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Procrastination and How to Stop It Now

25 May 2010 31 Comments
Tech tipsComputer Tricks
procrastination

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To fully understand the term procrastination, you need to do two things: understand its basic definition and find out why people procrastinate. You can, of course, put it to a stop by using time management techniques to completely beat it out.

We always hear a lot of people making excuses for not being able to accomplish anything. These are the people who simply and easily give reasons so as to make the inability to do something a valid one. When deadlines arrive, you see them panicking. Worst, ending up as depressed as they can be for not being able to achieve a specified goal or task. It’s not too late, though. If you happen to fall into procrastination, you have the power to change now. Here’s what procrastination is all about and how to overcome it.

Basic Definition

Procrastination is the tendency to hamper the accomplishment of a specific goal by delaying or postponing the performance of a task at a later time.

Why people procrastinate

People oftentimes get into the trap of procrastination because it becomes a means in dealing with emotional and physical symptoms that come along with depression. It may become a sort of relief but it’s just a temporary one. There are various procrastination styles. See which among these styles fits you:

  • difficulty in organizing your thoughts and your actions too. Difficulty in being on track with a certain plan.
  • tasks seemed extremely great that it becomes worthless for you to just simply try.
  • negative emotions towards somebody may cause you to put things off as a means of punishing him.
  • afraid of being disfavored.
  • routines prompted you to become rebellious.

The procrastination styles mentioned earlier would possibly overlap in one of the following themes:

  • self-doubt
  • discomfort dodging
  • driven by guilt
  • habitual

When you have fully distinguished yourself from any of those procrastination styles, you should decide to get rid of it in your system by incorporating these time management techniques:

  • make a list – initially you have to list everything you need to do. That is in no particular order yet.
  • prioritize the items on your list – arrange the items on your list by deadlines. Or you can also arrange them by order of how important they are to you.
  • use a calendar – come up with a calendar with spaces for you to write your notes. You can have separate sheets for long-term plans and separate pages for short-term goals too.
  • accomplish the ones at the top of the list – take the item on top of your priority list and decide how long you can finish that specific goal.
  • fill your calendar as you meet deadlines – as you meet each deadline, make sure to fill your calendar with new tasks to do. Just make sure that you don’t overbook yourself which might eventually cause delays.
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