procrastination

Surely you procrastinate at one time or another – or maybe all the time. Even if you’re one of those unusual folks who only procrastinate occasionally, you’ll find some helpful hints here for managing this habit.

Getting your tasks completed on time is a sign that you have control over yourself and your life. You’ll enjoy the feeling of having more control over your life! You’ll be free from that familiar chaos that ensues each time a deadline looms or you finish a task late.

Following these tips can help you put procrastination in its place – in your past:

1. It’s largely about the pain. Now or later? Do you want to suffer now or suffer later? Those who get things done on time would rather just get it over with. Those who procrastinate would rather wait.

* As a procrastinator, you usually get active when the pain of doing it is less than the pain of not doing it. The ironic thing is that by waiting, the pain is far greater than if the task would’ve been managed earlier.

* Getting it done now just makes so much more sense. You’ll suffer less in the long run and you won’t have the mental challenge of the task hanging over your head for days or weeks.

2. Change your mindset. Instead of thinking about how much you don’t want to do it, try focusing on how good you’ll feel when you’re done!

* Try to associate as much positive feeling as you can about getting it done and out of the way. When you can think about the task and feel positive about it, it’s as good as finished.

* By the same token, try to associate pain to getting it done late or at the last minute. Imagine how it will feel if you’re late. What would the consequences be?

3. Just get started. It can be very difficult to even get started on a large task. Do whatever you need to do to make yourself just start on the task. Once you get going, you can establish some momentum and then it’s not usually so bad.

* Try setting up a schedule where you do 10% each day or reward yourself for getting a certain amount accomplished.

* Frequently you’ll find that if you can just get started, it’s not nearly as challenging as you anticipated. The first step always seems to be the toughest.

4. Get some help. Sometimes involving other people can be motivational. Maybe a friend can assist you in getting your task done. Feeling like you’re not all alone in the situation can ease the challenge of completing the task in question.

5. Make a list of the ways you waste time. Being aware of the things you tend do instead of the things you should be doing will make it easier to catch yourself when you stray.

* Some common ways of wasting time would include television, surfing the internet, email, shopping trips with no real purpose, and more. If you know your tendencies, you’ll be able to spot them more easily.

6. Track your progress at the end of each day. You wouldn’t try to lose weight without getting on the scale once in a while. Every day, measure your progress so you can really see where you are.

Procrastination doesn’t have to be a constant part of your life. Focus on how good you’ll feel to have it done and out of the way. The tips above are a good starting point. If you can stop relying on stress-induced adrenaline as motivation to take action, you’ll feel a much greater sense of control over your life. Get started with these tips right away!

Learn to end procrastination by training your mind.

End Procrastination

Procratination can steal your life from you.  It can cost you your job, your income, your future, your dreams, and everything you have worked for.  Use these simple methods to overcome.

By some estimates, 20 percent of people consider themselves to be chronic procrastinators and many more put things off on occasion. If procrastination is getting in between you and your life goals, try these suggestions for getting things done with less delay.

Understanding Why You Procrastinate

1. Spot perfectionism. Procrastination and perfectionism often go hand in hand. You may be setting your standards so high that they intimidate you from doing your best. Determine if you’re avoiding important tasks because you’re anxious about how well you’ll perform.

2. Make up your mind. You might procrastinate because you find it challenging to make decisions. You keep developing more options and telling yourself that you’re doing background research rather than buckling down to more concrete work.

3. Analyze your feelings about the last minute rush. Maybe you’ve become conditioned to the euphoria you feel when working under pressure. You may need to find more productive ways to motivate and reward yourself.

Changing Your Thinking

1. Examine the consequences of immediate gratification. Impulse control often lies at the heart of chronic procrastination. Try asking yourself which activities will contribute more to your wellbeing over the long term. You may enjoy watching several episodes of your favorite TV show back to back when it’s more profitable to spend that time studying.

2. Drop the dread. Worrying about a project can often be more unpleasant than just doing it. Try adopting a neutral state of mind when you start listing all the reasons why you put off a project, like doing your taxes. You may be pleasantly surprised at how effectively you can reduce the stress you place on yourself.

3. Hold yourself accountable. Take charge of your life by acknowledging your own abilities and making a commitment to give your best efforts to the things you care about. For example, get started today on your resolution to exercise daily rather than waiting until some hypothetical time when you’ll feel more energetic.

