Disease of tomorrow. The habit of putting off important things until later is dangerous.
The time when something must be done is inexorably approaching, but you do anything to keep from getting to work. You watch movies and sticky videos, use social networks, read magazines. You know that you need to work, but there is absolutely no desire to do anything. So you have met face to face with the enemy of "postponing for later."
We are all familiar with the phenomenon of procrastination. We like to put everything off until later, wasting our free time, and start doing something only when it’s already “time”. But if we do get down to business, then we panic and regret that we did not start this sooner. We put things off, relax, hide from work and face it when it is already inevitable. And then it repeats over and over again. This is a terrible one that eats us up and prevents us from achieving good results. Enough of this power of laziness over us! It's time to end this!
1. Divide Your Work into Small Elements
We put things off because we think they are big. Break it down into small parts, and then focus on one of them. If after that you can’t get to work, then divide it into even smaller parts.
2. Change the environment
What is around you directly affects your productivity. Look at your desktop and room. Do they make you work or do you just want to lie face down in a soft pillow and fall asleep? If the latter, then you must change your workspace.
3. Make a detailed schedule with specific deadlines
Having just one for your work is a great excuse to put it off. It's because we think there's still plenty of time. So we keep procrastinating endlessly. Once you've broken down your project into smaller tasks, create an overall timeline with specific deadlines for each task. This way you will know that you have to finish a certain piece of work by a certain time. In order not to postpone these same deadlines (after all, you set them yourself, so you yourself can cancel, nothing will happen ...) assign yourself small rewards for the work done. Everything you like! Let's say you did the first part - treat yourself to a chocolate bar that you hid for a special occasion. Made the second - watch a new film. And so on.
4. Find a buddy
Having a companion makes the whole process much more fun. Ideally, your buddy should have a set of goals of their own. Both of you will question each other for your accomplishments. It's like a couples diet - you need outside control.
5. Tell others about your plans
This tip works in much the same way as point 6, only on a larger scale. Tell everyone you can about your projects. And every time you see each other, they will definitely ask about your progress. This will surely encourage you to stop procrastinating.
6. Eliminate lazy pit stops
Set aside everything that distracts you from your goal. Remove browser notifications about new videos, close tabs with social networks, and so on. Some people will go further and delete their accounts wherever possible. But, we believe, this is too radical, since the fight against laziness has more to do with awareness of our actions than with opposition. But, if you feel it is necessary, then do what you know.
7. Spend time with people who inspire you to take action.
Without a doubt, 10 minutes of talking to Bill Gates or Steve Jobs will give you more motivation than 10 minutes of idleness. It is important to understand that the people we are with influence our behavior. Find friends or colleagues who make you want to work and spend time with them more often. Soon you will be filled with the drive to work. On top of that, you can even work together on your task :)
8. Refine your goals
Over time, we stop going in a given direction. This is because we learn more about ourselves and don't change our goals to reflect those. Leave work for a while (a short vacation or a weekend without work). Give yourself time to "reboot". What exactly do you want to achieve now? What needs to be done to achieve this? What steps need to be taken? Does what you are doing now match these goals? If not, what can be done?
9. Find someone who has already achieved what you aspire to.
Seeing proof that your goals are absolutely achievable if you put in enough effort is the biggest incentive to move forward.
10. Everything is easier than it seems
Are you waiting for the perfect time to do something? Now is not the best best time for such and such reasons? Stop thinking about it, because "that moment" will never come, there is no perfect time. You either do it now or you don't do it at all. By continuing to wait, you are only wasting time.
11. Pull yourself together!
In the end, it all boils down to decisive action. You can strategize, plan, and make assumptions, but if you don't do anything, nothing will happen. Just gather your will into a fist. Stop sitting in your seat. Stop postponing for "later" that will never come!
Postponing is a common occurrence. We often hear the phrase: I’ll take it from Monday ..
The habit of constantly putting things off until later is familiar to many. But few people take it seriously. And really, does another cup of coffee drunk instead of an annual report hurt someone, or a dialogue with an old friend on the Internet, which is conducted at a time when a report for a speech is to be worked out. Of course not, except for yourself.
And anyway, who said that I mindlessly check the mail, instead of checking financial documents? I am waiting for an important letter from ... And here the flight of fantasy knows no bounds. Yes, from anyone, just to convince yourself that it is really important.
This behavior continues day after day, week after week. And the most dangerous thing is that it becomes a normal human condition.
Scientific approach
The phenomenon of putting things off until later has a scientific name - procrastination. It was invented quite a long time ago, and if translated literally, it consists of two words: instead of tomorrow.
It's a paradox, but in ancient Rome, procrastination was a blessing and a person who did not rush to make decisions was a wise man. In Japan, even now, decision-making is carried out with a long delay, but mentality plays a role here, and not the habit of procrastinating.
