Overcoming procrastination

“ONLY PUT OFF until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone”? Pablo Picasso

Two weeks ago, we started a series on “How to Stop Procrastinating – Overcoming the Habit of Delaying Important Tasks.”

Today, we begin with a testimony from Hermes Hecaton, Capacity Planner at PMI. Hecaton said: “Procrastination is not an easy thing to overcome. I used to procrastinate all the time and never get things done. I always looked for answers on the Internet, but nothing worked long-term. I kept on procrastinating. I felt the guilt of wasted time. One day, I discovered and read a very short and extremely powerful book on overcoming procrastination. This book didn’t only change my attitude, but it made me more successful in multiple areas of my life. The book is called “The Procrastination Antidote”; it is only 17 pages long and is available on Amazon.

Procrastination is a habit – a deeply ingrained pattern of behaviour and, as you know, habits only stop being habits when you avoid practicing them. ‘Mind Tools’ in the article “How to Stop Procrastinating – Overcoming the Habit of Delaying Important Tasks” shared the following anti-procrastination strategies:

● Forgive yourself for procrastinating in the past. Studies show that self-forgiveness can help you to feel more positive about yourself and reduce the likelihood of procrastination in the future.

● Commit to the task. Focus on doing, not avoiding. Write down the tasks that you need to complete and specify a time for doing them. This will help you to proactively tackle your work.

● Promise yourself a reward. If you complete a difficult task on time, reward yourself with a treat and make sure you notice how good it feels to finish things.

● Ask someone to check up on you. Peer pressure works!

● Act as you go, tackle tasks as soon as they arise, rather than letting them build up over another day.

In his 2011 book “The Procrastination Cure, “Jeffery Combs suggests tackling tasks in 15-minute bursts of activity. Alternatively, you can create an Action Plan to organize your project.

Remember the words of Denis Waitley “Time is an equal opportunity employer. Each human being has the same number of hours and minutes every day. Rich people can’t buy more hours. Scientists can’t invent new minutes. And you can’t save time to spend it on another day…”

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