Developing New Habits

1. Schedule your time realistically. Take an inventory of how you currently use your time. Calculate how long it really takes you to complete your typical errands compared to the overly optimistic scenarios that keep putting you behind schedule.

2. Minimize distractions. If checking emails and surfing the web are eating up your time, put those distractions out of reach temporarily. See how much more you can accomplish when you focus only on the task at hand.

3. Manage interruptions. Some interruptions are inevitable. Remain flexible so you can get back to work quickly rather than letting a five minute phone call turn into a wasted afternoon.

4. Break tasks down into manageable chunks. Set intermediate deadlines for yourself. If your final proposal is due in a month, allot time for each section, editing, and proofreading.

5. Practice with small endeavors. You can turn almost anything into an opportunity to reinforce your new habits. Wipe down the kitchen counters immediately instead of saving up all of your cleaning for the weekend.

6. Reward your progress. You might procrastinate because it allows you to spend time on things you enjoy more than the things you’re trying to avoid. When you do your grocery shopping before work rather than sleeping for another hour, pay yourself back by serving up your favorite dish for dinner.

7. Expect setbacks. You’re likely to experience some backsliding. Look for the temptations that pull you off course and develop strategies to overcome them. If you feel lethargic after dinner, schedule your toughest work early in the morning when you’re more alert.

Overcoming a tendency to procrastinate will help you accomplish more and feel better about yourself.

By devoting your energies to meaningful activities rather than trying to avoid them, you’ll enjoy more peace of mind and a richer life.

Put an end to procratination today and live the great life that you deserve.

I saw this video today and I see a little of myself in it (sometimes). If procrastination is wrecking your life watch the video and take heart. We will be putting more information on about what you can do about procrastination in the near future so check back soon.

Procrastination-a Dangerous Obstacle For A Successful Home Business.

You started a Home Business with a lot of anticipation. You seem to be doing everything right but Procrastination seems to be getting hold of you and the progress you hoped to make in your Home Business appears to be eluding you.

This scenario is not new and is encountered by quite a few new Home Business entrepreneurs.  They started hoping their path will be a bed of roses but when they find the going getting tough they tend to procrastinate.  Yes, what is Procrastination? The dictionary defines it as ‘deferring or postponing action” People who are afflicted by Procrastination know it themselves. Few make a genuine attempt to change but many don’t. They allow things to drag on or refuse to take the first positive step towards any solution.

Successful people seldom procrastinate. This is what propels them towards their goal and success in life. Even when they do procrastinate at times, they don’t allow procrastination to take hold of themselves.  How then can you stop procrastination and succeed in your Home Business

1. Set Realistic Goals.  Never undertake to do anything much more than what you can chew. If you attempt to do something that is beyond your capacity, the whole exercise might become overwhelming and prevent you from getting started. You then tend to procrastinate.

2. Prepare Lists.   It is always advantageous to prepare a list of the things you want to do. This will help you to achieve your goals and also help you to prioritize the tasks. A list with a short term objective and another with a long term objective. Break them again into smaller steps. The whole purpose of two lists is to motivate you to get started and to stop procrastination. A person with a tendency to procrastinate will never get started if he views a long list of tasks to be accomplished. On the other hand viewing a shorter list can encourage him to get started.

3. Always have a Deadline.  Deadlines always play a very important role when you plan to achieve some task. It has to be realistic and attainable. Unattainable deadlines can only cause frustration and develop a feeling of incompetence with respect to your ambition of operating a successful Home Business.

4. Get Started.  Once you have done all the preliminaries such as reading, planning, getting good advice etc. put your best foot forward and gets started. Perfection is not necessary. All your preparatory work will be of no avail if you hesitate or vacillate. This reminds me of a Chinese proverb: “He who deliberates fully before taking a step will spend his entire life on one leg.”

5. Read Success and Inspiring Stories.  Regular reading of the lives of successful men and women will inspire you to emulate them. Successful people seldom or never procrastinate and reading these stories will gradually wean you out of your tendency to procrastinate.

6. Reward Yourself.  Whenever you complete your task or achieve your minor goal, reward yourself. Take time out and enjoy the company of your friends or take your family out. This will give you a sense of joy, fulfillment and achievement and will motivate you further to be a successful Home Business entrepreneur.