However, in our time, long deliberation can promise the loss of a profitable offer or money in general. Therefore, a person who puts things off for later runs the risk of being left out of work, or being constantly in the role of catching up.
Psychologists from different countries studied this problem with interest and came to the conclusion that laziness and procrastination are not the same thing. Indeed, for a lazy person it is absolutely not important whether he will have time to finish the work or not, but for a procrastinator, it is important, but with a small caveat, the work will be done a little later.
Proper resume writing or how to sell yourself more expensive
Procrastination has several causes:
- unconscious desire to get an adrenaline rush when performing important work in the shortest possible time;
- upbringing in an authoritarian environment, when it was necessary to obey the will of one of the parents;
- perfectionism;
- self-doubt;
- possible troubles at work with colleagues.
This list can be continued for a long time, and, most likely, an experienced procrastinator will be able to answer why he began to postpone things for later, but this is not a way out of the situation. Postponing your affairs, you begin to postpone life for later, and this is already serious.
The main reason for procrastination lies in the head. It is in our brain. But this does not mean the presence of a serious mental disorder. No. Everything is simple to the point of banality. One of the parts of the brain, the limbic, is responsible for the desire to drink coffee, read a book, watch a series, have sex. And if in the limbic part these desires are born every minute and are also forgotten every minute, then in the second part of the brain, the perforal, there are urges for actions associated with planning.
So, for those who like to delay the finish, the limbic part is in a dominant position. And this dominance occurs due to fatigue. Accumulated or instantaneous, it doesn't matter. The main thing is that the brain is tired and surrenders to the mercy of the winner, that is, the limbic part. And you are already scribbling another message to your girlfriend or brewing your fifth tea bag.
Problem found, what's next?
So, you have decided that the problem of all your troubles is postponing for later and you need to fight this. But you need to understand right away easy way stop putting things off until later does not exist. Although, you can try to write a letter of resignation, but this is not our case. So get ready to fight. To fight with the strongest enemy. With myself.
How to meet a guy's parents: useful tips and little tricks
If the case is already too neglected, then the fight against procrastination can be carried out in a group, but for this it is necessary to resort to the services of a psychologist. It is better to start with an individual method, perhaps you can handle it yourself.
There are several interesting techniques. Let's start with the simplest.
Asking the question why I put everything off until later, try to understand, but what is it? All ones life? Or some of its manifestations?
Most likely, the answer will be the second. And it's mostly about work. Let's look at what motivates an employee to do extraneous activities during office hours. Usually these are cases or tasks that are conditionally divided into:
- causing uncertainty that they can be completed;
- disgusting;
- causing a feeling of confusion, where to start, all of the same type.
In this case, the following recommendations will help get rid of procrastination:
- If you don’t know where to start, or the case seems incredibly complicated, break it down into several stages. And you need to start with the most interesting. When more than half of the work is done, you will feel a surge of energy, because now the task is reduced;
- In the case of a job that is disgusting or uninteresting to you, you need to make plans for the day and try to cultivate a workaholic in yourself. In general, as was said before, you will have to fight with yourself;
- Well, when it comes to the same type of work, there is nothing better than a coin. Where to begin? Heads or tails will solve the problem.
Experienced Delayer
If the matter is not only in work, but also in everyday life, it is necessary to resort to little tricks that can mobilize the body to leave the bad habit of postponing things for later.
First, make a list of 15 to 25 of your merits, this will help you believe in yourself and activate your mind for further work.
Family crisis: what to do, how to overcome
Next, you need to shorten the target. Namely, it makes no sense to strive to become the smartest or most responsible. These formulations are too vague and streamlined. Break the desire to become the smartest into several sub-points.
For example:
- go to university;
- complete the first course with a score of 4.5;
- read 15 books;
- defend a thesis.
You can stop procrastinating until later with a simple question, what could I do at this moment. If you spend hours on the Internet, answer it.
The answer should make you feel embarrassed in front of yourself, influencing the subconscious, it mobilizes the worker and encourages the cessation of unnecessary pastime.
And, perhaps, the most effective way to stop putting everything off until later is to limit communication with irritants. That is, if the main absorber of working time is the Internet, mercilessly turn it off.
Tea, magazines, electronic gadgets - keep out of sight, and even better out of reach. After all, you must admit that if there are no distractions, then it is easier to work.
The most difficult thing in the last paragraph is to overcome oneself and convince that there is no other way. The method is similar to the fight against smoking. At first it’s very difficult and you want to take a look at the feed on the social network with at least one eye, but over time you will be absorbed in work and forget that you used your time irrationally before.
Never put anything off until later, now is the time to do everything, because tomorrow it may be too late. These words should become your motto for life!
