If you find yourself constantly putting things to one side to do later you are doing yourself no favours. Procrastination like this means you are wasting your day and not getting done half of what you could.
If you are honest you’ll admit it’s a habit you’ve fallen into. But like all habits it can be hard to get out of the rut you find yourself in. Here are 4 tips to help you do it.
Be organised – write down and plan what you want to achieve that day. It gives you a clear guideline and is already telling your subconscious mind what needs to be done. It helps you use your time effectively and not to overestimate how long you have to do tasks.
Have fun later – It’s all too easy to say I’ll just go for a run, read the paper or do the washing. Anything to avoid the work. Do your work first and then do the other chores or pleasures in your life. It feels so much better to be doing them after achieving what you wanted for that morning. The sense of achievement fills you with pride.
Don’t underestimate – Thinking the job will be quick to do once started is a classic mistake. It is virtually always bigger and takes longer than you expected. There is no worse feeling than the irritation as the time goes by and you haven’t finished. It’s no fun missing deadlines after all.
Don’t enjoy doing nothing – If you’re not careful doing nothing or nothing that is very productive can become a comfortable feeling. If you have things waiting to be done don’t do nothing. Get them done and then relax a bit. Enjoying doing nothing is fine if you are retired but won’t earn you a living if you’re not. Break that habit now.