. Reward yourself
When you finish a task, reward yourself with something fun. This mechanism enhances your efficiency in doing tasks that require a short time. Performing tasks and rewarding yourself with them builds your self-confidence.
Therefore, plan rewards before you start. The more remunerations you get, the more enthusiasm you get to accomplish more. Know that self-confidence leads to success and that success increases your self-confidence.
10. Determine the appropriate time and environment
The relationship between the work environment and energy is crucial to start work and overcoming procrastination.
So, determine at any time of the day and in any more productive surroundings your choice of the time that suits you and the environment in which you feel excited. Safe and inspired lead to the development of a sense of success and optimal employment of energy.
So, when you understand the key emotions and internal and external causes that cause the postponement, you can take action and follow the techniques to get rid of it.
Add comment