A PROCRASTINATING GOVERNMENT IS CRIPPLING US!

   PROCRASTINATION NATION

      Because our government is procrastinating regarding removing the President, passing a decent stimulous bill and efectively and efficiently dealing with the pamndemic, I have taken the liberty to express my feelings and wll suggest then following TREATMENT for us!

  All the experts on time management agree on at least one rule for getting results: “Do it now!” But tackling assignments now is not as easy as it sounds. Sometimes you’re not in the mood for paperwork or you may be overwhelmed by the size or complexity of the project or the task itself may be one that makes you uncomfortable – like criticizing an employee’s performance.

            To procrastinate means to put off doing a task – for no good reason. That last phrase, “for no good reason,” is the key because there are sometimes excellent reasons for putting off a certain task. In fact, deciding to do one thing before another is what prioritizing is all about.

            However if you have organized your “To Do” list and are having trouble working through it in priority order, then procrastination may be the problem. If that’s the case, try these ideas.

            PERSUADE YOURSELF. Most procrastination is the result of irrational thinking, commonly called “awfulizing.” You talk yourself into pulling off a task, not because it is simply unpleasant, but because it is awful. Horrible, UNBEARABLE! Of course, none of these descriptions is accurate. Convince yourself instead that the task is worth doing, even if it’s hard getting started. Tell yourself, “I may not enjoy paperwork, but I can certainly stand it and may even feel good when it’s done.”

            CHALLENGE YOUR EXCUSES for putting the assignment off. For example, if you generally excuse yourself by saying, “But I work so well under pressure,” argue that “Working under pressure really leaves me harried and tired, and I don’t have the time I need to be creative.” This type of inner debate can keep you from stalling and works for any excuse, no matter how “logical.”

            COUNTERATTACK. Forcing yourself to do something uncomfortable or frightening helps to prove that it wasn’t so bad after all. Let’s say you have to hire a secretary. You know your present secretary will be leaving in two weeks, but you still haven’t started interviewing people because you don’t think you’re good at it. Call Personnel and set a goal to interview three people tomorrow and every day for the rest of the week. A manageable goal is less threatening and gets the task accomplished. By the end of the week, you will probably have decided that interviewing isn’t really so terrible.

            REMOVE THE REWARD. Don’t let procrastination be a pleasant experience. If you usually procrastinate by socializing or smoking a cigarette, cut it out. If you must procrastinate, do it in unpleasant conditions. No cigarettes. No coffee. No visitors. When the fun goes away, the procrastination will too.

            WRITE A CONTRACT. Make a written promise to yourself that states a goal and includes a reward for accomplishing the goal. You could write, “I, Brian Azar, will do the most unpleasant task for the day first thing in the morning. Upon successful completion of the job, I will enjoy a freshly brewed cup of coffee.”

            JOG YOUR MEMORY. Put important papers in a red folder. They must be done today. Signify important items on your “To Do” list with a red star. Clear off your desk and then put the Ames’ report in the middle of it. Post a sign that says “Do it!” In short, use any gimmick that keeps you on track.

            DIVIDE AND CONQUER. Break big jobs into small pieces and complete one piece every day. Pull three files today. Write an outline tomorrow. Draft the introduction today and the conclusion tomorrow. And so on.

            DISCIPLINE YOURSELF for five minutes. If you don’t really want to do a project, promise yourself that you’ll work on it for five minutes. Set a timer. What the time buzzes, decide whether to work for five more minutes or quit. Often, starting a project is like jumping into a swimming pool. The first splash may be unpleasant but once you start swimming, it feels good.

            DEVELOP A ROUTINE. Confirmed procrastinators usually work in a feast or famine pattern. One way to fight the tendency is to schedule frequent tasks for regular times. Return telephone calls between 11 and 12 every morning. Dictate letters and memos between 9 and 9:30. Complete personnel records every Friday afternoon. Determine work assignments on Thursday mornings. And so on.

            POST A CHART and make sure you can see it from your desk. Give yourself a gold star for each task completed in priority order, and a red minus for any you miss. This visible proof of your progress will reinforce your efforts to stay on track, and remind you that doing it now—not tomorrow—can make your job less stressful and much easier to manage.

