Eight Steps To Stop Procrastinating

Eight Steps To Stop Procrastinating

Everyone has an occasional tendency to put things off until a more convenient time or with some hard decisions, they simply hope the problem will correct itself with the need for intervention. However, those with a stronger urge to let things go may find a real need to stop procrastinating as be delaying things can cost a person their job, their marriage and their friends. There is nothing magical about the process to stop procrastinating, just a conscious effort.

When confronting a difficult task it may be tough to find a starting point. Step back and look at the overall project and set priorities as what needs to be done first, before the next step can be started. Once that is done you need to stop procrastinating and pick one job and focus on it until it is done. Breaking the project down into smaller pieces can also help you stop procrastinating, as each completed step is a small victory.

Set goals for every step of the project before you start, and then set up a means of meeting those goals. For example, if you have 100 bricks to paint and you paint two bricks a day, it will take 50 days to get done. If your deadline is 20 days, you will need to stop procrastinating and paint 10 every day.

Congratulate Yourself On Completing Steps

If a major project is broken down into pieces, give yourself a pat on the back or another type of reward for each step completed within the deadline. It has often been said that the longest walk begins with the first step and to help stop procrastinating, congratulations may be in order after the first step is taken. Knowing how long things will take also helps stop procrastinating as many times not understanding the complexities of certain tasks makes people think it can be done quicker than reality allows.

Those who believe they are the only people in the company that can do something often fail, as they are afraid of letting someone else have a role in a project. To help stop procrastinating, delegation of aspects of the job is essential. It will take a lot of stress away as well as help assure the job gets done on time.

Be realistic in your abilities to get a job done by considering additional responsibilities as well as possible interruptions. Many times it is difficult to stop procrastinating when every project attempted is completed late and is accompanied by the usual speeches about being a poor performer.