Success requires a high level of motivation and commitment from you. People who achieve their goals are those who are determined to succeed, who choose not to give up and not always put everything off until tomorrow.
We sometimes put ourselves in the conditions to remain in a dead end…
Whether at work, at home, or with loved ones, some people have a reputation for always putting off what they need to do now. If this sounds familiar, here are some strategies to relieve your life of wicked procrastination!
Wait until tomorrow…….. and do nothing the following week…
The word “procrastination” is quite curious, don’t you think?
It is composed of the Latin terms pro- and cratinus which mean “of the next day”.
It refers to the tendency to postpone what needs to be done.
Here are some consequences of this unfortunate and bad habit?
- Shoddy work (or simply not done),
- appointments that are not honored,
- lack of motivation,
- loss of satisfaction at work and in life,
- loss of self-confidence, etc.
Instead of locking ourselves up in this prison and inventing reasons for doing nothing, it is better to understand the reasons for not acting and adopt attitudes that motivate us.
How procrastination works: What is it that demotivates us and keeps us from taking action?
At the root of procrastination is usually a problem of motivation and self-vision.
It is that procrastination has heavy artillery at its disposal to prevent us from acting. Here are a few examples.
- Thoughts and imagination:
We focus on the disadvantages of what we have to do. It’s boring, it’s difficult, it’s long… And if we imagine all of a sudden all the things we have to do, things seem to pile up and exceed in height the highest peaks of the Himalayas?
- Lack of autonomy:
Acting means taking initiatives. However, it is often more comfortable to take pleasure in a group and let others lead, decide and act. One is never so well served as by… others. Acting involves asking questions, adopting an active posture in front of life. If you want something good and beautiful to happen in your life, you are the best person to make it happen. The others can help you, of course, but you must first reserve some intoxicating initiatives for yourself!
- Fear of failure:
The fear of failure is sometimes so great that we simply delay action until it is too late to succeed. We then have the ideal pretext to do nothing: it’s not our fault…
But think for a moment about all the horrible things that this fear brings to you. It commands inaction, inaction causes frustration and self-doubt because you get nothing.
This in turn undermines self-esteem and confidence.
You feel bad about yourself, you feel ashamed of yourself and you increase your fear even more.
Don’t you think it’s very expensive to listen to a simple fear, a pure view of the mind straight out of an overflowing imagination but too busy with sabotage?
If you do something, you may not succeed (at first), but you will get concrete information and experiences to improve.
You’ll also have the pride of having done something, and you’ll also have the chance to succeed!
- Fear of success
One can imagine why one would be afraid to fail, but afraid to succeed? Is that so?
Yes.
But how can we be afraid to succeed?
In fact, it’s not so much success that’s scary, but everything success involves.
- This can cause jealousy from others, from our family.
- This may require us to meet new responsibilities.
- This can raise our expectations or those of others to the point of being afraid to disappoint.
- We are afraid we won’t be able to cope with what happens next.
So, no success, no problem!
What can be done to remedy all these fears that hold us back? Here are a few ideas.
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The pleasures of action (really?)
Pleasure and discipline. These two words usually make people grind their teeth…
We may like to do the actions (activities) we like. But you know it’s not about that. I am talking about actions that make us procrastinate.
And can one really love discipline?
Yet when you try the discipline applied to an action that is as unpleasant as it is useful, something flamboyant happens.
It’s like starting a fire with the method of the Paleolithic era (Rubbing two pieces of wood together to make a fire can take a long time.)
But when the branch is inflamed, the fire spreads without any more effort on our part.
This is the discipline that makes us love what we hate at first but brings us a lot:
- learning to write well,
- getting a degree,
- learning to program,
- developing a business,
- investing,
- taking care of our health,
- speaking a new language, etc.
But beware, if the discipline is applied to master any skill, it will be harder to use it to do things that are, let’s say, even less enjoyable (such as cleaning, not eating the beloved junk food, etc.).
In this case, a stronger medicine must be used…
This medicine is a related theme that is dear to me: the long-term vision.
To motivate ourselves and get a lot of action and discipline, we need to have a concrete idea of what we want.
15 Different ways, techniques and rules to fight procrastination and motivate yourself
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Taking action: a door that leads to many benefits
Another strategy for finally taking action is to stop thinking, to stop procrastinating, and to simply start doing what we need to do. In this way, we cut short the sabotage maneuvers of our unbridled imagination and rush into the action we must take.
The more you move forward, the more you will be able to cope with impressive events without being disassembled. In other words, do what you like least right away. You’ll soon find that the activities were much less unpleasant than you thought they would be…
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Enrich the reasons why you need to take action.
It is always “painful” to start making an effort.
We prefer comfort and immediate results… We have often not developed the satisfaction associated with the effort and enjoying the results that come from it. Once we sit comfortably in a chair and turn on the TV, it’s very difficult to take action. It is the force of inertia that takes hold of us…
We often procrastinate because we believe that action will bring us more suffering than inaction. However, it is possible to associate more pleasure with what you intend to do.
