Friends these days i am facing a great problem that i want to get rid of is PROCRASTINATION. I am fully aware that i am procrastinating even then i am unable to act on it. The story is this I usually get a long pending To-Do-List with in a week and hardly able to complete one or two from my daily To-Do-List. From few days before i feelPANIC when ever there is some work to do for me and i start feeling how should i do or i will do it 1hr later after 1hr, a little more later and so one and my work is always remain undone. The situation gets more critical last week that even i know that i have to fill up my Admission form For my MBA Final Semester on the due date iforgot to do so and the result for this is Now i can apply it in Jan 2008:::::::: loss of Next 6 months of doing nothing:::::::::::. Even my family member always complaint me the i never do my jobs on time and keep lots of stuff pending for next day, next day, next day and so on. Even From this Lesson my mind is not yet triggered to do things at one. Please help me out of this damn PROCRASTINATION. Look the extent of my procrastination, if have planed to go to a doctor for a medicine in the morning, In morning i will decide i will go in after noon, At noon i will go in evening, When it evening time i usually think its too late i will go tommorow. I hate keeping my work pending but even then i never do them the right they come to my to-do-list. Why i am unable to fight against procrastination even i know that i am procrastinating.
RE: Fighting With Procrastination!!!!!!
Hi Astro,
Sounds like you have a lots of "frogs" to deal with.
[link= http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/eat-the-frogs-first-a-guide-to-prioritizing.html ]http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/eat-the-frogs-first-a-guide-to-prioritizing.html[/link]
Also sounds like the lists you are making are a great way to make you feel even worse about yourself. In fact your lists sound like a great big stick that you beat yourself with on a daily basis. Whilst your busy beating yourself with your list, you're not actually doing anying on the list. When you do finally take a break from beating your self up, you add more to the list!
I know this may sound scary at first, but have you considered throwing the list away. Allowing your self to start a new day from a fresh persepctive. Start first thing in the morning. Write down five things you want to do today.
At the end of the day, cross off the things you did. Then throw the list away. Even if the other/all of the items didn't get done.
The next morning again with the fresh list start again.
I think of this as my rinse and repeat approach. Rinse away the list and the stress and repeat by making a new one in the morning.
Each day is different and each day your priorities change. So each day should have a new list. You may find that some items keep reappearing. Which is good as you will have a 20% chance each day that will be the thing on your list that you will do.
RE: Fighting With Procrastination!!!!!!
I am so guilty of this as well, and that was great advice. I procrastinate all day long, then I lay in bed at night beating myself up about the things I should have gotten done, but didn't.
RE: Fighting With Procrastination!!!!!!
That's one of my biggest problem also. I wish to change this bad habit of mine.
RE: Fighting With Procrastination!!!!!!
I so understand how you feel!
I'm getting really angry with myself as my procrastination is causingj more stress and misery that doingthe actual task ever could yet STILL I procrastinate!!!!!
And the annoying thing is - if you really advice on how to tackle procrastination it always always says 'make a list of what you have to do...!'
There is NO POINT making a list! I've made countless lists and I still don't do what I should! If the lists worked I wouldn't have a procrastination problem would I????:D:D
It is so frustrating.
Perhaps the key is why we procrastinate. I think for me I feel that what I need to do won't be possible for me and I will not be able to accomplish what is necessary so I dont want to risk humiliation and rejection.
It's even more interwoven with fear than that because if I DON'T do what I should, I will end up with no money and I will starve to death and die!!!! Yes..I need to get a job!!!!:D
RE: Fighting With Procrastination!!!!!!
I've just googled and found this and reading briefly through it I think it could actually help. It rasies a few points I never consdered before...it's worth a try:)
[link= http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles/overcoming-procrastination.htm ]http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles/overcoming-procrastination.htm[/link]
RE: Fighting With Procrastination!!!!!!
My new strap-line sums it up for me!
RE: Fighting With Procrastination!!!!!!
ORIGINAL: spinal music
My new strap-line sums it up for me!
😀 Nice one! 😉
Here, for all in this thread, is a website well worth visiting:
[link= http://www.newleafsystems.com/ ]http://www.newleafsystems.com/[/link]
where you can sign up for the newsletter, take the Procrastinator Profile Quiz, and more.
Her book 'Stop Procrastinating Now' is also recommended ... written with deep insight and a really great sense of humour. I have a copy but erm, haven't had time to read it cover to cover, not yet ;):D
Holistic
RE: Fighting With Procrastination!!!!!!
I'll check out that link....later on....:D:D!!
RE: Fighting With Procrastination!!!!!!
queensmeadgirl.
Good helping link you have provided thnx
RE: Fighting With Procrastination!!!!!!
ORIGINAL: astrolover
queensmeadgirl.
Good helping link you have provided thnx
Erm, I guess you mean the one I gave in post # 8, astrolover, as queensmeadgirl hasn't given a link, just commented on mine, as I understand it.
Anyway, I'm sure you WILL find it helpful. 🙂
Holistic
RE: Fighting With Procrastination!!!!!!
I am thankful to all my friends here at Healthy pages for giving such good suggestions.
Holistic thnx for that link, it is helpful.
RE: Fighting With Procrastination!!!!!!
