Highly effective strategies for overcoming procrastination
A study published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology claimed that procrastination can lead to self-esteem issues, diminished satisfaction with life, and lowered productivity. When you procrastinate, it's easy to get caught up in a whirlwind of worry and doubt in your head as well as worry about what people think. All these thoughts can turn into negative feelings that cause you to avoid tasks altogether. If you find yourself constantly finding excuses for why you don't have time or space to work on the task at hand then it may be time for a change. As stated by the article "Procrastination is a common problem that can plauge performance and affect self-esteem. This paper will show how to overcome this issue. The first step to overcoming procrastination, is acknowledging you have it." Having an attitude of accountability to your own actions is key. And this begins with setting versus goals and with rethinking the way you think about your work.
If you want to overcome your procrastination, it's crucial to establish a vision of success. A vision helps break up the "I can't do it" in your mind and empowers you to keep on working toward accomplishing the goal. Look at the goal as an olympic athlete looks at a medal, it's to be won and should inspire you to keep moving toward it. Your vision should motivate you to work that much harder. How can you go about creating this type of vision? The article gives some great tips "1. Put your goals out on cards. 2. Set a time limit. 3. Analyze the challenges you may face." If you experience procrastination, the one thing I would recommend is avoiding distractions when working on a task that doesn't interest you or is not challenging for some reason..disruptive clutter of all types can cause stress and prevent focus from reaching your target.
Next, the article suggests you disrupt the pattern of procrastination by lowering expectations. If you don't believe yourself that you can accomplish a particular task then it will be easier to justify putting off working on it. However if you lower your expectation and see the task as something small that doesn't take away from your overall career, then it will be easier to overcome your procrastination. When breaking apart the tasks or goals that feel overbearing into smaller pieces you can tackle one piece at a time, preventing them from piling up against you and causing stress.
Next, just get started! "The hardest part is getting started. If you are finding it hard to get started, try making a game of it. This way you can have some fun while getting the job done." Even if the job doesn't turn out as well as you would hope, coming back to it later will be easier knowing that you've done everything possible to complete it. Once you've gotten started and broke down your task, set goals for each step of the way and make sure that the goal is suited to your ability level. "Give yourself rewards when you reach a goal. Just because someone else can accomplish something doesn't mean you can't do it." We all have different skill sets and we should embrace them and find ways to use them in our everyday lives. Success doesn't come from simply looking at your area of expertise as an excuse for failure but rather by taking the time to learn and explore different ideas and interests.
The article also advocates staying organized and stick to the plan. The tips "1. Set up a designated work area with a timer 2. Keep clear goals in view 3. Break large tasks into smaller bits 4. Don't procrastinate 5. Reward yourself when you reach a goal. 6. Stay organized 7. Set up a plan to get things done 8. Make sure there are no distractions." It is important to not let yourself get overwhelmed by the task or the distractions in life, let alone the many other things that could be distracting you from work. "Focus on your work, not your surroundings."
The article ends by saying to "be patient with yourself and don't be afraid to say no when necessary." I've read other articles about overcoming procrastination as well as my own experiences overcoming it, but this article provided some of the most useful strategies that have helped me most recently. My goal to get better at what I do and more importantly to be more productive, has been a successful one. I have been able to focus on my work, add new things to my portfolio and have dropped a lot of the mental procrastination holding me back from reaching my full potential. Being proactive about the tasks that are weighing you down is key to success. As with any life change, patience is the key in overcoming procrastination and learning how to be more productive.
This article came from an old copy of Steve Maguire's book that I found in a random box in the storage room at work.
I've noticed that many of my friends have been falling behind at work and on their side projects; so I'd like to share a few tips that worked for me. First, you need to find out what the problem is, is it procrastination? or are there other things holding you back? You can give yourself a lot of credit if you don't procrastinate..but if you do...try to find out where the problem isn't. As with any challenge, just get started! Once you get started then follow the tips below: I found this article over at Lifehack.com.
I found this article over at Lifehack.com.
Making a guide is a great way to organize your thoughts, recap everything you've learned, and use it as a platform for further learning. If you've been showing your work to clients and employers, then it's absolutely critical for documenting where the work began and where it ended. It's also an opportunity to reflect on the process and improve upon future projects when you come back to them in the future.
If you're interested in more thoughts on what goes into making guides, have a look at my post on how I make mine . The guide I used while creating my guide is the one that goes into my notes. The notes page is where I gather all of the information that I like to draw from during a project, which usually ends up being the client and their needs, the drawings, sketches and other relevant info.
I hope these tips help you get started on your creative projects! If you have any questions regarding anything in this post please feel free to reach out to me.
It's a sad truth but at some point we have all been in a position where our work has suffered because of laziness or procrastination. There are a few things that we can do (or even habits we can develop) to overcome these challenges.
cONCLUSION
The amount of time that goes into a project largely depends on a few factors. We've got big projects and small projects. The size of the project affects our ability to dedicate the appropriate amount of time to it. If we haven't yet solidified our skill level then working on something large can be very daunting and this can cause us to lose motivation quickly, especially when there are other potential options for our time. On the other hand, if we have been able to hone our skills and have become comfortable working on larger tasks then we can feel more confident in our abilities which give us the motivation to keep going strong until we're done.