Procrastination

"Never do today that which you can put off till tomorrow".

I have a T shirt with this print and I believe this says it all about procrastination. What happen when tomorrow comes? Nothing will happen because we will put off again things we have to do till tomorrow. This frightening thought can manifest into a habit, and worse still, embedded as a mindset.

What if tomorrow never comes?

Never put off till tomorrow that which we can do today.
Benjamin Franklin

Things on their own will not get better. If life is getting better, it is because we have taken action to improve upon them.

There is a cause and a effect, that is, things we do today will have a consequence tomorrow. Likewise, things I do not do today, will have a consequence in the future.

We tend to lose momentum in the things we do once in a while, in fact, often. There could be many reasons for the distraction, be it internal or external. It becomes important to nail down what causes this distraction .

Why do we procrastinate?
1) Talkers but not doers
2) Fear of trying new things and the consequences
3) Boredom. Not having the mood to start.



How Not To Procrastinate:
1) 5 mins push off. Many a time, we wait for the right mood to come to get us started. Often then not, the mood does not seem to appeared.
Therefore, do not wait. Push yourself even if you do not feel like doing it especially the first 5 minutes. Once you get into the act, the momentum will tend to pick up.
2) Do it in group. Get a friend to work at it together
3) Get out of the house. Go to a library where the environment support and motivate us to work.
4) For me, when I am down, I like to pick myself up by reading a motivational book or watch a motivational video. Check out the videos at youtube by Dr Randy Pausch
5) Reward yourself. Give yourself a reward when you finally get things going
6) Timetable. Set a designated time to get things done. The idea is to inculcate the good habit and form a structure where we can follow.