Conclusion.

Successful people no doubt deliberate fully before making a positive move but they don’t procrastinate. They don’t hesitate to take the first step forward and that is what matters most. You too can stop Procrastination by following these methods and propel your Home Business to the top.

Follow the six steps and you will be on your way to ending procratination.  Again, check back for more information about getting rid of procrastination.

Many look at Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich as a get rich quick guide.  In fact it has been used by the unscrupulous as a part of their sales pitch to pull people into money making schemes and programs that are less than sound.  For many this may have been their first introduction to Hill and his book and that is unfortunate since these people, having been burned by the business, may put the book down forever, and that is unfortunate.

And yet others take the book, regardless of their experience in the business, and take it to heart and are able to put it’s principals to work and achieve something fine, even great.  Years before Think And Grow Rich Hill had his beginnings writing for magazines, and eventually his own magazine: “Hill’s Golden Rule Magazine”  and “Napoleon Hill’s Magazine.”

Napoleon Hill on Concentrated Action

Some of Hill’s earliest writing in these magazines dealt with the lack of concentrated action, moving from one idea or job to the next without ever fully fleshing out the first.  Thus there is no concentrated effort, little action and no success.  Hill is a big proponent of finishing what you start.  Take your idea and stick with it – don’t jump from one thing to the next simply because the first does not pour out dollars when you first take it up.

“Nearly every man has intellegence enough to create ideas in his mind, but the trouble with most is that those ideas never find expression in action.  The finest locomotive on earth is not worth a shilling nor will it pull a single pound of weight, utill the stored up energy in the steam dome is released by the throttle.

You have energy in that head of yours — every human being does — but you are not releasing it at the throttle of action!  You are not applying it through the principal of concentration to the tasks which if completed, would place you on the list of those who are regarded as successes.”  –Napoleon Hill from  Napoleon Hill’s First Editions

This idea of concentrated action is why Hill and so many success authors talk about writing not only goals, but a short list of what you should do the next day.  It keeps you focused, it keeps you in a state of concentration on the ideas, on the goals, it also facilitates visualization which Napoleon Hill covers in detail in Chapters 3 and 4 of Think and Grow Rich.

Napoleon Hill on Persistence

From Chapter 9 of Think and Grow Rich:

PERSISTENCE is an essential factor in the procedure of transmuting DESIRE into its monetary equivalent. The basis of persistence is the POWER OF WILL.

Will-power and desire, when properly combined, make an irresistible pair. Men who accumulate great fortunes are generally known as cold-blooded, and sometimes ruthless. Often they are misunderstood. What they have is will-power, which they mix with persistence, and place back of their desires to insure the attainment of their objectives.

Henry Ford has been generally misunderstood to be ruthless and cold-blooded. This misconception grew out of Ford’s habit of following through in all of his plans with PERSISTENCE.

The majority of people are ready to throw their aims and purposes overboard, and give up at the first sign of opposition or misfortune. A few carry on DESPITE all opposition, until they attain their goal. These few are the Fords, Carnegies, Rockefellers, and Edisons.

Napoleon Hill and Others on Procrastination

This brings us to procrastination.  Procrastination is a form of fear.  Procrastination often results when there is anxiety over something you want to do or need to do.  Wikipedia has this to say:

The psychological causes of procrastination vary greatly, but generally surround issues of anxiety, low sense of self-worth, and a self-defeating mentality^[4]. Procrastinators are also thought to have a lower-than-normal level of conscientiousness, more based on the “dreams and wishes” of perfection or achievement in contrast to a realistic appreciation of their obligations and potential.

Napoleon Hill had this to say about procrastination:

Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.

Persistent action carried out now.  These ideas are two of  the primary keys to success.  W. Clement Stone had a saying:

“Do it now.”

And why not, why not now?  Do we have genuine reasons or are they procrastination and hidden fear?

Napoleon Hill was writing about periodic self examination when he wrote the first quote above.  That if you are jumping around from one thing to the next then you will never put forth the concentrated effort that you need to really put the thing over.  And if you have a good idea and are not going forward with it – with persistence and with belief in it – then perhaps there is some hidden fear that you need to understand that is causing you to procrastinate.

