Tami Loves...Time Management! ;)

How Not to Become a Procrastinator

Years ago, when my kids were little, they would often come to me the night before a project was due, and ask for my help. I was always horrified that they had left their assignment until the night before it was due to start working on it. Had I not said it over and over again? “Do not put off something until the last minute!” Well, finally in junior high and high school it sunk in, and they developed great habits that carried through into their college years, but it was rough going there for a while.

Are you a procrastinator? If so, it’s not too late to change! If you’re not already one, here are some tips that have helped me through the years:

Handle it once– I am an avid Oprah fan and I remember her saying several times, “If you want to be organized, handle it once.” If you have some something in your hand, put it where it belongs. This certainly applies to anyone who has a kitchen island full of mail, school books, bills to pay, or “things that need to go upstairs.” It seems if you lay it down, you never get around to putting it where it belongs. Just put it where it belongs when it’s in your hands initially. Stop dropping things in a convenient spot to put away “later”, because as we all know, “later” never comes. It just gets lost in the shuffle of day-to-day life. And then we’re scrambling to remember where we laid that thing we now need.
Hopefully this guy puts himself away after he’s done. 😉
Stop making excuses– this one is pretty self-explanatory, although we all need reminding of just what that means, especially those of us who say “It doesn’t apply to me.” It does. Take responsibility. It’s easy to say “I’ll do it later/tomorrow/next week/next time, etc.” It takes some self-discipline to just do it when you say you will. An excuse doesn’t sit well with anyone, especially if they’re counting on you to get something done. When you start to open your mouth to give an excuse, let that little light pop on in your head and say instead, “I’m on it!” And don’t make the excuse “But I put all my stuff in one spot (like the kitchen island) so I’ll know where it is when I need it!” Nope, that doesn’t fly.
Get it done when it’s first presented to you– This is great for students. When you first get an assignment, go home and start researching it. Take notes, make your rough draft, and start writing your paper, or creating your power point. The more you get done, the better you feel about what you’ve accomplished. Take pride in the fact that most people haven’t even begun to think about it, and you’re almost done. You can go out on the weekend with a clear conscience that you don’t have to spend it working on an assignment! For those of us not in school, the same applies to us. When you get selected to help chair the PTA meeting next month, go home and immediately start working on your ideas. Develop an agenda, and start collecting facts, making lists, etc. Every little bit of legwork you initially do means less work you have to complete later.
Listen to your inner voice (aka your conscience) – You know better than anyone else when you’re procrastinating. Listen to that little voice in your head that says “Ah, ah, ah, if we don’t attend to this right now, we will be putting it off for no good reason, and that would mean we’ll have to face it later. Let’s get it done now!! Then we’re in the clear!” You have that voice for a reason. It guides you and lets you know what is right. Listen.
Don’t see it as a chore, view it as a challenge! – This is called positive thinking! When you’re called upon to do something with a deadline, don’t put it off with dread or disinterest. Instead, see it as something that you can do better than anyone else, and prove that to yourself. Sure, you might not want to host your book club’s Christmas get-together, or your child’s class party, but take it on with spirit and spunk!! You got this! You’re creative, and you can bring something to the event that no one else will be able to do, because no one else is YOU! You’re unique and you can make anything special if you put your mind to it. Get ideas from websites like Pinterest, or TamiLoves! Be excited to do this one small thing. Make it grand! If it’s a work related deadline, prove to your boss that you’ve got this handled! She picked the right person for the task when she chose you!
Your mindset can make or break you!
Teach by example – At some point, someone is watching how you handle deadlines. It could be your boss, your kids or grandkids, or even your spouse. Show others that you are a non-procrastinator. Set an example of how it benefits everyone to get a task done on time, with time to spare. You might even teach your kids how NOT to put everything on the kitchen island when they walk in the door, because YOU haven’t been guilty of doing it. All it takes is you putting the mail in the mail basket, filing the bills in your desk, or simply cleaning off the entire area so that it looks clean and neat. Giving others an example of how to deal with things right away also helps to empower them. Teach them to set the pace, not follow along. Getting things done on time means being a responsible adult, and leaving no room for things not getting accomplished when they need to be done.
Don’t fall into the cliché trap– Procrastination must have been a problem throughout history since we have so many clichés like “Carpe diem” (Seize the day) or “There’s no time like the present.” Ever wonder why man felt like he had to keep reminding himself to “Get’Er Done” as the modern phrase goes? Why? Because nothing ever got accomplished by putting it off until later! “Don’t Put Off Until Tomorrow What You Can Do Today!” What if all the great inventors decided to wait until some other day to see if their theories worked? Where would we be today? Okay, that might be stretching things a bit but none of the great minds in history were procrastinators. Imagine if Charles Lindberg decided to wait until later to see if he could cross the Atlantic, or if Alexander Graham Bell put off his notion that man could communicate through a machine called a telephone. What might have happened? We will never know, thankfully, because these men weren’t procrastinators and neither are you!
Take pride in your work– Look around you and see how your hard work has paid off. You didn’t get the things you have, or the job you love, by procrastination. You wanted it, you worked for it, and you got it. Think about that every time something comes up that tempts you to wait. Don’t wait. Keep going. Get the task done. Put things away, pay the bills on time, make your deadlines and keep moving forward. You’ve got this!
Celebrate your accomplishments and KEEP GOING!