Tell Procrastination Buh-Bye
Posted by Jan Wencel on Wed, Dec 09, 2009
Do you read and respond to emails as soon as they hit your inbox...especially when you're drafting a letter you don't want to write? Perhaps you get up to get a glass of water to avoid going through the week's mail. Do you think about what outfit we're going to wear Saturday instead of starting a load of laundry?
Guess what? You're just like everybody else: you procrastinate. But you can set yourself apart by discovering your procrastination tells.
Like poker tells, most people have habits, behaviors or physical reactions which predict when they're about to procrastinate. If you can figure out what your signals are, then with thoughtful determination you can minimize your productivity intermissions.
FLAVORS OF DILLY DALLYING
Procrastination typically presents itself in the following varieties. 1. Events that come to you: the phone rings, an email pops in your inbox, someone knocks on your door. 2. Events with outside objects that you create: you get up to get a snack, to find "the best" frying pan you follow a chain of websites until you can't see straight. 3. Internal events: you daydream, you think about trying to remember to pick up toilet paper on your way home.
ENDUCING DEFERRED GRATIFICATION
After you've uncovered your tells, try to change your environment or your routines to lessen the distractions. For example, decide to not answer any outside callers during particular hours of the day. Remind yourself to get back to work when you find yourself thinking about candy bars. Set the timer for 15 minutes and consider the task complete when the buzzer sounds. Carry a notebook to collect extraneous to dos so you can safely tell your brain to focus on what you're supposed to be doing.
You'll be amazed at how you can convert your procrastination habit into one of productivity.