If you got an A+ in Procrastination 101 or grew up in a
castle where servants waited on you, and you now find yourself confronted by
the R word (responsibility), try these five sweet ways to overcome
procrastination and get things done:
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| #Baby steps help a lot |
1.
Break a huge job down into baby steps. If Clean the House seems daunting (it does to
me!), break it down into rooms, or even tasks within rooms. Vacuum, dust, and
clean mirrors does not overwhelm me like CLEAN THE LIVING ROOM does.
2.
Rename a task. Instead of Edit my Book, call it Bring
out the Dimples in my Baby, or Polish
my Masterpiece. See how creative you can get to call a task by a new name
to take some of the sting out of it.
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| Dedicate it to Jesus, Grandma, or your bestie |
3.
Dedicate it to Jesus, Grandma, or your bestie. If
I scrub the toilets or pull weeds for me, I might end up saying, “I don’t care
that much,” and procrastinate till Christmas comes. But if I do it for someone I love, in their honor or memory, I’m
more likely to get the job done.
4.
Plant it as a seed for future blessings. God said,
“A person reaps whatever they plant”
(Galatians 6:7). We can plant unpleasant tasks as seeds that will someday bring
us a crop of goodness. I’d rather watch a Monk re-run than finish a project for
work. But if think of it as planting a seed for a raise, a promotion, or a simple "thanks," my
attitude improves.
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| copyright Ron Levellie |
5.
Reward yourself when you finish. This is my
favorite ploy for overcoming procrastination. I tell myself that when I finish whatever
I’m working on, I’ll read a chapter in a novel, eat a frozen yogurt bar, or go
on Facebook. Whatever works for you as a reward may be the incentive you need
to get off your bum and go to work.
Only I'm renaming it from WORK to PRODUCTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT.
What ways do you overcome procrastination?
I love how you make a chore sound fun!
ReplyDeleteGood post.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea to re-name the task! Also, the idea of dedicating it to Jesus or someone else is pure genius. Tweeted!
ReplyDeleteProductive time management - I like that! These are clever solutions, Jen, thanks so much for sharing them! Going to add this to one of my Pinterest boards.
ReplyDeleteI like to break projects down to help get through them. Rewards are another thing that I use (fudge bar, anyone?). One big thing that helps me get through is the feeling I know I'll have when I've accomplished it. The flip side of that is beating myself up for not doing it, so that's been a good motivator.
Have a wonderful week! :)
Loved this BLOG and glad I found it through Karen Lange! Will be visiting again soon. Oh by the way- how wonderful to have your family come live closer to you. Lucky you- lucky them!
ReplyDeleteHi Jeanette! Well, I think I mostly decide that I'm going to be majorly unhappy tomorrow if I don't get at it today. But I do like that rewarding with FB thing. Instead of wasting time surfing it, get the job done. THEN I can waste time surfing it!!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back :)
Ceil
Jeanette: I LOVE your redefining the word work. I also love the humorous way you rename editing. I will have to try that with some of my tasks.
ReplyDeleteI am not a procrastinator generally, but there are times where I will put something off until later. I totally agree with your mentioning about breaking down a task into baby steps. What a great post, Jeanette! Thank you so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteA long time ago I read advice about housecleaning that said start at one point in a room and work your way around. This works mostly with straightening. You obviously want to dust and vacuum everything at once! But it does help to start at the front door and gradually work your way around the house. It feels less overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteNow these are good! I love how you put them, too. Just wanted to let you know I am closing my blog for s while, but I will be checking back from time to time on the ones I enjoy reading, like yours.
ReplyDelete