How to Quit Procrastination and Get S*** Done!
Are you reading this to distract yourself from the mountain of work you’ve been putting off for the past hour?
Maybe you’re ‘task switching’ between your overflowing inbox, your twenty internet browser tabs, and the ever-tempting social media apps on your phone.
Either way, if you’re a chronic procrastinator, you’re certainly not alone. In fact, did you know that the average person visits 40 websites during the workday? And we switch between TV channels an average of 36 times per hour?
But the good news is, procrastinating by reading this article isn’t such a bad thing, as today I’m going to share some inside info on how to beat the procrastination demons so you can get on top of your task list, feel more accomplished, and move towards the goals that you truly deserve to achieve.
First things first, there’s no such thing as the perfect time
Interestingly (but perhaps not surprisingly), the world-famous author Napoleon Hill lists procrastination as one of the top ten major causes of failure in leadership, in his classic text Think and Grow Rich.
Here’s what he has to say on the subject of procrastination:
“Old Man Procrastination” stands within the shadow of every human being, waiting for his opportunity to spoil one’s chances of success. Most of us go through life as failures, because we are waiting for the “time to be right” to start doing something worthwhile. Do not wait. The time will never be “just right.” Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.
This is what it all comes down to - not waiting for the time to be “just right”. Yet some people spend a lifetime waiting for the perfect time, the perfect opportunity, the perfect set of circumstances in order to go out and get what they’ve always wanted.
Well, I’m here to tell you that you already have all you need to accomplish your dreams, you simply need to get started and figure things out as you go, rather than waiting and waiting for the perfect time.
Shift the way you think about your tasks
When you think about the things you need to accomplish in a day, do you do so with a sense of confidence, excitement and motivation? Or do you ponder it all with a sense of dread, already feeling overwhelmed before you’ve even tackled the first item on your ‘impossible’ to-do list?
Well, it turns out that the mindset you adopt when thinking about your tasks and goals can be a defining factor in whether or not you achieve them. For example, let’s compare two people who want to make a morning run part of their daily routine.
One person thinks positively about the prospect of their impending run. They imagine themselves flying around the park, immersed in the flow of movement, maybe they even hear symphonies in their head as they picture themselves getting exercise in the great outdoors.
The other person, however, could not be more different in their mindset. The mere thought of going for a run fills them with dread. They imagine themselves breathless and exhausted, slogging through a gruelling session. Unsurprisingly, their minds become filled with all the reasons they shouldn’t go for a run - it might rain, they should probably head straight to the office, what if they fall and injure themselves? And so the list of excuses grows - and their motivation dwindles.
Now, I don’t think it’s hard to pick which person is most likely to tick ‘go for a morning run’ off their to-do list tomorrow morning!
And what the above example shows you is that you have the incredible power - right there inside your own head - to kick procrastination to the curb. Simply by switching up your mindset, you can transform your day, your week, your month and your whole life.
So why not get started right away? After all, there’s no perfect time!