| |
| |
|
Motivation Information |
|
|
|
Stop Procrastination - Just do it!
What stops you from 'getting things done?' Have you ever started your day with good intentions of completing a task or project only to find that by the end of the day you've hardly worked on it? Or have you ever set a goal to attend a seminar, learn a new skill or just have more time out for you? I'm sure you have. I'm not going to write a long-winded explanation about the art of procrastination or "putting things off" but what I will do is share with you the secret of actually "getting things done"?putting an end to procrastination and just getting on with it. I believe most people overload themselves with too many unimportant tasks or commitments, which in the scheme of their day or life is really of little benefit. Our society is so conditioned to "being busy". If you ask a colleague or friend "How are you?", generally they answer "I'm busy/flat-out/snowed-under", even on weekends! But what are they "busy/flat-out/snowed-under" doing? "Being busy" can be totally different to "being productive". Bill's story Bill, a friend of mine is an extremely intelligent and creative person. He's "flat-out" in his role as the Marketing Manager for a large manufacturing company. Having observed Bill in his working environment, he constantly allows everyone and anyone to interrupt him. He believes in the "open door" policy. He allows the day to evolve rather than planning what he wants to achieve. Bill's office looks like a bomb-site so he consequently wastes immeasurable amounts of time searching for paperwork. Bill has just turned forty - the 'mid-life' crisis decade. He's married with two children 8 and 10 yrs old whom he loves dearly. Unfortunately due to his work commitments he does not spend as much time with them as he wants to. He 'used to be' fit but now he's on the pudgy side. His excuse for not exercising is "I don't have the time". Starting work by 8.00 a.m. and finishing around 7.00 p.m. Who would have the time? Bill is like many people I know who don't realise there is a better way. Bill called me a few weeks ago. He'd decided he'd had enough of "never having time" and wants to get organised for living his life. (Prior to this, I used to offer unsolicited advice but he took no notice). How Bill stopped his procrastination and "just did it" This is what happened: Bill cleaned out the clutter from his original "bombsite". We devised simple systems tailored to Bill's creative personality to cope with the mountains of paperwork. Now that Bill has systems he has been able to identify tasks which he can delegate to others. We've worked out simple and easy to implement strategies for coping with interruptions. The "open door" is sometimes closed. Bill now uses a diary (that's right he never used one before) writes a daily list of things to do and scribbles all his notes in it. No more scraps of paper. We worked out where Bill spends his time and prepared a weekly timetable so that he can work in a more structured way and get more done. Such as allocating specific times of the week for certain tasks, rather than letting them build up to unmanageable levels. Time for himself was also factored in. He now gets up at 6.00 a.m. and goes to the gym near his home 4 mornings a week, has breakfast there and then blasts off to work. Those of you who exercise first thing in the morning know what I mean. Bill's now eating more nutritious food. Instead of the unhealthy restaurant food he will often have his lunchtime meetings in a "trendy café" where he can choose what he eats. The last time I spoke to Bill he said he had reduced his working hours. He was leaving the office by 6.00 p.m. the latest and was feeling so good he is considering training to compete in his gym's mini-triathlon. How's that for stopping the procrastination and "just doing it". You can too, you know. We often know what to do, even how to do it. All you need to do make a decision to stop your procrastination and take action today. About The Author Lorraine Pirihi is Australia's Personal Productivity Specialist and Leading Life Coach. Her business The Office Organiser specialises in showing small business owners and managers, how to get organised at work so they can have a life! Lorraine is also a dynamic speaker and has produced many products including "How to Survive and Thrive at Work!" To subscribe to her free ezine visit http://www.office-organiser.com.au This article may be reproduced providing it is published in it's entirety, including the author's bio and all links. For further information please contact Lorraine Pirihi: lorraine@office-organiser.com.au
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
