Procrastination is less about time management and more about coping. We avoid things we don’t want to do and replace it with things we’d much rather do. The things we put off are the things we don’t enjoy. Quite simply they do not give us pleasure.
We put things off because:
- We don’t understand them
- We don’t know how to do them, they’re too hard
- We don’t know where to start
- They are a problem to solve
- They’re boring.
- We do not value the outcome enough.
The things we will replace it with are things that:
- excite us
- are easy
- we can do over and over quickly
- don’t take a lot of brain power.
- Are fun
There are particular values, sometimes hidden from our conscious, that are motivators for what we do in life. It is the things that we value highest that we will always give the highest priority to. For example, a highly organized person, is more likely to get the clients files sorted alphabetically, numerically and in priority order before getting on the phone as this is what gives them the greatest reward.
Social media or surfing the internet is a very easy distraction. We tend to follow or like the things that are high on our values. Facebook, Youtube and google monitor our behaviour and feed it to us too. It’s addictive. So we’ll easily find time and distraction in this over doing something that is difficult.
The “How” – it’s all too hard
Do you have a “To-Do List” full of tasks that you work from? Have you ever had a task that sat on your list for ever? Let’s say for example you had on your list, “Start Google +”. You know you need to do it for your business but you keep putting it off. Why? The first reason why, is because quite simply, this is a project. Not a task. This is the biggest mistake that many people make. A project is made up of a series of tasks. Let’s say, in your mind, you periodically remember that there was an email sent to you about Google+ by your SEO friend but you can’t find it and you have a funny feeling it’s out of date now. You also created an account, you think, but lost the password. There was a good video in the LinkedIn group you had. There’s a webinar coming up for beginners, you keep forgetting about that too. So you see, there’s a series of task that you need to nut out, prioritise and add to your “To-Do List” which will make the starting the project easier. Take the time to brainstorm and prioritise your steps.
It is often the menial tasks we put off too, like scanning receipts to send to your accountant. If you did this menial task on a regular basis, it wouldn’t be so bad. But imagine leaving the whole task to the end of financial year? Creating routine and habit for the more menial tasks reduces the risk of procrastination. Here are some valuable tips for managing the routine of things you may not enjoy:
Schedule regular menial task
They may be low priority but left unattended (like the receipts) they can become a big job that is now urgent. You can reschedule the activity as often as you need to, but by doing so, you a consciously aware that you are physically putting off a task.
Set the “If/then” rules
This works well for creating discipline in focus times. For example, IF my friends ring me to go out, THEN I’ll say NO. IF I sit down to write a blog, THEN I won’t open facebook for at least 1 hour. THEN I’ll give myself a half hour social media break.