Time is one of my most treasured commodities, so beating the biggest thief of time, namely procrastination is vital to me. Far too many people fall into procrastinations trap as they look at what they need to but end up doing precious little to further their goals as some of the items on the list don’t look like fun or are to daunting.
The secret is to focus on the important things which need to be done in order to bring you closer to the life goals which you have set yourself, if we allow procrastination to stop us from achieving these goals then in effect we have let the thief of time get away.
Below I will list a couple of pointers to assist you to make sure that procrastination no longer is able to steal your time.
- Apply the Kaizen Principle – Often when we are faced with something which we need to get done, the hardest part is getting started. This is where the Kaizen Principle comes in, this principle teaches us that in order to progress, and we need only take one step at a time but in a continuous motion. So what you need to do is simply take the first step towards achieving your goal and then gradually continue to move forward.
Keep the overall goal in mind but break it down into smaller steps which are more achievable and with each step which you complete you will be getting closer to the goal in mind. The main thing is to be able to see continual and constant improvement and before you know it you will have arrived at your goal.
- Always have a definite goal in mind – If we are headed somewhere but we are not sure where it is, how can we expect to get there? This is often the reason for procrastination creeping in as it is easier to postpone doing something if we are not sure what it is. Always try to write down what it is which you need to achieve and the time frame in which you need to complete it.
By doing this you will now have a definite goal and a time to complete it in, this will help you to remain focused and driven to achieve the goal, it also helps you to start taking responsibility for your own actions.
- All work and no play – Be sure that you allow yourself time to breath while working. Try to break the task at hand up into smaller steps and when you have completed a step take a brief break so as to give your mind time to breath, not only will it seem less like work this way, but you will also realize that you will meet the next step with more enthusiasm and renewed energy.
If you are unable to break the task down into steps, try to allow yourself 10 minutes for an hours work to simply relax a bit and clear your mind.
- Find the truth – Procrastination always has a reason, so try to find the true reason why you are prolonging doing something, often when we understand why we are allowing ourselves to continually delay doing something, it is easier to remedy the situation and the quicker we can get on with doing what needs to be done.
- Get the “heavy’s” out of the way – We all have tasks which we enjoy doing and those which are not as enjoyable, always try to get the tasks which need to be done, but you like the least, out of the way first. Far too often we will let our dislike in one task cause us to procrastinate and thus prevent us from getting to the ones which we do like.
- Rewards – Be sure to reward yourself once you complete your tasks, this way your brain will do all it can to achieve the tasks in the most time effective way so as to receive the reward, this is but one of the principles which I teach to my Wealth Creators Mentoring students.
- Don’t loose the fun – Try not to let the list of goals which you set for yourself simply be a list of the unpleasant things which you need to get done, always try to include the things which you enjoy doing on your list as well, this way once you have been able to mark them off as done, your mind will not only associate your goal list with negative or less fun activities and it will become easier for you to look for ways to get through your list.
- Self belief – This is one of the most important points of all and in my Wealth Creators Mentoring Program I teach my students ways and techniques by which they can learn to believe in themselves, if you are able to believe in yourself, you will find new sources of motivation and passion for that which you are doing and this is probably the biggest step anyone can take towards beating procrastination as if your heart is in it then it is no longer a task, but a desire and passion.
I am a Wealth Creator and believe strongly that time is one of my most precious commodities. Anything which can steal my time is robbing me of reaching my full potential in life, it is therefore my responsibility to make sure that this does not happen and over the years
I have built up proven methods of being able to do this effectively and I share them with all of my Wealth Creation students.
If you think you would like to comment on ways by which you think one can use time more effectively to the benefit of your life, please feel free to do so in the comments section.