Mastering procrastination is about undertaking with determination, motivation and excellence those tasks for which there is no obvious psychological reward. This article looks at how to stop procrastinating by finding the payoff in any task you undertake.
Examples of activities where there may seem to be no clear or immediate payoff may include:
Working on a very small activity which is part of a larger task. If you're building a house for example painting the beams of the house is a small activity which may seem quite unrewarding but which is an important part of the project
Undertaking a small task in of itself that just needs to be done: writing that letter, making that phone call, sending that email. The effect of carrying out these 'little', seemingly unimportant tasks may be significant even though the payoff, once the task has been done on time, may seem small. The effect, however, of not carrying out these small tasks can be enormous.
Often, when we are proactive there may seem little reward for what we do: the world does not seem to change that much once the task or activity is complete; we may not always feel a huge sense of relief once the task is done; there may be no fanfares at the end of the task.
However, when we think through the consequences of not writing that letter, making that call or sending that email we realise just how important these 'small' tasks are.
Strategies The following are strategies that show you how to stop procrastinating and raise the importance in your mind of the task(s) you're doing:
1. Set a time limit that turns the activity into a race against time exercise. This raises your motivation levels, adds a reward as well as adding an interesting element to carrying out the task. You also over time improve your ability to work to deadlines.
2. Follow the task up with something you enjoy or even love doing in order that your mind is not focused solely on the activity.
3. If you are engaged in an undertaking you do not enjoy give yourself a reward for completing it. One reward may be to take the rest of the day off. In this case you simply do not schedule anything in for the rest of the day and allow yourself to do whatever you want to do.
4. Think through the consequences of not carrying out the task and use this as a reverse incentive to push on with it. Neuro linguistic programming (NLP) specialists say our motivation is either towards something pleasurable or away from pain. This is an example of when you are avoiding the pain of not doing something you know you should.
5. For larger tasks map out exactly what you need to do. If you are building a house create a plan of action you can refer to that goes alongside your architectural plans. This gives you a psychological framework and lets you see where in your plan your beams painting activity comes. It also gives you a sense of progress because you know where you are in your plan at any one time.
6. If there is an activity you really cannot face enlist the help of those around you (your support network) to either assist or motivate you.
7. Start each day with one main activity you do not enjoy. Do it before you tackle anything else. Set your time limit. Complete the task, give yourself a reward for doing so, then continue your day as normal. The payoff is either the reward or the satisfaction you feel that a job has been done well, quickly and is out of the way.
Examples of activities where there may seem to be no clear or immediate payoff may include:
Working on a very small activity which is part of a larger task. If you're building a house for example painting the beams of the house is a small activity which may seem quite unrewarding but which is an important part of the project
Undertaking a small task in of itself that just needs to be done: writing that letter, making that phone call, sending that email. The effect of carrying out these 'little', seemingly unimportant tasks may be significant even though the payoff, once the task has been done on time, may seem small. The effect, however, of not carrying out these small tasks can be enormous.
Often, when we are proactive there may seem little reward for what we do: the world does not seem to change that much once the task or activity is complete; we may not always feel a huge sense of relief once the task is done; there may be no fanfares at the end of the task.
However, when we think through the consequences of not writing that letter, making that call or sending that email we realise just how important these 'small' tasks are.
Strategies The following are strategies that show you how to stop procrastinating and raise the importance in your mind of the task(s) you're doing:
1. Set a time limit that turns the activity into a race against time exercise. This raises your motivation levels, adds a reward as well as adding an interesting element to carrying out the task. You also over time improve your ability to work to deadlines.
2. Follow the task up with something you enjoy or even love doing in order that your mind is not focused solely on the activity.
3. If you are engaged in an undertaking you do not enjoy give yourself a reward for completing it. One reward may be to take the rest of the day off. In this case you simply do not schedule anything in for the rest of the day and allow yourself to do whatever you want to do.
4. Think through the consequences of not carrying out the task and use this as a reverse incentive to push on with it. Neuro linguistic programming (NLP) specialists say our motivation is either towards something pleasurable or away from pain. This is an example of when you are avoiding the pain of not doing something you know you should.
5. For larger tasks map out exactly what you need to do. If you are building a house create a plan of action you can refer to that goes alongside your architectural plans. This gives you a psychological framework and lets you see where in your plan your beams painting activity comes. It also gives you a sense of progress because you know where you are in your plan at any one time.
6. If there is an activity you really cannot face enlist the help of those around you (your support network) to either assist or motivate you.
7. Start each day with one main activity you do not enjoy. Do it before you tackle anything else. Set your time limit. Complete the task, give yourself a reward for doing so, then continue your day as normal. The payoff is either the reward or the satisfaction you feel that a job has been done well, quickly and is out of the way.
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