2 Simple Ways To Cure Procrastination Curing procrastination is not necessarily about will power or forcefully advancing in your goals but rather it is about learning why we procrastinate, what we are afraid of and finding ways to face those fears in order to move forward in our lives.What are you afraid of?1. Life Is About Taking "Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new. You Can! "There are only two ways of bringing brightness into your world; either change your attitude or open the closed doors of your brain"This holds true in all our lives; we all deserve a good & peaceful life, full of happiness. Our struggle to lead a better life and to grow everyday, both professionally and personally is highly appreciable; time and again we face situations which are highly abstruse, stress building and killer of our enthusiasm and high morale. The Most Courageous People in the World Who are the most courageous people in the world? Armed services? Coastguards? Astronauts? Firepersons? Explorers? Mountaineers? ??Sports? For us, the most courageous people in the world are those who are committed to discovering how they can get the best out of themselves. Individuals, who are committed to learning about and changing, their habits and beliefs in order to fulfil their dreams. Motivation By Comparison Motivation by comparison is a dynamic form of motivation which can totally transform our attitude of mind. It is used much too rarely. Vanity Killed My Car When I was a freshman in college, my first car was a 1973 Dodge Swinger. Stop laughing! When I first bought the car it was quite sad looking. The Missing Piece Have you ever tried putting a puzzle together, only to get to the end and discover that a piece is missing? You anxiously put the puzzle together, constantly examining the picture of your anticipated outcome, and a piece is missing. Piece by piece you work, only to realize that something is missing -- and only one piece. 7 Hot Tips For Self Improvement Part 2 Self Improvement Tip 4 Don't procrastinate! The more you put something off and something else off, the more all your undesirable chores pile up.Until they're an insurmountable task that would make a paid cleaning crew shudder. You Want Me to Do What? Most of the time whenever we need to make an important business decision we turn to what is convenient or comfortable. Why is it that we never seem to want to venture out and try new things. Motivation; 5 Steps to Get the Changes You Want Q: I just read your column in today's' Greensboro News and Record. For the last few years I've been struggling with change, and found your suggestions about "change tools" to be useful. Its a Habit Do you sometimes have the feeling that you're running into the same obstacles over and over again? Many of my conflicts have the same feel to them, like "Hey, I think I've been here before," but I can't figure out how I wound up in the same place. The situation is different, but the conflict feels the same. Success Through The Power Of Daily Action Daily actions to achieve your goals means daily progress and daily excitement as you start to feel your dreams are actually coming true.As you take action daily, you cannot fail to realize that you are moving steadily towards your goal and this can only fill you with growing enthusiasm and the belief that, at long last, you will achieve your goal whatever it is. 5 Forgotten Secrets to Beating Procrastination at Home It's not easy to stay motivated and beat procrastination while being at home. Too many distractions and feeling that tasks can always be delayed until tomorrow or the next day can cause procrastination at home to set in. Excuses, Excuses, Excuses Lately, I've become super sensitive to the amount of excuses people make for not living up to their fullest potential.I have a friend who is starting out on a new venture. Getting Out of the Zone! We've probably all heard the famous movie quip, "why don't you wait here while I slip into something a little more comfortable". It's a comment to make most of our ears (particularly male ones!) stand up on end with the anticipation that the film has actually taken a turn for the better. Does Your Battery Need Recharging? A technical support person in a pager company tells the story of a customer call to the customer service center from a man who repeatedly complained he was being paged by "Lucille." He was instructed that he would have to call her and tell her to stop paging him. Making Things Happen We are all given the tools, but it is up to us what we decide to build and how magnificent it will be.Steven FerrelGoals are fantastic to have, but many times challenges surface that make it difficult for a goal to mature. Motivation: The Power of Celebration CherishEnthusiasmLive with passionExcitementBeliefRejoiceAttitude and ActionTimeImaginationOpportunityNowCherish - your life, your loved ones, your work. My dictionary defines cherish as "to hold dear to you. Get Up and Do! The motivation to change my oil came the other day when I turned the key in my car's ignition. It coughed wearily, and there was an ominous clicking sound where the engine should have chimed in. The Default Setting In the coaching relationships I have with our clients, the major problem I see is that individuals end up in the same place - over and over and over again. They mean to save money and build wealth, only to end up (again) with "too much month at the end of the money.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2007 |
