Stop
Procrastination!
A guide on how to be more productive.
Contents
About 2 How To Stop Procrastinating?
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The End 24
2
About Procrastination It is the act of putting off or delaying an action to a later time. It is the art of slacking off. For example, watching tv when you’re supposed to be doing work is procrastination and results in doing things in the last minute.
We know what we want to do and should do. But still end up spending hours and hours dwelling on unimportant things.
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How to stop Procrastination?
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1
Stop thinking and start doing.
Thinking too much about an idea is not good for your productivity.
7 A bit of planning can certainly help you achieve what you want to achieve. A lot of planning and thinking tends to have the opposite effect. You think and think and try to come up with “the perfect plan”. Such a thing does not exist. But as long as you work on that plan you can protect yourself.
When you stop thinking about an idea and start doing, the perfect idea will find its way to you.
“Better late than never!”
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2
Deal with stress.
Stressing about your work is only going to make you waste more time.
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Many people find themselves wasting time because they lead stressful lives. You can solve many of these problems by dealing with your stress in a healthy way. Start getting enough sleep. Take plenty of time to relax. Ask for help when you need it. Find something that works for you and stick with it.
Take time to relax. To beat the stress, go out and get some fresh air or try reading a book.
“When you stop doing things for fun, you might as well not do it!�
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Just take the first step.
Don’t over complicate your task. This will make your work seem more daunting.
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When you start to look too far into the future, any task or project can seem close to impossible. And so you become overwhelmed and start surfing the internet aimlessly instead. That is one of the reasons why it is good to plan for the future, but then to shift your focus back to today and the present moment.
Don’t wait for inspiration. Start doing your work and inspiration will automatically find you.
“You need to let the little things that would originally bore you suddenly thrill you.”
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Don’t blow a task out of proportion.
Putting things off will only complicate your task.
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By over thinking and putting things off you are not only trying to protect yourself from pain. You also make mountains out of molehills. The more hours and days you put something off the worse it grows in your mind. And since you are putting it off you are probably thinking about it in a negative way. This makes a little thing a big Godzilla, a horrible beast that is threatening to ruin your life.
Having a checklist with short term goals will help you get through your task easily.
“Failing to plan is planning to fail!�
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5
Start with the hardest task.
Don’t put off doing something just because it’s hard.
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Maybe you have an important call to make that you also fear might be uncomfortable. Maybe you know you have gotten behind on answering your assignments and have a big pile to dig into. Maybe you have the last five pages of your paper to finish. Whatever it may be, get it out of your way first. Because of this, your to-do list – tends to feel a lot lighter and easier to move through. It’s amazing what difference this one action makes.
It you finish the hardest task first, then everything else that follows will seem much easier.
“If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.”
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Make a decision.
Don’t take too long to decide which task to do first.
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When you procrastinate you want to do something but you don’t take the action that is in alignment with that thought. You become conflicted within. What you do always sends signals back to you about who you are. When you procrastinate you lower your self esteem and send signals back to yourself that you are a lazy and indecisive person.
Making a decision will give you a short term target. Achieving this target will motivate you to do more work.
“Keep it simple!”
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7
Face your fears.
Don’t be scared of failure. This will only make you more reluctant to do work.
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It’s easier to live on that “someday…” thought. It’s harder to just take action. To risk looking like a fool. To make mistakes, stumble and not avoid that pain. To take responsibility for your own life. The easier choice can come with a sense of comfort, with a certain level of success, pangs of regret for all the things you never dared to do and a vague sense of being unfulfilled. You wonder about what would have happened if you had taken more action and more chances.
Take responsibility for your work. Do your work now and you won’t regret it later.
“A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”
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8 Isolating yourself from others can lead to stress and loneliness.
Be with people who inspire you.
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The people we are with influence our behaviors. Identify the people/ friends/colleagues who trigger you – most likely the go-getters and hard workers – and hang out with them more often. Soon you will inculcate their drive and spirit too. Tell them all about your projects. Now whenever you see them, they are bound to ask you about your status on those projects.
Tell your friends and family about your projects and goals. This will give you incentive to work on your task.
“You can only lean against that which resists.”
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9
Finish it!
Not finishing what you’ve started can leave you in a negative frame of mind
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Not taking the first step to start accomplishing something can make you feel bad. But not finishing what you have started can also leave you in a sort of negative mind frame. You feel fatigued or stressed and sometimes you don’t even know why. It’s like someone zapped your inner power. Don’t think you have to finish everything you started. If a book sucks, read something else. Using this as an excuse to quit something that feels hard or unfamiliar is not a good idea.
Finishing what you started can gives you a sense of accomplishment and happiness
“The grass is always greener where you water it.”
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THE END
Do you put things off? Do you often think ”I’ll do that tomorrow” - even when the thing you need or want to do is quite straightforward? If you answered yes, then this book is for you! Beat procrastination and be more productive with 9 simple steps.