Napoleon Hill’s writings are timeless and remain some of the foremost success liturature that we have.  That the unscrupulous would use it to manipulate those seeking to better their lives is unfortunate but that should not stop us from taking and using Hills literary works for our betterment.

by Michael Griffin

Jan 27th 2009 Podcast

Time management has become a huge business these days. Franklin-Covey and many other companies offer great time management tools to manage your day and to make you more productive. Google returns 227,000,000 pages in response to a query on the subject of time management; now with this post: Google search result 227,000,001.

Whole books, seminars and courses have been made on time management – you can easily spend thousands of dollars on this topic trying to get the latest edge to learn the latest time management skills. I usually get a headache and my eyes glaze over when I dig into these things.

Much of this information and these time management systems are good but as Solomon said, in Ecclesiastes, about things of the world: everything is meaningless … they are vanity and vexation of the spirit. This is truly what time management systems can become. Our society is obsessed with the idea of wringing out the last ounce of time – to the point of it being counter-productive. Trying to wring productivity out of your time is an important aspiration, time is the one commodity in your life that you cannot add to, you can only make it’s use more efficient.

Many people who seek to maximize their time get planners, Palms or other electronic devices with planners built in and often – they wind up feeling like a slave to the systems they buy – these systems causing more stress instead of being the stress reliever they are intended to be. They wind up trying to schedule too much or perhaps an element of procrastination has crept in and items keep moving from one date to the next and stacking up. The planner becomes like an old friend they have made promises too and yet have not fulfilled them. After a while they begin to avoid the planner and it winds up in the drawer and they come back to a simple appointment calender.

My advice is to ease into time management. There are great dividends to be earned with your time management activities but putting one of the systems on. But putting the whole uniform on all at once and keeping the buttons polished when you are used to running free and naked (in a time sense) is likely to lead to your rebellion and casting it off within a few months.

Start off easily: Napoleon Hill writes of Ivy Lee, who is considered the father of modern public relations, Lee was doing some work for Charles Schwab the head of Bethlehem Steel. Schawb told Lee that the biggest problem he had was making his managers more effective – helping them better utilize their time. Lee handed Schwab a blank sheet of paper and told him that with in a few minutes he could give him the solution. Schwab agreed to try the system out for a few weeks and then send Lee a check for what he thought the idea was worth.

Lee advised Schwab to have his managers, at the end of the day, to list their top six priorities for tomorrow. Then they should number 1 to 6 according to how important that task was. On the next day take the tasks in the priority order, not proceeding until a task was completed. In a couple of weeks Schwab sent Lee a check for $25,000 as the value of the idea – and this was in the 1920′s.

This simple idea encapsulates all of the ideas within entire books and courses. Often these materials while presenting good distinctions and enhancements that are of value – tend to obscure the basic idea that Lee presented. The person studying the concepts get caught up with quadrants, matrix’s, and complicated prioritizing schemes – they miss the basics, the part that makes the whole thing of value to start with.

If you are new to time management or have a system that has overwhelmed you drop back to the basics and begin to draw your own distinctions, create your own rules.

Lee gave Schwab a blank sheet of paper and told him..

1. List the six most important things you have to do tomorrow.
2. number them in order of importance
3. Take the paper out tomorrow morning – start with 1 and stay with it until completed
4. Only then go to 2 and repeat until the end of day. If you don’t finish you probably wouldn’t have finished anyway – when you realize this you know when to say no to a new task or give it to someone else.

So there is your simple time management seminar that Schwab voluntarily paid what would be the equivalent of $250,000 for today. In essence it incorporates all the items that you can read entire chapters of time management books to understand. You will figure out the parts about avoiding interruptions and all the minutia.

If you are one of the people with more to do than you can accomplish you really need to read Napoleon Hill and take his messages to heart whether it be on time management or another topic. It is not some huge mass of rules and materials to memorize rather it is a belief system that harnesses your subconscious mind and causes you to reach out to others and form what Hill calls a “Master Mind.” The Master Mind is a team working together for a common purpose. Maybe it’s you and your spouse or a best friend to begin, maybe its a group at work. Each of you with six things to do tomorrow. Each of you helping the other see the important things – which on some days might be just to leave it and go refresh so you can be more effective when you come back to it.

That’s it for Google search result 227,000,001 Napoleon Hill and Ivy Lee’s time management tools.