It's Tuesday evening and there are a ton of used school books that need to be priced and tagged. There's a blog post that needs to be written, too. Oh, and there's also a party to get ready for and a room to be painted. Not to mention the grading and transcripts from last school year. And what about planning for the upcoming year? Yikes! That is a lot to do (and is honestly what is on my list right now). Sometimes I can give you a legit reason why it isn't getting done. Other times I'm just procrastinating. When that happens, I give myself a good kick in the pants and pull out one, or all, of the three main steps I take to help me beat procrastination.
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1. Get it Together
This can mean a couple of things, depending on what it is that needs to get done.
It could mean making a list. Lists are great things to help you organize your thoughts. If you aren't typically a list maker, you really should give it a try. For example, whenever I'm planning a party, I make a bunch of lists. One list for the invited guests so I can track RSVPs, and another list for the menu and what I need to make/buy.
Maybe a list won't help but getting all the things you need in one room might. If that's the case, then get all that stuff organized. For painting that room, making a list wouldn't be very helpful but getting all of my supplies together would be a great way to get motivated and actually get started.
Evaluate the task that needs to be accomplished then decide what initial organizational steps you could take that would help you to stop procrastinating and get the job done.
2. Don't Wait for Perfection
Sometimes we procrastinate because we are waiting for everything to align perfectly. The right day when we feel our best and have a lot of time to take things slow.
Guess what? Those days are far and few between. In the meantime, the clock is ticking and we still aren't working. Pretty soon we'll be running out of time and we'll end up having to do a rush job anyhow.
As hard as it may be, pick a date and time that you will do the job and then write it down. Commit to it! If you're really a procrastinator, write it down in pen so you can't keep erasing it. Make sure that, if possible, you give yourself enough time to accomplish the task. When that date and time rolls around, do the task.
It won't be perfect, nothing ever is, but that is okay. We can strive for perfection but we can't let it stand in the way of getting things done. If you have a hard time with this, work on overcoming perfectionism. There are a lot of books that can help.
3. Move
There are some jobs that need to be done that can't really be organized further and don't require a list. If that's the case, then just move.
No, I don't mean to a new house or town, or state even. Running away doesn't help.
What I mean is, take that first step toward doing what needs to be done. Like this blog post. I sat down with no idea what to write so I checked my email, looked at Facebook, ate dinner, talked to the family. Basically, I didn't do anything that would help me to get this post written.
When time was passing and it was getting late, I knew I had to stop procrastinating and take some action. I sat down at my computer, turned off Facebook, said a prayer to the Holy Spirit and picked up a book that I had written some notes in. Saying that prayer and picking up the book were the moves I made that got me over the hump of procrastination.
The book I picked up is one of my favorites, "The Miracle Equation" by Hal Elrod. Hal talks about this movement in relation to achieving your goals. He says, "Overcoming procrastination is simply a matter of taking the first, seemingly inconsequential, step toward doing what you need to do to achieve your goals."
Don't want to make dinner so you keep putting it off? Walk into the kitchen and pick up a pot or tool that you need.
Have to do laundry because no one has any clean underwear left? Walk towards that first basket and grab on.
Usually something that simple is all it takes.
Beat Procrastination Now!
That's kind of an oxymoron, isn't it? Whenever you find yourself putting off a task that needs to be done, pull out these three steps, pick one and get started.
- Get Organized
- Don't Wait for Perfection
- Just Move!
That's it. It doesn't even really matter if you do all three or if you do just one or two. Maybe you'll need to do two but in a different order. That's okay, too. Just pick one and do it.
I know, you're a procrastinator, so picking one will be hard. That, my friend, is where a quick prayer to your Guardian Angel and the Holy Spirit will work wonders. You'll be amazed at how well they can kick your butt into gear!
How do you beat procrastination? Wait, don't procrastinate, just bite the bullet and tell me now!