Showing posts with label Procrastination. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Procrastination. Show all posts

Saturday, November 08, 2008

How To Stop And Overcome Procrastination

There are various reasons as to why people procrastinate… lack of confidence, fear of failing, low self-esteem, lack of focus, lack of skills or just simply plain lazy. Whatever the reason is, it’s got to be stopped otherwise you will always feel regretful. You will also feel that your life is very disorganized and scattered. Nothing important seems to get done and you will feel that you have no goal in life. Procrastination can ruin your life.

Let’s look at some of the most common reasons people procrastinate and tips that can help you overcome procrastination.

Lack of Confidence

Well, lack of confidence is normally due to lack of knowledge and skills to do something. The only solution to overcome this is to learn and build confidence. Lack of confidence is like a table without the legs. In order to be stable, a table needs to have four legs. Similarly, to have confidence, you need knowledge. This is easy to achieve as long as you are willing to start learning.

Fear of Failure

This is normal as most people are risk averse. People don’t like to take risk and experience changes in their life. Most people prefer to be in a comfort zone. However, in today fast-changing world, the comfort zone is actually the danger zone. Most successful people take calculated risk, it is the only way to get ahead in life. Of course, any risk - no matter how calculated it is - comes a chance of failure. But successful people are not afraid of failure, they understand that failure is part of success. They learn from their failure and then they gather energy to multiply their success.

Lack of Focus

We all know that success needs motivation and hard works… but more importantly it needs you to be laser focused! In order to accomplish something great, you need to put your mind to success. If you don’t put your mind to it, no matter how hard you work or how motivated you are, without focus, you will always feel that you are wandering around and missing out the goals. So, you must set goals, plan and focus on those activities that will move you closer to your goals. That’s the only way you can overcome procrastination and start edging towards your goals.

Lack of Self Esteem and Motivation

Lack of self-esteem prevents you from completing the easiest task. Why? Either because you do not feel you are worthy of the challenge, or because you feel you are not good enough to complete it. Motivation is a good place to begin. Start with an easy task first; then gradually work your way up to full completion. Your confidence will build; you will feel more positive about what you can accomplish, and you will be less likely to avoid the next task at hand.

Last but not least, if you procrastinate because you are simply plain lazy then I have three words for you… “don’t be lazy!”. If you’re lazy, nobody can really help you except yourself. Another good way to deal with laziness is to associate yourself with other people who are not lazy. Hopefully they can help influence and perk you up.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

How To Build Persistence?

Persistence is one of those dynamic powers that can make you a winner when all else fails. Persistence is worth more than a dozen fancy sounding self help tips. It is a colossus of power. Nothing can stand in its way and nothing can stand in your way when you use it as prescribed in this article.

Persistence is known by a number of names such as constancy, tenacity or endurance. However you refer to it, understand that the process and the way it is used is the vital information to know. Persistence is one of the most universally admired qualities by all people.

Do you know why?

The reason is because it is so rare to find.The sad fact is that most people do not persist in their pursuit of anything and as such, they lack self-confidence. Due to this, they respect the man or woman who does persist.They admire the one who day after day works at their own plans until they are brought into reality.

What is your persistence like?

You can judge yourself quite easily.To do so just think of some of the things you wanted to have and what you wanted to attain a year ago. Now then, how many have become a part of you, or, at least, are within sight? Perhaps the most impressive thing to anyone from any walk of life is seeing another person persist in spite of their failures and knock backs. Especially the way in which certain people persist when it seems they are apparently getting nowhere.

Such people have developed a different concept to the word failure. They relate to it differently and do not let anything stop them.All the time they are building their own power of self-confidence within. Actually, such people are assured of success from the very start.Their endurance alone supplies everything else necessary to complete their journey toward their destination. It maintains their confidence, holds their focus, sustains their patience, and energizes their desire to achieve.

Perseverance can be related to building.The process of placing one brick on top of another, not perfectly, not with exact skill, not with total mental clarity, not even with complete confidence that it can be done. It consists of a series of quiet placements that will always develop definite form within a reasonable time.