And finally, a useful video
Encyclopedic YouTube
1 / 5
✪ How to stop leaving things for later and keep up with important tasks? 6 Procrastination Triggers
✪ Procrastination is good
✪ How to get rid of the habit of procrastinating (for a long time)
✪ 6 ways to stop procrastinating NOW
✪ Procrastination.
Subtitles
Definition
Procrastination is manifested in the fact that a person, realizing the need to perform very specific important things (for example, his official duties), ignores this need and diverts his attention to household trifles or entertainment.
Procrastination differs from laziness in that in the case of laziness, the subject does not want to do anything and does not worry about it, and in the state of procrastination, he realizes the importance and urgency of the work, but does not do it, perhaps finding one or another self-justification. What distinguishes procrastination from rest is that during rest, a person replenishes energy reserves, and during procrastination, he loses it.
In one way or another, this condition is familiar to most people and up to a certain level is considered normal. Procrastination becomes a problem when it turns into a normal "working" state in which a person spends most of the time. Such a person puts off everything important “for later”, and when it turns out that all the deadlines have already passed, he either simply refuses what was planned, or tries to do everything that was postponed “by jerk”, in an unrealistically short period of time. As a result, things are not performed or performed poorly, late and not in full, which leads to the corresponding negative effects in the form of trouble at work, missed opportunities, dissatisfaction with others due to non-fulfillment of obligations, and the like. This can result in stress, guilt, loss of productivity. The combination of these feelings and overexpenditure (first on secondary tasks and dealing with growing anxiety, then on work at a rush pace) can provoke further procrastination.
Russification of the term
In Russian, procrastination, as a phenomenon, was noted back in the 19th century. Then a proverb spread in Russia: “Tomorrow, tomorrow, not today! - so lazy people say ", which arose from the poem "Delay" in the translation of Boris Fedorov (1794-1875), which fell into pre-revolutionary gymnasium anthologies.
For 2014, to designate the concept, they use tracing paper with of English language, but scientists are thinking about the localization of the term. Options are offered: “breakfast”, “transfer”, “for posterity”, “procrastination”, but, among others, the term “ postponement ' as the most acceptable. When translating the book Doll A. “Mental traps: Nonsense that make reasonable people to ruin one's life" the term "pulling" was used to refer to this phenomenon. This corresponds to one of the meanings of the word "drag out" and the phrase "drag out".
Story
The term appeared in 1977, when two scientific articles appeared simultaneously: "Procrastination in a Human Life" and "Overcoming Procrastination".
In Russia, almost no one deals with issues, but there are individual enthusiasts: Natalya Karlovskaya and Yana Varvaricheva.
For 2014, the main publication covering the problem is the journal "Procrastination And Task Avoiding" (rus. Procrastination and task avoidance) .
Causes of Procrastination
perfectionism
The cause of procrastination is also perfectionism, manifested in an attempt to achieve perfection, focusing on details and ignoring time limits and associated with the fear of possible imperfection, “non-ideal” results of the work to be done. Perfectionists also often enjoy deadlines, more pressure, last night work; they are consciously or subconsciously convinced that the quality of their work depends on pressure from above, and the more it is, the better the results.
self-restraint
According to this theory, a procrastinator limits himself because of a subconscious fear of becoming successful, standing out from the crowd and showing himself better than others (becoming, for example, a possible object of excessive demands, criticism, envy); in addition, a subjectively low-estimated personal ability to act in changed (after the start or completion of the case) conditions may play a role. In any case, as in the first theory, keyword is "fear".
Defiance (spirit of contradiction)
According to this theory, we are annoyed by imposed roles, programs, plans, and we put things off in order to demonstrate (to others, management, the world) our independence and the ability to act in accordance with our own decision. Being subject to external pressure, we come into conflict with the mass or leadership. In this way, "rebels", anarchists defend their own opinion. They are always dissatisfied with their position and easily fall into the trap of not doing - they spend their whole lives proving their independence from public opinion, which makes them slaves of an idea; as a result, their activity is limited to the generation of ideas.
Theory of temporal motivation
All of the above theories do not explain the whole problem. Opponents identify two main drawbacks in them: they explain the reason for avoiding solving problems, but not the reason for postponing them, and they do not explain the main thing - the relationship between procrastination and anxiety (for example, perfectionists are less prone to procrastination than other people). More reasonable is the theory of temporal motivation (English temporal motivation theory).
According to this theory, the subjective utility of an action (Utility), which determines a person’s desire to perform it, depends on four parameters: confidence in success (Expectancy), value, that is, the expected reward (Value), time to completion of work (Delay) and level impatience, i.e. sensitivity to delays (G). A person considers a business more useful if he is confident in its successful completion and expects a large reward based on its results. On the contrary, things are subjectively less useful if there is still a lot of time left before their completion. Also, the more painful we are with delays, the less rewarding we find things that take time to complete.
