8 Secrets To Avoiding Procrastination
by Peter Murphy
Published on this site: May 12th, 2005 - See
more articles from this month...
We are all guilty of delaying what needs to be done at sometime
or another; so learning ways to avoid procrastination is beneficial
to everyone.
Some simple tips on how to avoid procrastination are as follows.
It's all a simple matter of retraining yourself to get the job done.
- Prioritize your daily tasks. Decide what has to be done, should
be done, and what you would like to do.
- Get the worst out of the way first. Do that 'have to' job first;
get it over and out of your hair. By doing the 'have to's' first,
it leaves the rest of your time to do those want to's and should
be's.
Doing this one simple thing is one of the best ways to avoid procrastination
in the first place.
- Delegate, if possible, some of the worst things on your list
to others. This will allow you to move on to other things and
allow you to avoid procrastinating on those things you really
don't want to do in the first place.
- Make a list every morning of what you need to accomplish
throughout the day. Reward yourself each time you check
an item done.
- Look closely at how you procrastinate. Do you surf the web
when you should be doing the accounting? Do you read and answer
email when you should be doing that office report?
Once you figure out the things you do to put off what needs doing,
it's easy to figure out how to avoid procrastination by eliminating
those behaviors. If you can't eliminate the behavior, save it
for the reward of getting the job done.
- Keep a day planner. Write down what has to beaccomplished and
block out the time you are going to do it.
Once the job is done, check it off or draw a line through it.
Seeing the checkmarks on paper will motivate you to move on to
the next item on your list.
- At the end of the day, write down what you have accomplished.
This can sometimes be its own reward.
As you see the list grow from day to day, you will begin to look
for ways to avoid procrastination yourself.
- Write out a set of goals for yourself. List where you want
to be next week, next month, next year and five years from now.
Look at how what you are putting off keeps you from reaching those
goals.
How to avoid procrastination is really all about setting personal
goals for yourself and sticking with them. As you find ways to
juggle all the things that have to be done, and see the rewards
of getting them finished, you will find even more ways on how
to avoid procrastination for yourself.
Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced
a very popular free report that reveals how to crush procrastination
and sustain lasting motivation. Apply now because it is available
for a limited time only at: http://www.getmotivatedstaymotivated.com/special.htm
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