subject: Beating The Urge To Procrastinate [print this page] The old adage, "time is gold," is very simple, brief and direct to the point. It is a truism that is easy to understand but often hard to practice and internalize. Many people go through life wasting time in many different ways, realizing too late the opportunities they have lost. This applies not only to career or business but also to personal life.
Even those who are considered to be successful in their professions may actually wasting time and procrastinating in some way, making them unable to do things that are really essential in their personal life. People who procrastinate usually end up regretful, unhappy or become failures either in career or in personal life.
The first key technique in beating the urge to procrastinate is to have a clear goal or goals. Of course, goals must be specific, measurable or manageable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound. Goals or aspirations will remain to be just mere unrealized dreams if they do not fall within the aforementioned criteria. This is especially true for long-term goals that are difficult to achieve, such as becoming a doctor or achieving success in business.
Goals provide direction but they must also be sort out according to importance and urgency. This applies to both long-term and short-term goals. Although multi-tasking can be done on several occasions, it is not always advisable. One must have focus at a time in order to done the task more effectively. For example, preparing sensitive reports cannot be effectively done while simultaneously talking on the phone or chatting online not unless these are related to the reports that need to be done. Sorting out priorities is the second most important technique in time management.
Tools such as planners and PDA's are just secondary in importance when it comes to time management and avoiding procrastination. It is more important to act on the tasks at hand and have the discipline to do so. However, if the apparent difficulty of tasks is the main reason for procrastination, it is advisable to have a partner or supervisor that will impose discipline. For instance, when working out to lose weight, regularly going to the gym and doing exercise routines are easier under the supervision of a trainer and with the help of an exercise partner.
Time management is the key to battling procrastination. Never allow the urge to procrastinate get the upper hand. The bottom line is self-discipline. Whatever the type of time management technique, it will only work if it is acted upon.
