I'll Get to That...Eventually

Procrastination, why oh why is it thy middle name?  And really, I am not alone, am I?  I believe I am correct to believe that a large majority of Americans might be just like me. And to prove my point I will go and research a statistic on this topic...eventually.


Photo credit:  http://kateselvaratnam.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/procrastination-station/


Why oh why do you do it?  After giving it some thought I realize that my procrastination tendencies come down to habit and a moderate yet occasionally striking streak of laziness. I do not think it's a deep down personal sabotage issue and so far I have gotten through life pretty successfully battling the the "big p."  You see, I love to make lists and take great satisfaction in scratching things off as I complete them. However time and time again, one week's "to do" list morphs into the following week. The most dreaded or annoying of tasks get put off much longer than they should.  Sometimes, waaay longer than they should.

I wish I could say this blog entry will provide you with 5 quick and easy tips to stop procrastinating, but I bet you've read that type of article before. My main goal today is to urge you to think about why you procrastinate and motivate you to try to put some anti-procrastination tips back in play again. You know the ones-- do the worst thing first; turn your email off for a few hours each day to strictly "work"; grab a friend and make him go with you on the most irritating errands you have to do. Because lo and behold these techniques can actually work!

I have had a change in my professional life recently and this has allowed me more free time in some ways, less in other ways. With this change I decided that I was going to try altering some of my habits by knocking off nagging projects, tasks and errands in a much more timely manner.  Not only am I trying to do procrastinate less, but do a thorough job more, with the thought that the more complete of a job I do in the present, the less I'll have to think about it, fix it, or re-do it later.

So far my efforts really are working, certainly not every day but many days. And the moments I fight the urge to procrastinate what a boost of satisfaction I've thoroughly enjoyed.  I am quite sure the great leaders of business, government and religion in this world are not procrastinators. For some reason Martha Stewart comes to my mind. Do you think that lady has procrastinated a day in her life? One look at her monthly calendar really gives me a jolt (and makes me blast out a giggle/snort combo). This woman gets stuff done, as inane as that "stuff" might be to you and me.

And if the leaders, go-getters and movers-shakers of the world do have procrastination tendencies, I bet they are smart enough to have a staff member beat them with a stick to make sure they do the things they need to do. If you have an employee, co-worker or friend who you can trust to be your stick-beater, excellent. Bring them in on your quest to reduce procrastination in your world. Perhaps you can help each other. Speaking of help, I would love to see some of your best anti-procrastinating ideas, triumphs or failures, so feel free to comment below if you have them (or think about and come back later and post them. Just kidding, do it NOW!)