June 10, 2017
Procrastination


One of my clients said he was in the store for another purpose and left without picking up what he needed for the job. He went home and rested, only to have to drive to and from the store again to obtain his necessary items. That is a case of mind exhaustion that disallowed him to organize efficiently his day so that he could go home later and have the energy to have a pleasant evening. The mind exhaustion arrives from the attitude of procrastination that has worn out the mental ability to think clearly.

He claimed that he was a procrastinator. He realized what he did cost him more time and aggravation, but at the time he left the store he did not stop and think about what he needed to do.

Preplanning the day would avoid this situation. As the day's schedule changes, stop for a few seconds and revisit and replan how the rest of the day will proceed.

Are you a procrastinator? Therefore you excuse your behavior to yourself and others with the attitude that you cannot help it if you just don't get to that report or project you promised. Therefore, you do not attempt to organize your day.

You really do not want to do it, do you? You say that you do, but you keep putting it off?
Be honest with your self. You do not want to do it. Period.

Pick which of these real reasons that fit your procrastination:
1. You dislike the effort that it takes to accomplish it. (Just think about how long it takes you to do something that you enjoy. You do not put that off, do you?)
2. You have in no interest in the finished project. You are doing it to please someone or for the pay you will receive.
3. You fear that the finished effort will not be up to your standards or up to the other person's standards.
4. You are ashamed because you know you are not capable of perfecting the effort or item.
5. You got bamboozled into this and do not know how to say, "No I will not do it."
6. There is not enough time to accomplish it. (Do it in sections.)
7. You never learned how to organize our day.

Have you ever put off anything that you had a burning desire to do? If you have, you were probably restrained by parents, or others, finances, poor health or other considerations beyond your control. However, usually you find a way to overcome all those difficulties since this is a high priority for you. Correct?
Make a list and get the offending items off the list as fast as you can. Overcoming procrastination decreases the tension of avoiding it. If you do it first before all other jobs;
then, the rest of the day or week is stress free.

Organize your day and rearrange it when the needs alter. Try prioritizing the importance of each duty. The most important should come first on your list. Assemble according to the amount of time needed for each project. Be realistic about the amount of time it takes to accomplish each task. Take a class in organization if you do not know how to do it.

Do the work in sections of time, dividing it into manageable pieces: then you will overcome the stress which result from discarded projects.

Procrastinating comes with stress and guilt that are more burdensome than facing squarely what you hesitate to accomplish.

The extra time used to overcome the stress from not promptly finishing the dreaded chore often consumes more time than actually accomplishing it. Examples of avoidance reactions are: giving yourself permission to have a beer/coffee, napping or playing with the computer, engaging in sports, etc. in order to relieve the pressure rather than start the disliked project.

Eliminate the stress and guilt by eliminating the mental exhaustion from protesting that you will eventually do it . Get the unwanted job out of the way either by doing it or owning up to the fact that you do not intend to ever do it.