The Procrastination Cure:

A Proven Therapy

STEP #1: Just DO it!

            By opening the envelope, you took the first step toward overcoming a behavioral pattern that is wasteful, destructive, and curable.

            Some people think procrastination is funny. If you have read this far, however, you know it is not a laughing matter – either because you work with a procrastinator, you live with a procrastinator, or suffer from procrastination yourself.

            But you may not realize how widespread the problem is.

            It frustrates even the most highly motivated people. It keeps them from achieving their ambitions, no matter how hard they strive.

            It causes untold guilt, anxiety, and anguish.

            Yet most procrastinators suffer needlessly.

STEP #2: Follow Through

            You took Step 1 by reading this report. Now follow through. The sooner you begin applying both steps to daily projects and responsibilities, the sooner you can put this problem behind you.

            Meanwhile, let’s look at “appropriate goals.” What do we mean by “appropriate”? How do we set these goals? How do we achieve them?

            Example of an Inappropriate Goals: “My goal is to put an end to my procrastination, once and for all.” THIS IS A VAGUE GOAL, AN INTANGIBLE GOAL, A GOAL YOU CAN’T SEE, TOUCH, OR SMELL.

            Ask yourself: Can you draw a picture of this goal?

STEP #3: Be Specific

            Appropriate goals are tangible goals. Goals involving specific actions. Goals that have a start and finish.

            Example of an Appropriate Goal: “My goal is to put an end to my procrastination once and for all by mailing the request form for The Procrastination Cure program.” This is a goal you can draw a picture of.

            Is your problem simply an occasional tendency to “put things off,” which everybody experience from time to time?

            Or is it really serious?

            When you are about to undertake a task, do you notice yourself suddenly getting busy doing everything BUT the thing that needs to be done?

            Do you sometimes find yourself so obsessed by things you should have done, that you can’t enjoy what you are doing now? Do you start to feel guilty or apprehensive about not having completed – perhaps not having started—a task? Do you pray that no one will find out, or start making excuses?

            These are among the most common signals that you may be a “chronic” procrastinator. (If you answered “frequently” or “occasionally” to two or more of these questions on the enclosed 10-second Self-Evaluation Quiz, you already know that you may be at risk. If you did not complete that quiz, please do so.)

STEP #4: Learn the Underlying CAUSE

            If you fail to identify the hidden causes of this poorly understood behavior pattern, you may encounter difficulty curing it by yourself, even with these techniques.

            Most chronic procrastinators harbor the dangerous misconception that they have a Time Management problem. They assume that they can solve the problem by applying Time Management techniques.

            These techniques do work – but only if you apply them!

            Here are brief examples:

At bottom, procrastination may be nothing more than a defense mechanism – a shield protecting you from something you don’t want to deal with.

            It may be fear of failure.

It may be fear of success – anxiety that others may think you are “doing too well.”

It may be your desire to exert control: “I won’t play … You can’t make me … I’ll do it in my own time.”

            These are only the tip of the subconscious iceberg. But once you have exposed the underlying – even unsuspected – causes of your procrastination (and there may be several) you will be better equipped to set appropriate goals, and to achieve them.

Step #5: Keep It SMALL

            We urged you earlier to set specific goals. Now we caution you to break down into segments – tasks or projects that can be easily accomplished. This will counter the “all-or-nothing” approach that is a major obstacle for chronic procrastinators.

            In our workshops, we have observed that the tendency of most procrastinators is to pick a goal that is too large. The result is that the task seems overwhelming. They get discouraged and, of course, continue to procrastinate.

            To keep this from happening, take small steps.

            Break down your overall objective into manageable components. Don’t try to do it all at once. The first steps should be something you can do in 15 minutes or less.

            Make a phone call. Mail a letter. Returning to the example cited earlier: Is your goal to end procrastination?

TAKE THE FIRST STEP NOW

            Make it small. Make it specific.  

Brian Azar    www.salesdoctor.com                   

? [email protected]     919-620-1551