Holistic...I did give a link a bit further up...just to clear any confusion:D:D
RE: Fighting With Procrastination!!!!!!
Ah, thanks for clarifying ... I had been looking at your later post kinda puzzled because there was no link and no edit line to suggest you might have changed your mind! 😀
I shall make the time to look at your link too ... no, really!! There's just something else I can't put off any longer 😉
Holistic
RE: Fighting With Procrastination!!!!!!
:DIt's funny this procrastination.
I remember vividly at secondary school in the first term deciding I could take it easy as there was bags of time till I left school and took my final exams and I could catch up and work hard then.
This brilliant idea carried on through all the terms till suddenly it was four years down the ine and I had no hope of catching up.
You think after my heartbreaking exam results I would learn but I've noticed I do still have that sort of approach toward things.
I dont know why I can't take it at it's right pace and do the work as it comes rather than give into the illusion that I can skive now and make up time in a mad rush at the end.
It's never worked yet...this is clearly an issue I need to get grips with...:D
RE: Fighting With Procrastination!!!!!!
Is this procrastination a mixture of laziness and immature rebellion?
No one procrastinates over everything..only certain things. In my case things I don't want to do but have to or should do. We all have those, like sorting out paperwork...it has to be done in the end and themore it piles up the worse you feel.
But I never procrastinate in going and doing something I want to do.
Why can't I just accept like an adult that life means doing stuff that's boring or just not very pleasant and get on with it?
I do think it's a spoilt brat mentality at the bottom of it somewhere...
RE: Fighting With Procrastination!!!!!!
Well i believe thatLAZINESS is one ingredient of Procrastination LOL... the other one is IRRESPONSIBILITY towards our duties in life and not knowing the IMPORTANCE fora particular job which have to be completed.
I think we compensate ourMUST-TO-DO'swith our corehabits. In my case when ever I sit in front of mycomputer i don't know how much the time i spend while surfing and reading forums. I noticed that this is a time most i procrastinate for my essential duties.
Do you ppl have any such habit which leads you to Procrastinate.
RE: Fighting With Procrastination!!!!!!
ORIGINAL: queensmeadgirl
But I never procrastinate in going and doing something I want to do.
please step aside as i jump feet first into the procrastination pool - this has been a PLAGUE of mine my whole life.
Now here is a kick, and ~~please~~ tell me if any of you experience this either. My procrastination is by no means limited to chores - it also carries over into things that i enjoy doing. I enjoy reading books, magazines, playing video games. Sometimes i would be at work and couldn't wait to get home to maybe play a game to unwind (that was in my last job, now i work for a computer company where i can actually play games as long as i'm doing my job - oops) but when i'd get home - nada. Same for reading, i goto work with a few books that i'm inbetween reading (i take calls doing tech support). So between calls, instead of reading the book, i'll go do something "simple" and distracting on the internet - why why why? I could have 20 books finished by now 😀
I find if it's something i really-really want to do, or something i know i really-really have to do - then i'm able to break through the wall of procrastination.
Like everyone else, i tend to woe over all that i haven't got accomplished. I imagine all the people out there that get their chores taken care of, i imagine that what if i'm disappointing God - i mean here I am living a blessed middle class life and i can't manage to do simple things that need be taken care of - whereas there are people that live in squalor that would probably give anything to be in my position.
I see procrastination as only somewhat loosely a discipline issue - rather it's much more a deep behavioral and probably even biological issue. I don't see it tied very strongly to discipline because no matter how many times i may push myself to do something - i may be good for a day, a week or a month - the basic problem ~~~always~~~ tends to come back - and this is why i stray from believing it's simply a discipline issue.
Procrastination is more akin to moving a mental mountain - I say that with sincerity. When i have to do something, i feel the equivalent of pushing some mountain inside my hide, it's like a solid heavy weight that i have to push aside to get something accomplished. It's because of this that i do feel it's something quantifiably biological. The simple math here is that browsing the internet ~doesn't~ hurt my brain, simple distractions ~don't~ hurt my brain, whereas even things i enjoy doing - something ~do hurt~ my brain (in the "mountain" sense, mentioned above). Naturally, as a human being, i don't like pain, so therefore - i gravitate towards the activities that offer the path of least resistance - i think that's not only human nature but heck - it's the nature of life ... even electricity too, will take the path of least resistance. As i write this long "diatribe" (hehehe) - you would think it would hurt my brain, but it doesn't, it engages by brain (for the moment) - so it's not so much about the actual effort required but the real key is why do some things hurt the brain whereas others do not??? I think if we could figure that out, and perhaps make the things we ignore "not hurt" (i guess, in a childish sense "fun") - then perhaps we'd be more inclined to do them?
Now, to add further to this, i'm relatively sure that I have ADD. Although ADD is considered "suspect" in some people's mind, and it's not something you can test for - it's something more rather, definied by one's behavior's. Let's put it this way, if someone has ADD - they tend to know it. If someone doesn't have ADD - they tend to think that ADD is some made up construct to excuse lazy behavior heheheh. Some of the classic symptoms of ADD are procrastination, impulsive behavior, rambling (no....heheheh), diffiulty in concentrating and learning - all things that fit me to a "T". On the flip side, people with ADD are said to be unusuall