Following this theory, we can conclude that the level of procrastination is the lower, the more expectations from the case and the more valuable its results are for a person personally, and the higher, the less persistent a person is (for example, impulsive people are more prone to procrastination) and the further to achieving the goal (the closer the goal, the harder we work). In other words, the best work is done when there are high expectations and self-interest in relation to it, and the time to achieve is reduced to a minimum.
Focus on the process, not on the result
In this case, the procrastinator does the job in such a way as to get satisfaction from the very process of doing the job, and not from achieving the result (goal). The goal for him is only a direction, a plan, a vector, but the process itself is the most important thing.
Techniques for dealing with procrastination
Since procrastination directly depends on the degree of motivation (interest in work and positive expectations from its completion), in some cases the problem can be solved by changing jobs (dropping out of school), but these are not universal and very drastic measures, and most people are not ready for them. In addition, if a person’s high level of procrastination is associated with increased anxiety and a lack of planning skills, then it is highly likely that changing the type of activity will not help (or will help only at first).
There is no specific recipe that guarantees getting rid of procrastination. However, within the discipline of time management (time management) there is whole line techniques that allow, to a greater or lesser extent, to reduce the level of procrastination and, thus, increase the real return on work, which entails an increase in life satisfaction and getting rid of stress.
Time use categorization
Usually there are no special problems with procrastination in people who can draw a line for themselves that clearly divides tasks into urgent and those that can wait. Lucy McDonald, referring to the ideas of Dwight Eisenhower as a source, as well as Stephen Covey, author of the Franklin Time Management methodology (“Franklin Time Management”) and the book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, suggest dividing all cases according to two criteria: importance and urgency . Thus, there are only four categories of cases that take time:
1. Important and not urgent (Important and Not Urgent - Priority Principle) These are the things that have the greatest impact on a person's life as a whole, while procrastination, in the first place, affects them. This includes everything for which a person lives, his most promising goals and objectives, that which gives meaning to all life. Therefore, it is necessary to be aware of the existence of this category of cases and remember them as things that determine the direction of movement. On a daily basis, it looks like this:
- What corresponds to life goals and values, what a person should start his day with: getting out of bed, remind himself that he has a life project.
- When doing important and urgent things from category 2, you should remember that all this is done for the sake of “important and not urgent” life goals, and be aware of for what: I work because I want a healthy family, I attend English classes because I want to open the door to Europe, I pull out a bad tooth, because my health is important to me. That is, this is your every minute filter for any business.
- In this category, you need to take into account the time for rest and allow yourself to provide it. Without health and strength, the following categories will not be needed.
Education industriousness
Success breeds success. Based on this, a person should maintain a positive attitude, finding pleasant consequences in any previous action and, as a result, making them an incentive for further vigorous activity. It is necessary to reward yourself for success, to maintain a sense of your own worth. When starting a new business, be sure that there were successful actions in the past, celebrate small daily victories, but do not stop at them, keep track of the ratio of victories to tasks.
The productive realization that escape from unpleasant experiences, the desire to make life as easy as possible through entertainment is not justified in any way and only aggravates the situation. Since experiences become unpleasant only when a person himself evaluates them so, he should learn to enjoy work and avoid displeasure from judging its quantity.
To get rid of the “spirit of contradiction”, the feeling of imposing duties from outside, one should replace the wording “I am obliged” (to do) with “I choose” (to do) - subjectively turning the obligation into an act of good will. A variant of this technique would be scheduling, in which the central place is occupied not by business with breaks for rest, but by rest interspersed with business.
Case Planning
You need to plan your day and allocate time for each job, taking into account rest, possible delays, and so on. Instead of executing tasks sequentially, when you can’t start the next one until you finish the previous one, several tasks are performed simultaneously. different tasks- in parts. You can set aside short time blocks (from 5 to 30 minutes) to do something and then switch to another, or plan to do something specific and small in volume in this block. The schedule must be drawn up in advance; it is better to spend some time on this in the evening, so that in the morning you will know what to do and how to use your time wisely. When the to-do list is visual, even putting something off for later, you still do useful work. You can make a list by ranking things by priority, but you don’t have to do them in order of importance, you can do what is easier first.
One of the planning techniques useful for combating procrastination is [ ] Getting Things Done, developed by David Allen. The basic idea of the methodology: stress arises, among other things, due to the need to constantly remember about a large number of cases of varying importance and urgency and the constantly standing problem of choice: “What to do right now?”. Therefore, it is necessary to unload the brain by transferring all plans to external media (paper notes, electronic calendars and planners, and so on), categorizing them (current affairs, projects, permanent duties, and so on), importance and urgency, clearly defining what what needs to be done at a specific time, and fixing deadlines where they matter. As a result, it is clearly known at any given time which tasks need to be done first, and you can concentrate on work, allocating special time for periodic adjustments of plans and no longer returning to the problem of choosing between current tasks.
