I went for my first run yesterday in several months. I woke at 8am and finally left the house for my 20 minute jog at 10.30am. A full 2 1/2 hours later. In my head, I had to have breakfast first to keep my strength up. I had to wash the dishes and put a wash on (knowing I couldn't possibly leave the house with an electrical item on). So, I had to wait until the machine had finished its cycle. I had to get dressed which took longer than usual as it was my running gear. I had to fit my ipod into its arm band and find the podcast. I thought it best to peel the veg ready to make soup on my return. All this for a 20 minute run!
I'm sure you are reading this and thinking about similar things you procrastinate on.
I then read a small section in Psychologies magazine about ways to stop procrastination and thought I would share:
* Time what you do. Procrastinators very often overestimate how long things take. Therefore, making it easier to make excuses. 'That'll take me 3 hours, I don't have time for that'. Does it REALLY take that long?
* Do the hard/tricky things in 15 minute slots with breaks in between and reward yourself on completion
* Reduce the time between noting when something needs done and you actually doing it. The longer you put it off, the bigger it becomes in your mind.
* Stop waiting for the perfect time to act on something. It doesn't exist.
Some good advice I think.
I just want to leave you with one of my favourite quotes 'Procrastination is something best put off until tomorrow'. ~ Gerald Vaughan
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