Are you having difficulties in producing the results you want because of procrastination? Are you keeping on delaying and putting things away in life? Don’t worry, you are about to discover how you can get rid of procrastination once and for all with 3 proven principles…
1) Create The Passion
Do you know that one of the main reasons people procrastinate is because they don’t like what they’re supposed to do? Just like some people procrastinate and delay in doing their homework, but they can have all the energy to watch a movie until late night or to play computer games. What do you love to do? When you do what you love, you will be able to tap into your natural motivation and bring out your inner potential. Successful people are able to come up with motivation all the time because they are doing what they love.
Steve Jobs, Donald Trump, Michael Jordan, etc, all of these great people are doing what they love, that is why they are able to overcome procrastination and produce outstanding results in their life. If you don’t love what you do, you will find all sorts of excuses to not do it. You will say that you don’t know how to do it, you don’t have the time for it, or simply you just don’t wish to do it. And in order to be successful in life, you have to go through tough times. Hence, you need the inner motivation to push you through. If you don’t love what you do, you will just quit when you face with obstacles.
So do what you love and tap into your inner motivation to get things done. What if you don’t like the task but you still have to do it? Just like you don’t like to do your homework but you still need to submit it? Well, you can be creative and try to find fun while doing it. Invite your friends to do the chores along, listen to your favorite songs while doing your homework or simply put yourself on the line where you have no other options but to get it done.
2) Build The Success Cycle
One very important principle that you must understand if you want to overcome procrastination is that you must always start small. Yes, you have to dream big so that your dreams can inspire you, but when you start, you must start small. Just like if you want to adopt the habit of jogging every morning after you wake up. You have to tell yourself that your minimum commitment is to get changed and jog for only 5 minutes. You don’t have to do it for 1 or 2 hours as a start. You just need to start so that you will build up the momentum. And trust me, if you are able to jog for 5 minutes, you will never stop there.
Most people are too ambitious and they wanted to start big. They are too rushing for big results in the beginning. This is what paralyzes most people because your brain can tell whether it can be done. If the task is too heavy and you cannot get it done, your mind will sabotage it because you simply don’t believe that it is possible to do. Another key point about starting small is that when you start small, you definitely will achieve some results. And when you see results, you will feel more confidence and you will want to do more of it.
Just like if you want to write a book, you don’t have to do it one go. You can just set your minimum commitment as to write just one page, or if writing one page scares you, commit to only write a paragraph a day. Of course, once you started writing, your creativity juice will flow, you will build up the momentum and you will continue to write once you have achieved your “write one paragraph” goal.
If you apply this strategy by starting small, you will eventually turn the small action into your habit. And once it has become your habit, you will be able to reap the reward you want in the end. The key in starting is to make taking action your habit. When you take small action, you will create small result. When you created small result, you will build more confidence and wanted to do more. It becomes a success cycle and which will eventually becomes a success habit.
3) Punish And Reward System
A very powerful way to force yourself into commitment and overcome procrastination is by applying the punish and reward system. What you can do here is to punish yourself if you did not get your tasks done and on the other hand, reward yourself if you get the tasks done.
For example, if you have to write an article by today, but you procrastinate and did not do it, you should punish yourself to do it at night when you are aware. Stay up late if you need to and no movie or games as punishment. And if you get the article written on time, you can reward yourself with a cup of your favorite beverage, watch a movie or play computer games. Remember, no fun or relax moment if you did not get your task done. And if you get it done, give a pat on the back yourself.
Another great way to implement this is to do it in the 60/60/30 principle. What it means is that you focus in doing your task for 50 minutes, and then rest for 10 minutes. You have to be super focus in working on your task. No distraction and only doing the task for 50 minutes. Once the time is up, stop right away and rest for 10 minutes. Even if you’re half way writing an article, you have to stop. The 10 minutes is for you to refresh your mind and take rest. Grab a snack if you want to. After that, continue to work on your task for another 50 minutes, and take another 10 minutes rest. Once you have completed the first 2 blocks of 60 minutes, take a 30 minutes rest.
The principle behind 60/60/10 rule is that you want to make sure you focus in doing just one of your tasks at a time and make sure you get some refreshment so that you can continue to work for the long run. This principle is very powerful, try to implement it and you will see the result.
These are the 3 proven principles how you can overcome procrastination. Clear your mind right now, get a piece of paper or grab your journal, write down how you can apply these principles into your daily life so that you can achieve more and produce better results in life.
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Author: Shawn Lim
Shawn Lim is an expert in personal development & success strategies in life. Find out more about him through his success blog at TheMillionaireSecrets.net
As a habitual procrastinator I typically employ method 3, am self-aware of 2 and have tried to convince myself of number 1 with little success. I often find myself doing the late-night punishment method to get the chores done that need to be done. I have has some success with making prioritized lists, knowing that lower priority items will not get completed.
All good stuff, still looking for my secret recipe.
As Steve Jobs died several years ago, I am pretty sure he IS not doing what he loves and is not procrastinating. And let's not even discuss Donald Trump who spends most of his time calling people losers and his cheated people out of money left and right. Oh wait, I guess he does love what he does. Sorry to nit pick but seriously these were your best examples!?!
Interesting insight, Ugh. Reminded me what Cal Newport mention as the Passion Problem .
great article! im sure you wont guess, but I, as probably others, procrastinated reading it. lol
thank you!!
I find that some things I procrastinate on are becuase I think they're going to take more time and be more difficult than they might be. Sometimes I right and they do! But more often than not they weren't that bad. Breaking this fear can stop procrastination.
I really wanted to read this article but as I always do I read the first paragraph then scrolled down to to comments. Does that make me a bad person? I cannot even push myself to read a short article about procrastination.
Another alternative to the 60/60/30 principle is following the body's natural Ultradian rhythm. Work for 90 minutes and 30 minutes.
Whatever principle, rhythm, or principles you choose, just know that there serve as guidelines and not a definite fact about your body. Everyone's different so be sure to test and evaluate.
Spend More Time With Your Children http://www.nightart.org/fundus.
It does not matter if you work full time or part time. Maybe you stay at home with your children but you are working from home. Even if you stay home with your children, you are busy trying to get everything done. No matter who you are, you probably think that you are not spending enough time with your children. Quality time, that is. There are many ways to spend more time with your children.
Your children do not need to play every sport or do every extracurricular activity out there. You could spend all of your time running your children from one practice to another. Pick just one or two activities that your children love and stick with them.
Plan family dinners where everyone sits at the table, eats, and talks about their day.
Make dinners special so everyone likes to spend time together while eating.
Let your children help when you are working on things.
They can help fix dinner, clean, and fix things. Children learn by watching and doing. Chores can turn into time together so that they are much more enjoyable.
Do things that your children want to do.
It is hard when the house is a mess but get on the floor and play with your children. Play games that they enjoy. Have a movie night and watch their favorite movie.
Find things that you enjoy doing together.
Arts and crafts can be a big hit. NightArt is helping bring parents and children together. You can design a drawing and watch it light up together.
No one feels like they spend enough time with their children. However, you need to make the most of time spent together, instead of worrying if you are spending enough time together. Find things that you enjoy doing together, like NightArt. Check it out at http://www.nightart.org/fundus. It will bring out the artist in everyone, bringing families together.