Allen insists that any business, no matter how insignificant, must be included in the plan. The purpose of this, however, is not to draw up an unambiguous "calendar of the future" and adhere to it with all possible scrupulousness, but just the opposite. When planning their affairs, people tend to include in their plans, first of all, complex, important and time-consuming tasks that require a lot of time to solve, as well as cases that have an unambiguous chronological reference (meetings, conferences, official events). Other cases fill empty spaces in the work schedule. But life is full of coincidences: a scheduled meeting can start 10 minutes late, a meeting agreed a month in advance can fail ... A “window” suddenly appears in the schedule. If a person has a list of tasks at the ready that he can complete in given conditions in the free time (and time is usually small, and “big” tasks cannot be squeezed into it), he uses this time. If there is no list of "small" tasks at hand, time will most likely be lost. Allen also advises when planning “large” tasks (projects) not to be limited to “large-block” planning (allocating time for the entire project), but, on the contrary, for each large project, always have at least one planned specific task (for example, within the framework, perhaps the multi-year project "Development of system X for customer Y" in the task "Agreement of the terms of reference", for which a month is allotted, something like "Call the secretary Semyon Semyonycha and arrange a meeting to agree on the TOR" should be planned with a specific critical date). For a procrastinator, such planning allows you to overcome the fear of starting specific actions on a project, since an indefinite plan to “do something on a task” turns into a very specific action that does not require additional explanations and reflections.
John Perry, professor of philosophy at Stanford, introduced the concept of "structured procrastination." According to his theory, procrastination can not be suppressed, but turned into an aid to work. Since most procrastinators, shirking important things, are still doing something, you just need to direct their activities in a more important direction than, for example, browsing the Internet. Professor Perry suggests building a task structure so that important and urgent things, of course, are at the top of the list, but after them come a little less important, but, nevertheless, requiring work to be done. An avid procrastinator will naturally skip the most important task, but instead do something useful. Perry notes that structured procrastination requires a certain amount of self-deception, since, in essence, it is a substitution of one task for another.
However, if there is a category of tasks that this person stubbornly and constantly puts off, then in order to cope with procrastination, it is imperative to understand what is unpleasant and impossible in these cases. It is possible that these tasks can be delegated to someone else, or made so that they do not need to be performed at all. Perhaps, realizing the cause, a person will be able to get rid of the problem himself. In any case, you need to consider unpleasant activities in more depth.
People of the second type constantly put off important things until tomorrow, and as a result, many tasks remain unfinished. This is sometimes explained by laziness, but in psychology there is a special term for this state - “procrastination”.
Learn how to overcome procrastination clinical psychologist Elena Kharitontseva.
The word "procrastination" (from the Latin pro - "instead of", "ahead" and crastinus - "tomorrow") means a tendency to constantly put off important or unpleasant things for later. Because of it, students begin to study the subject the night before the exam, and start writing the thesis a week before the defense. Procrastination prevents employees from doing work, submitting projects and reports on time. This condition negatively affects the ability to make important decisions. Procrastination damages customer relationships and ruins companies.
Or maybe it's just laziness?
The problem of procrastination is much more serious than it seems at first glance. The habit of putting off important things for later is quite dangerous. It starts with one-time delays, but over time it turns into a pattern of behavior. The burden of unfinished business causes a persistent feeling of guilt in the procrastinator. This state is often called laziness, but there are a number of differences between a lazy person and a procrastinator.
First difference. Lazy people do not want to do anything at all and are bleak about new tasks. Procrastinators enthusiastically take on new projects, take on a mountain of tasks, but they cannot cope with them effectively or on time. Most often due to the fact that they are distracted by some other business.
Second difference. If the task is not completed on time, lazy people take it easy: if you don’t do it, it’s okay. For procrastinators, self-flagellation and self-deprecation begin.
Third difference. A task completed on time causes great elation in procrastinators, they are very proud of the result and are pleased with themselves. Lazy people in this case react more calmly, even indifferently.
Fourth difference. An important feature of procrastinators is imaginary optimism, especially when assessing the risk of not completing a certain task.
Who is a procrastinator
Procrastinators are usually people with low self-esteem. Most often they were raised by domineering parents. If adults force children to do everything strictly according to the schedule and control their every step, then by the beginning of adult life, the child does not develop the skill of independent planning of his affairs and the implementation of the plans without a clear external stimulus (for example, hard deadlines or given promises). In this case, a person always transfers his affairs to tomorrow, to the day after tomorrow. He tells himself that he will do this when he gets more sleep, when he has more time, etc. Soon, the lack of results begins to interfere with work, and a person develops a lack of confidence in his abilities and his professionalism.
