Overcoming Procrastination
You have an extremely important deadline looming for a report at work. It needs to be on your bosses next at 9am the next morning and you have only written the first sentence, so what do you do? Put on the kettle, do some research, have a bath, do a brain storm, walk the dog?
Procrastination is a state of frustration when you envisage a possibility but then put up a mental barrier which prevents you from achieving it. It can be something a lot larger then an office report, perhaps it is starting your own business, you do the research but then don’t follow through because you are busying around doing other things instead of pushing forward.
Here are some useful tips that may help you:
Stop daydreaming
Staring off into the sunset and dreaming of what could be is great! As long as it doesn’t stop you from taking action. Thinking about doing something is not the same as doing it so stay focussed and start turning those dreams into reality.
Formulate a plan
If you have a good idea then you need to set aside some planning time to organise the next steps. The more time you spend planning the more likely it is that you will have a successful outcome. Make a list and think about who you need to discuss things with and think about the problems that may occur along the way and plan for these too.
Take action
Your plan should make it clear what steps need to be taken next. Create a reasonable timeframe and stick to it. If you only do a little at a time and have identified your goal for each stage then this will lead success.
