“The essence of procrastination lies in not doing what you think you should be doing, a mental contortion that surely accounts for the great psychic toll the habit takes on people. This the perplexing thing about procrastination: although it seems to involve avoiding unpleasant tasks, indulging in it generally doesn’t make people happy.” – James Surowiecki
Procrastination is a common way to get us all stuck. And yet, we may not even realize we’re doing it. Whenever you want to avoid a task, we tend to create reasons in our head that supply us with enough logic so we can delay it. For instance, you need to beat a deadline, yet there you are fiddling with miscellaneous things such as checking your email, social media, watching videos, surfing blogs and forums, and the list can go on. You will know that you are already procrastinating when you slack off from your work.
Everyone is guilty of procrastination. Who aren’t, right? But just because everyone else is procrastinating, that does not mean you’re doing the same thing as well. Especially when you work in a competitive environment such as the SEO Company, overcoming procrastination is must-do! Here’s how:
1. Face your fear
“Procrastination is the fear of success. People procrastinate because they are afraid of the success that they will result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the “someday I’ll” philosophy.” – Denis Waitley
Have you ever tried thinking about being afraid of something that you just want to avoid it? Perhaps, you’ve been feeling a bit pressured on your work assuming you might get more work than you usually do whenever you are done with it. Not to mention the fear you feel whenever you make mistakes, stumble and not avoid the pain. This might be too risky for you to get ahead thinking about what can happen to you in the long run. But did you know that not bravely facing your fears can lead you to regrets? You may find it difficult to cope with the challenges in life, but at the end of the day, you must know that for you to move forward, you need to beat your fears head-on.
2. Start with the hardest task of your day
“Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.” – Dale Carnegie
Did you know that humans are productive in the morning than later in the afternoon? This is because your mind is in working condition willing to perform any task you have. That means, if you start your day doing the hardest task, then you may feel relieved afterward. Additionally, you will feel more relaxed and good about yourself for accomplishing the task you might hate the most. Keep in mind that your decision and action would break or make your day.
3. Stop thinking. Start doing.
“To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing.” – Eva Young
There’s nothing wrong about planning ahead. In fact, it is one thing we need to do to complete our tasks more efficiently. However, when you tend to think and think and try to come p with “the perfect plan,” then this can eat up a lot of your time without accomplishing anything else. Coming up with that “perfect plan” may be impossible to achieve. When it comes to working, you need to start with some small steps and more small steps until you get to the point where you know what’s best for your task. It is a learning process. So, stop thinking too much and start doing it right now.
4. Don’t blow a task out of proportion
“If you want to make an easy job seem might hard, just keep putting off doing it.” – Olin Miller
“Putting off an easy thing makes it hard. Putting off hard things makes it impossible.” – George Claude Lorimer
There’s also a popular saying that goes, “Do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” – Benjamin Franklin
Let’s just say; you have a particular task that would be due on Friday. You think that it might be okay to put it off since it’s still Monday, later you’ll realize that days are passing so fast that you forget to do the necessary changes. Procrastinating would lead you to panic on what to do for you to get your task done, which naturally would also lead you to settle for less. Keep in mind that those who are okay with going for less are unproductive people. One thing is for sure; you do not want to be labeled as an unproductive person.
5. Just take the first step
“You don’ have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
There may be times that you feel like the pressure is on you since your tasks may seem impossible to accomplish. But keep in mind that no one is genius enough to get their work done perfectly on the first try. When it comes to working on your task, expect there would be some mistakes, some corrections, and some changes. Whenever you’re corrected, don’t take it too hard. You just have to be open-minded and keep it in mind. This is for you to grow mentally and emotionally. All you have to do is to take the first step and do whatever you can. You will eventually realize that you’ve finished your tasks already.
Final Thoughts:
Procrastination is the enemy of success. If you notice that you’ve been drag down to procrastinate, then force yourself to move in the other direction. Here’s a warning: There are a lot of temptations around you which lead you to procrastinate. Before you do, think again whether it is worth your time and effort. If it doesn’t, then avoid it as much as you can. It is in this way where you can learn how to discipline yourself and succeed whatever you are into doing.
