THE NOW HABIT

Hello readers, how are we doing? Thank God it’s Friday. Hope your week went well like mine and it was not all that busy? Today is really a long day for me and I feel so fatigued but it would not stop me from posting. I trust that we were able to get one or two lessons from the tips I gave yesterday on overcoming procrastination. Before I continue with more tips, I would like to let you know that I want feedbacks from this week’s topic. I would like for you to share your experiences of procrastination, what led you to procrastination, if there were any effects at all from the procrastination and how you were able to overcome it. I look forward to getting these feed backs from you. Thank you.

Procrastination is reinforcing - Every time you delay, it reinforces your negative attitude toward that task. Every time you put off something you dislike, you:  strengthen the habit of not doing, practice avoidance instead of participation, avoid acquiring training and skills, and indoctrinate yourself with fears. Why not try these tips and see how well they could work for you.

• Ask yourself questions: Before you start working on any task at all, ask yourself these three questions: Is this the best use of my time at the moment? Am I the best person to perform this task? Am I using this task as an excuse to avoid working on something that is more important? I’m sure you understand that if the answers to your questions are negative, then you should not bother getting your hands on it at all.
• Set a timer: When you’re going to start working on a task which you’ve been avoiding, set a timer for a specific amount of time; for example, forty minutes.  Tell yourself that you will not take your focus off the task until the timer rings. When the timer rings, take a short break; then, set the timer for another forty minutes and do it again. Make sure you set a time that you are pretty sure you will be comfortable with but definitely not less than 30 minutes, depending on the kind of task.
• Reward yourself: I do this often. I could just decide within myself that if I’m able to accomplish all the tasks I had to do, I would give myself a treat. It could sound funny but it actually works because you unconsciously find that you are all geared up for the task just because your mind is on the cup of cold stone ice cream waiting to be devoured by you. 
• Make the task more enjoyable: If the task that you need to get done is boring, it’s very likely that you won’t want to get started. If this is the case, find ways to make the task more enjoyable. As an illustration, if you keep putting off going to the cleaning your room because it’s really boring and you get tired easily from doing that, try to turn it into a game. Take a picture of it before and try to do a before and after kind of game.
• Have someone hold you accountable: Accountability is one of the best methods for warding off procrastination. You’re much more likely to get a task done if there’s someone holding you accountable. If you’re having trouble getting started on a task, find someone to hold you accountable. Trust me; mothers/wives are better off with things like this because when you tell her ‘please give me a slap if I’m not doing this, she is up to the task. Lol.

Finally, now that you understand how procrastination works, and how you can greatly reduce its' influence in your life, you'll experience more freedom and greater personal self-satisfaction. Keep working on it. You may still procrastinate, but now you'll be able to resolve the situation much more quickly which in turn will enhance your feelings of self-confidence. When you do succeed, take time to savor the moment so you will remember how good it feels. This will help the next time you need encouragement. Treat the discovery process like a game, and have some fun with yourself.

Much Love,

KanyinWrites.