How to turn Procrastination into a Friend rather than a Foe

(New thoughts are posted each Monday and Thursday)

Procrastination is a thief. It steals the best of intentions and leaves them on a large pile of excuses.

One poet seeking to add humor if not solution to the problem wrote, “Procrastination is my sin, it brings me naught but sorrow. I know that I should stop it. In fact, I will….tomorrow.”

There is, of course, productive procrastination. Such as saving time by not raking the leaves and waiting until the wind blows them away or not changing the clock for Day Light Savings Time because, after all, in six months it will have to be done all over again.

Have you ever stopped to think how much is done in the last minute? You know, of course, I am talking about any of us who at least more than once in our lives have waited until the last minute to get something done.

I suppose one could argue that there is a certain exhilaration about procrastination as one thinks about all the wonderful things they are going to do some day, some how, somewhere. So, what can be done to slow it down if not bring the problem to a halt?

1. Well, if a project or need to do something seems too big, break it up into smaller parts. I remember the first time I hiked the Appalachian trail. When I reached a point where I was tired and wanted to quit but still wanted to keep going I said to myself, “I can walk to that rock up ahead. And then after that I can walk to that tree and so on…” The lawn is too big to mow. Think front yard and then tomorrow back yard. Or a teenager, I can clean off my be desktoday, if not the whole room. Etc., etc.

2. Make a contract with yourself and sign it, something like “I pledge to get the job (name it) I need to get it done today.” When you have signed it put it in a prominent place to remind yourself what you signed.

3. REWARD YOURSELF! Make it something you wouldn’t have gotten if you hadn’t followed through on your contract to yourself. Remember, if procrastination is truly your problem it has been around a long time and you need all the help you can give yourself to defeat it.

4. Deal with one thing to do at a time. Long lists of things to do only make it easier to procrastinate.

5. Tie something you don’t want to do into a daily chore that you have already developed a habit for doing.

6: This is stretching creativity a bit but imagine that you are the thing on the list you keep ignoring. Would you like being ignored for as long as you have been doing it?

(Six more ideas on how to defeat Procrastination in my next posting)