Think about the results and the satisfaction you will get. Also think about the discomfort you will feel if you do nothing, the lost results, etc. This is the best way to become aware of all that fighting your procrastination brings you. Tony Robbins talks a lot of this technique, in his programs.
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Divide your large projects into sub-projects
We often tend to put it off because we see the task at hand as a mountain, dividing it up allows us to achieve small goals on a daily basis. These results are very motivating and make us want to continue!
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Make your commitments public
This strategy is based on the fact that one often strives to do things well if one knows that one will be judged or evaluated by others. This is why proclaiming your commitment loud and clear will be an additional source of motivation for you.
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Motivate yourself to take action
Control your thoughts and become self-entrepreneurial. The way you talk to yourself defines your emotional response and how you will overcome procrastination. Become an optimistic person and don’t allow negative waves to influence your mood. Say to yourself, “Go for it, now! “When you are distracted, say, “Get to work! ». But also, when you visualize your goals and work together in a positive way, you will be more focused, passionate, confident, innovative, and have a greater sense of mastery and power.
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Have confidence in yourself
Low self-esteem is most of the time one the main reasons of procrastination. A person occupying an important position in a company and who is asked to arrange a meeting for the launch of a new product may take pleasure in procrastination because of a lack of self-confidence: the apprehension of making a fool of oneself, the fear of having a speech in public … In order to counter procrastination, it is essential to nurture self-confidence.
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Accept to be an imperfect being.
For many people the problem of procrastination comes from the fact that they are afraid of being judged, or that the idea of doing something imperfect prevents them from starting a task. There is no such thing as perfection! Keep in mind that you are only human and only those who do nothing are not wrong. The fact that your work may be imperfect should not become a brake on your desire to do things. You must act and stay in action.
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Stop waiting for the right moment
There are days when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, so you don’t feel like doing anything. Not being in the right frame of mind, you try to pull yourself together, wait a little, do something else… But in the end, you don’t achieve much. In some cases, this can be tolerated, but in most situations, you will have to act and act quickly. Take action to overcome procrastination. Be action-oriented. Take action, now.
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Wake up Wake up earlier
As we often hear, the future belongs to those who get up early! Try to get up an hour or two earlier each morning. You’ll soon see that this time will allow you to increase your productivity for the day considerably.
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Just get started
To get out of this sphere, everything is psychological, tell yourself that you must no longer fall under its influence. Commit yourself to do things, not later or tomorrow, react now!
It’s very difficult to start, but once you get started, you will reach your goal in a short time and without realizing it.
To get started more easily, simplify the tasks, do one thing at a time, apply yourself to each thing and you will see that the result will be very positive.
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Avoid multitasking
Avoid multi-tasking, you will be inefficient and quickly discouraged. Focus on your most essential task until it is completed. When you perform a task, turn off your internet connection, don’t look at your email notifications, and don’t pay attention to your text messages, focus on your most essential task until it is completed. You will be surprised by the speed at which you move forward. Indeed, this is the key to efficient performance.
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Practicing creative procrastination
Your time is not malleable. Refuse a low use of the value of time. Indeed, it will be impossible for you to do everything. Therefore, postpone low-impact obligations. This is a matter of priority. Apply the Pareto 80/20 principle. This rule states that 20% of your tasks represent 80% of your results, even when they require the same amount of time to be completed. Do you want to eliminate or reduce the time on your small tasks? Then ask yourself if this is an obligation that is part of the 20%.
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Start with the most difficult task
When you get into the habit of starting with the most complicated task, you will multiply your productivity and overcome procrastination.
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Develop a sense of urgency
There’s no better way to give up a task than not setting a time limit on yourself. If you forget to set a countdown, you may be tempted to use all the time you have and thus delay your task over and over again. With a time limit, you will stimulate your adrenaline, which is a very important stimulation for doing a job! Indeed, adrenaline triggers a healthy pressure to become more active.
Consider the consequences
Keep in mind the consequences, will allow you to realize the necessity of the task. This is a very effective method, since any task is likely to have impacts on the future. Thinking in the long term (5, 10 years) will give you the means to analyze your decisions and act in a correct way in order to accomplish your goals.
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Always avoid excuses
Abuse is the enemy of success. By seeking to avoid procrastination, you may work tirelessly. Don’t try to accomplish everything in one go. If you want to overcome procrastination effectively and maintain your determination throughout the day, it is essential to take breaks! Otherwise, you’ll quickly exhaust yourself. Work while paying attention to your health/wellness. Rest is far from being a waste of time. On the contrary, it is an ideal time to recharge your batteries and regain your strength, to improve your performance, allowing you to carry out your daily tasks efficiently.
Reward yourself
Have you managed to overcome your postponed pathology, have you done the work that needs to be done? Congratulations! Indulge yourself by rewarding yourself. This is essential to fuel your motivation! These tips will help you overcome procrastination forever, so take action and try them today! AND you, what are your anti-procrastination methods?