Overcoming Procrastination

In order to overcome procrastination, you need to nag yourself. Scold yourself into doing whatever it is that you are avoiding. of course, the first step is to recognize your personal methods of procrastinating. Use that recognition to see where you are procrastinating. The next step is to determine just what you are actually avoiding.

“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today,” is very good advice but it is hard to follow, especially if you are very good at procrastination. I should know; I’m a champion. I do not say that with pride either. it’s nothing to be proud of.

I have to admit that I procrastinated about writing in my journal when I started to keep it. I set myself reminders on my computer and soon had the habit of writing in the journal. Now I get irritable when I miss writing it. it has become such a habit. That only works for something like writing in a journal. For other things, like cleaning out a closet, you will need different techniques.

One way is to promise yourself a treat if you complete the task you have been putting off. It could be something as small as a candy bar to going to the movies. It depends on the individual. We all like rewards, so rewarding yourself for getting a job you don’t want to do, done is something that deserves a reward.

Another way to overcome procrastination is just to do the chore. Tell yourself, repeatedly, that the chore (or whatever) is not going to do itself. This is a form of nagging, but I find it helpful. You can also tell yourself that the sooner you get it done, the sooner you can relax, another form of reward. You can also tell yourself that if you do the chore, you won’t have it hanging over your head, which is only the truth after all.

I use rewards a lot when I need to get something done that I am not all that enthused about doing. It works best for me. I think it works best for many people. Rewards are fun things to get. Get your homework done and you can play that videogame you love, or watch that TV show that you are dying to see. Whatever works best for you. The point is that you have something to do, and you have to force yourself to do it.

It all boils down to discipline. Once you know what you are avoiding, you can do it. if you find that you are doing petty little chores to avoid cleaning your closet, stop the chores and clean the closet. Sometimes you just have to recognize that you are procrastinating and simply stop what you are doing and do the thing you are avoiding. It’s as simple as that. Don’t forget to give yourself a little reward after that and then do the chores. It’s simple when stated like that, but in practice, it is one of the hardest things to do.

About pebblepup

I am not one who is comfortable talking about myself but here goes. I enjoy writing, family history, and reading. I decided to do this blog because I wanted to try something new. I decided to make it a weekly blog because I wasn't sure that I could keep up with a daily one, and monthly seemed like I was writing a magazine. I think I did ok with my choices. You'll notice that there are not a lot of graphics on my site. That's because there are graphics plastered everywhere on the Internet and those sites sometimes take forever to load. This blog is a place where you can kick back, relax and be ready to be amused. At least I hope I willbamuse you. This blog is on a variety of subjects from my ficitional cat agency, the FFL, which is monthly, to instructional blogs to editorials, which are my opinions only. I admit that I don't know everything and could be wrong -- I frequently am. Now, stop reading about me and read what I have to say!