Procrastinators are not just playing for time - they replace the completion of the task with other things. For example, they watch news on the Internet or videos on YouTube. Another important feature of procrastinators is their low resistance to disease. In psychology, there is a term “care for the disease”, when, from the unwillingness to do an important thing, a person has real symptoms of the disease: pressure jumps, his head and stomach hurt.
Systematics of cases
To solve the problem of procrastination, a very interesting model was invented by a Canadian system development specialist. Brian Tracy. He proposes to divide all postponed cases into three large groups.
The first group: deeds-"elephants"
These are big things or large-scale projects that require a lot of time and effort to complete. Such cases cause subconscious fear in people: it is not clear where to start and how to proceed with such great cause. Indeed, you cannot "eat" an elephant in one sitting. It is necessary to divide it into separate pieces and start with the most “tasty” (interesting). Then the person is gradually drawn into the work, and soon the other parts of the “elephant” also turn out to be “eaten”.
Russian psychologists propose to use personal motivation to accomplish great things. For a procrastinator, a good financial reward for work or a promise made to someone that you don’t want to break can be a strong incentive.
The second group: deeds - "frogs"
In the Tracy system, these are not very big, but unpleasant things that weigh heavily on the soul and cause remorse. Such a “frog” is a strong irritant: it constantly croaks (reminds of itself). In reality, these can be non-urgent unpleasant phone calls, letters, or a meeting you don't want to go to. It is better to do such things without delay (“swallow” this nasty “frog”, so that later you can forget about it forever).
However, if a person begins to successfully perform unpleasant “frog” deeds, a problem may appear. When the need arises at work to perform such tasks (for example, an impartial conversation with a person or an uninteresting task that no one wants to do), they can be constantly assigned to the person who knows how to do them: “You are good at this.” But in psychological and moral terms, doing unpleasant things for a person is a very costly task, so you need to build your own line of behavior so that such tasks do not become the main part of the work.
The third group: cases - "oranges"
This is how Tracy calls small relatively simple cases of equal importance and volume. So that they do not accumulate and are not a reproach to the procrastinator, “oranges” should be done regularly. It is better to make it a rule to do, for example, two such cases daily, so that they do not accumulate.
We solve the problem
The following rules will help you learn how to complete all the planned tasks on time and without haste.
1st rule: immediately make a list of accumulated cases (current and future).
2nd rule: prioritize and break big things into parts. Make a list of tasks in this order - first the most important, then less urgent, and at the very end those tasks that have already lost their relevance or were not important or mandatory from the very beginning. Large-scale projects and “elephant” cases need to be divided into separate stages and a specific deadline for their implementation should be determined.
3rd rule: start the mechanism of rationalization, i.e. create elementary conditions for the fulfillment of the tasks set. If you are at work, block yourself from accessing email or social networks(it is better to turn off the Internet altogether for a while). If you work from home, turn off the TV and warn loved ones not to be distracted for a certain amount of time (for example, three hours).
4th rule: organize a replacement mechanism. To take a break from work, you need to switch to another type of activity. If you work at a computer, then switching to chatting on the Internet, reading books or watching TV does not count as a change in activity. For relaxation, you can do exercises, go to the store.
The change of activity should be cardinal, while any semi-useful work will be better than pseudo-useful.
Rule 5: Be positive. Things not done on time cause a feeling of guilt, and to overcome it, great mental and emotional costs are required. Therefore, you can’t call yourself a loser: you need to step by step build your actions that will help change the situation, and begin to act immediately - at least by compiling a to-do list.
Rule 6: Optimize the order in which things are done. The most unpleasant thing on the list is best done right away (swallowing these "frogs" so that they no longer croak). Then you can proceed to the most pleasant and interesting things, and only then switch to the less interesting ones.
7th rule: set time limits. For example, if you have two tasks scheduled for the day, you need to take 2-3 hours to complete them, and then please yourself with something pleasant. But you need to do these things every day. With this approach, you can decompose a huge "elephant" into small things - "oranges" - and the work will successfully move forward.
Hidden Barriers
Sometimes a person has some personal reasons for procrastination that prevent them from starting work. For example, he lacks some knowledge or needs someone's advice. Among the reasons for procrastination may be the fear of failure or the fear of getting into trouble. Even the fear of success can become a brake - the fear that they will begin to entrust more complex and responsible tasks.
All of the above applies to normal and psychologically healthy people who have serious motivation, but lack organization, self-discipline or the ability to plan and distribute their affairs. But failing to pull yourself together and procrastinate can be a sign of an anxiety disorder or severe depression. In this case, the person needs the help of a psychotherapist or psychiatrist.
Do not put off business and life for later ... Friends, no matter how our destinies develop, almost all of us have important and not so important things that we constantly put off and put off until later. Things you don't want to do, but you have to. Each time we postpone them, we get angry with ourselves, lose energy and get by no means beneficial consequences.
