Sunday, October 30, 2011

Procrastination Methods: 101

College is a time to learn professional skills, build networks and find the ultimate procrastination methods. In my two and a half years at ONU, I have come to find there are in fact more reasons for me to not do my school work and the top contender are websites. These websites include: Damn You Auto Correct, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Dear Blank Please Blank, Texts From Last Night, Reddit and the list goes on! 

The amazing amount of free entertainment on the Internet is really ridiculous, but there are ways around it. In my search of some procrastination relief I found a blog from Positivity Blog entitled, "How to Stop Procratinating: 7 Timeless Tips." I found all of them to be  useful so why not share them with you all :)! 

1. Stop thinking. Start doing.
“To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing.”
Eva Young
There is no such thing as a perfect plan, but that doesn't mean one can't have a basic idea of a priority list set in place to be more efficient. 
2. Don’t blow a task out of proportion.
“If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it.”
Olin Miller
This quote explains it all. The longer you put off a task the harder it seems to do and the less willing one is to just sit down and get it done. The longer it stays on the to-do list the more it weighs on our minds. Get it done and check it off! 
3. Just take the first step.
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
When you start to look too far into the future any task or project can seem close to impossible. And so you shut down because you become overwhelmed and start surfing the internet aimlessly instead. That is one of the reasons why it is good to plan for the future but then to shift your focus back to today and the present moment.
Looking at all of your tasks may seem overwhelming. This is why the best is to just focus on one thing at a time ranging from the most to the least important.
4. Start with the hardest task of your day.
“Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.”
Dale Carnegie
If you start the day with the most difficult task and it gets completed when motivation is the highest the rest of the day's to-do list doesn't seem as heavy.
5. Just make a decision. Any decision.
“In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing to do, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”
Theodore Roosevelt
Being indecisive is against human nature and it can wear on how we feel about ourselves and our already finished work. If a decision can be made as to where to start or what to start with, everything will fall into line and get completed. Getting started is key.
6. Face your fear.
“Procrastination is the fear of success. People procrastinate because they are afraid of the success that they know will result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the “someday I’ll” philosophy.”Denis Waitley
Its normal for people to have a fear of failing and this fear can ultimately lead to putting off assignments until a later time. The sooner an assignment is began, the more information can be learned about it and the   better the finished product will be. 
7. Finish it
“Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they started.”David Allen
Completing a started project can alleviate a lot of stress and allows it be taken off the list for good. When you start something, finish it and feel better about accomplishing something in its entirety. 

Hopefully these tips helped you as much as they did for me! Enjoy and happy not procrastinating! 

1 comment:

  1. I read this link on your facebook and loved it. More and more I'm having so much trouble with procrastination and even though these tips are kind of a no brainer so is doing your homework before its due...you would think! But I really did find them helpful!

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