Why is this happening? Do I need to force myself to do this or are there other ways to motivate? So, dear readers of the Healthy Lifestyle, let's figure out how to do what you need, but don't want to.
Procrastination is scientific definition postponing things for later. Unfortunately, in the modern world, procrastination devours so many, including people who could do something good or even change the world.
If you feel that your potential is being wasted, then let's defeat procrastination together! Ready? Then let's get started. No water, just useful information about how to motivate yourself to do what is necessary, but for some reason you do not want to. After all, even a five-minute matter, not to mention some global things, can be transferred for months (and sometimes even years). Postponing for later, albeit to varying degrees, but almost everyone is familiar modern man. Enough tolerating this!
Why does it happen that we constantly put off the necessary things for later? How, finally, to learn to do what you need, but do not want to? Below are 5 causes of procrastination and instructions on how to deal with them.
1) We put things off until later because we're afraid we won't be able to handle them.
What to do? Use not only “fixation on achievements”, but also “fixation on loss prevention”, and also break difficult tasks into parts.
Almost always, before doing anything, we create a tangible image in our head of what we are striving for and what we want to receive. Even a boring, uninteresting task seems to us in our imagination to be done at the proper level, not to mention the tasks that we like. We draw practically. This is especially true for. But many other people do the same.
This is called “achievement fixation”. We look forward to how cool and good we will be when we finally finish the job. But at the same time we are afraid not to cope with this task. We're afraid to screw up. In this case, the motivation to complete the task quickly disappears. That is, there is motivation, but it is blocked by fear. For we understand that there is a certain degree of probability of not achieving anything, not coping, failing. Therefore, by postponing things for later, we are trying to protect ourselves from a possible loss by stupidly doing nothing.
Example... Having set a goal (perhaps even the goal of a lifetime), we present our great achievements. At the same time, we are afraid of not reaching them.
But, dear friends, this is absurd! If you do nothing, then nothing will work for sure. And if you do, then the chances of winning increase many times over.
When there is a fear of failure, it is better to look at the matter from the other side: what will happen if we do not complete it? Yes, there may not be any negative consequences right now, but what about life in general? We will surely lose something.
For example, abandoning your goal, a person will not achieve anything. Instead, he will remain another dupe who lived an ordinary gray life, instead of turning the world upside down with his discovery or achieving impressive success. Or another simple example: without doing our job, we risk losing our salary and becoming unemployed.
Guys, if it’s scary not to cope, imagine what will happen if you don’t do it and thereby undoubtedly cross out the possible success or benefits from this business. When you are afraid of failure, you need to go, so to speak, from the opposite, that is, to see not only the good when the work is completed, but also the bad when it is not done. Double whammy to boost our motivation!
Psychological research shows that fear of not completing a task is one of the most common reasons for procrastinating. But we have been warned, which means we are armed.
By the way, perfectionism, familiar to many of our readers, often causes fear of not doing the task perfectly. The thought of getting the job done right away and flawlessly puts us in a state of stress. And, accordingly, we again and again postpone for later tasks that it is high time to complete.
It is recommended to fight perfectionism in the same way - that is, to present everything Negative consequences and the deprivation that awaits us if we do not complete the task before us on time. Yes, we may not do it perfectly, but at least we'll get started and finish it on time. And in the future, you can improve the results of your work endlessly!
Breaking up large and complex tasks into parts is another trick that will help us not to procrastinate. If completing a large task causes fear and reluctance to get down to business, then just break it down into small subtasks.
Concentrating on one small step, we no longer feel the burden of a big deal, and therefore we can easily move in the right direction. One, two, three steps to solve a big problem - and here it is already done!
2) We decide to postpone the matter until later, as we are afraid of the difficulties and hardships that will follow in the process of its implementation.
What to do? Shift focus to our future achievements.
Our imagination always helpfully draws all the hardships of fulfilling the task before us. We clearly see that we have to give up something pleasant. If we allow this view to take over, then repeated postponing from “starting right now” to “starting sometime later” begins. In such cases, we begin to regularly feed ourselves breakfasts like “well, that’s it, it’s decided, I’ll start doing this tomorrow, from or from the new year.” And time is running out...
For example, deciding to do morning exercises or go for a run, we often end up scoring this good deed. After all, you don’t want to get up early and even strain, it’s much better to lie in a warm and soft bed.
Such seductive thoughts are best interrupted instantly and redirected to what we eventually get. Health, happiness, well-being, whatever - we must always clearly see the goal in front of us and be aware of the future benefits that will fall upon us when we achieve it. When we do this, it's much harder to slip. Moreover, we ourselves want to do the right thing. Do not sometime in the future, but right now. If you were able to evoke such an irresistible desire in yourself, then act immediately, do not wait for convenient moments. The main thing is to always keep the goal in mind, to see it clearly and in all its details, to understand what benefits we will get when we achieve it.
Of course, if it weren’t for robots, it would not be possible to completely drown out thoughts of deprivation along the way to achieving the goal. However, before us is a pleasant finale, we gain a powerful energy supply. And over time, we notice that whining and, accordingly, procrastination becomes less and less, and the desire to act is more and more. And this is, without a doubt, a very useful habit.
3) We start procrastinating because there is no mood or energy right now.
What to do? Just take it and start doing the job. You yourself will not notice how you are drawn into the process and you will not be torn away from it.
Tell me, friends, has it ever happened to you that you decide to do, for example, a little house cleaning? Remember how it all ends? As a rule, we enter into a rage and instead of “just a little wipe the dust”, we begin a global cleaning.
This happens almost always. Starting to do something, we seem to get additional energy. Even if a couple of minutes ago we didn’t want anything, having started the task that has long been before us, after a while we will not recognize ourselves and the results of our labors. The mood to complete the task comes by itself. And then we can only wonder: “Where did all this come from? How did I do it?
Additionally, you can stimulate yourself with the promise “if things don’t work out in an hour, then I’ll leave it and do something else, more pleasant.” With a high probability, after 10 minutes, the long-delayed task will be completed, and you will almost immediately forget about the recent lack of mood or energy. It really works, just try it!
4) We postpone things until later, waiting for the right moment.
When we wait for conditions and circumstances to finally become optimal, we most often miss the most valuable time.
For there is always something interfering, something distracting.
Waiting for the right moment due to doubts and reflections we often miss it.
Remember, friends, that nothing is perfect.
We need to start doing the planned business (and especially if it concerns our dream / goal) right now.
5) We follow the habit of postponing things that are too boring and unpleasant for later.
What to do? Plan ahead performing tasks for which it is not easy to find the right motivation.
Unfortunately, when we need to do something that is not particularly pleasant (uninteresting, routine, labor-intensive), then doubts begin to gnaw at us, an inner voice insinuatingly whispers: “Maybe later?” We waste energy on lengthy disputes, trying to justify ourselves to ourselves because of the postponement of the solution of the task before us. We persuade ourselves, give arguments and counterarguments. In short, let's get on our nerves.
What is the point of this if we still habitually postpone the matter until later? That's right, none. Moreover, we continue to torment ourselves for not doing the right things. They become a burden to us, like a stone on our backs. If this situation is not uncommon for you, then try to do planning based on simple algorithm"if/sometime..."
For example, when we get up in the morning, we do exercises. When Saturday comes, we clean up the apartment. When we meet the director, we demand a pay rise.
The trick is that by making decisions in advance, we are already doing part of the work. And it remains only to implement this decision when the planned time or circumstance occurs. After all, we have already decided - which means there is no room for doubt. In addition, in each person, such an algorithm causes a slight feeling of incompleteness.
By deciding ahead of time, you are already doing some of the work. Perhaps the most important part. It remains only to carry out the decision you made earlier when the right moment comes. You've already made up your mind - so there is no room for doubt. Otherwise, we will waste too much energy and inner strength in vain. In vain, you understand? Therefore, friends, if we plan, then we do it.
Gradually, such an algorithm of actions becomes a habit, and doubts with transfers to later are not even considered. It's so nice to follow the plan and follow your word. The main thing is not to plan too much, it is always better to act gradually.
6) We postpone the matter for later, because we simply do not like this activity.
What to do? Here, dear readers of the SIZOZh, we have two ways:
The first is to use the recommendations and algorithms of actions from the third and fourth points. That is, to apply small tricks to motivate yourself and accomplish what the soul does not lie in. It happens: you don’t want to, but you have to. There's nothing to be done about it.
The second is not to do this at all. Or do, spit and forget! And then start to build our lives so that we do what we like. Make it so that there is more joy and happiness around. So that the main thing that we do most of the time is your joy.
Please visit us often and write comments. See you!
P.S. And here is another interesting video on the topic from Vladimir Gerasichev, President of Business Relations and winner of the " Best Business Coach of Russia - 2012.
More Related:
How to finish what you started? 7 recommendations 5 enemies of productivity
Popular
- What is gypsum and where is it mined
- How a nuclear power plant works
- The simplest clay dishes in survival conditions!
- Ao Kamov. Light helicopters of Russia. Production of light helicopters in Russia Where light helicopters are used
- Children's electronic presentations and clips Children's electronic presentations for preschoolers
- How to make a do-it-yourself collage of photos: ideas, methods and design examples Funny do-it-yourself photo collage
- How to make a collage of photos with your own hands on the wall: create home comfort Collage of family photos with your own hands
- Funny fairy tale scene about a turnip Fairy tale turnip for the new year for children
- Prom theme: how to choose and what ideas do you have?
- Batman comics: where to start reading?