Thankfully, persistence is one of the easiest of all personal powers to develop to your full strength. It responds quickly to the person who seeks it out and it can be used to full effect by you. If you really believe that your persistence will pay off, you will have no problem going all the way to the end, in the face of any obstacles.The great truth is that you can believe in your own endurance to reach your goal and it will reward you in due time. It always does, in one way or another.

Persistence comes from knowing the outcome of the efforts you make.You can build and cultivate the habit of persistence by using statement like “If I persist in – then I can expect”.

Know that if you persist in any endeavour you will soon come to the realisation that you are moving forward. Understand that you are building character with the action you take and regardless of the outcome, self-confidence is being built.

Action comes with persistence and action demands courage and facing whatever may stop you.As you move toward your goal and take passionate action, new ideas and systems of thinking will be born. A cumulative effect will be built and internal resolve will be created.
Persistence is an old law of success, but it applies today more than ever before.

Be someone who persists no matter what.

Time Management - The Key To A Balanced Life

Time management is basically about being focused on the important things. The Pareto Principle - a.k.a. the '80:20 Rule' - states that 80% of efforts that are not time managed or unfocused generates only 20% of the desired output. However, 80% of the desired output can be generated using only 20% of a well time managed effort. Although the ratio '80:20 is only arbitrary, it is used to put emphasis on how much is lost or how much can be gained with time management.

Some people view time management as a list of rules that involves scheduling of appointments, goal settings, thorough planning, creating things to do lists and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.

But there is more skills involved in time management than the core basics. Skills such as decision making, inherent abilities such as emotional intelligence and critical thinking are also essential to your personal growth.

Personal time management involves everything you do. No matter how big or small, everything counts. Each new knowledge you acquire, each new advice you consider, each new skill you develop should be taken into consideration.

Personal time management should not be a daunting task. It is a very sensible and reasonable approach in solving problems big or small. A great way of learning time management and improving your personal life is to follow several basic activities.

One of them is to review your goals whether it be immediate or long-term. A way to do this is to keep a list that is always accessible to you. Always determine which task is necessary or not necessary in achieving your goals and which activities are helping you maintain a balanced life style.

Below are some important steps you must always remember in order to manage your time and achieve the important tasks.

  • Learning to say "No". You actually see this advice often. Heed it even if it involves saying the word to family or friends.
  • Pat yourself at the back or just reward yourself in any manner for an effective time management result.
  • Try and get the cooperation from people around you who are actually benefiting from your efforts of time management.
  • Don't procrastinate. Attend to necessary things immediately.
  • Have a positive attitude and set yourself up for success. But be realistic in your approach in achieving your goals.
  • Have a record or journal of all your activities. This will help you get things in their proper perspective.

From the moment you integrate into your life time management skills, you have opened several options that can provide a broad spectrum of solutions to your personal growth. It also creates more doors for opportunities to knock on.

If you can't remember anything what you've read so far, just remember this one: "Time management is about getting results, not about being busy".

Four Effective Time Management Techniques

If you have always felt that time is running out, this article is for you. It explores four essential techniques of effective time management.

People all over the world are getting more busier and busier with their lives these days. Thanks to the advanced information age, we’re living in a world that has gotten more demanding of our time than ever. Without effective time management, we won’t be able to use our time productively and would always feel like we’re running out of time.

Let’s explore the four essential techniques of effective time management:

1. Planning and setting priorities.

You will be able to manage your time more effectively if you set out a PLAN first. With a plan to follow, you are more organized and focused. You will know exactly what are the tasks you need to do and complete. No more time wasting and you will feel more accomplished and released at the end of each day. Without a plan, you don’t know what are the things you should be focusing on and accomplished. You don’t know where you are supposed to be going. If you don’t know where you’re going, it doesn’t matter where you arrive at. You may not like your destination and at the end of the day you’ll feel that you’ve been wandering around, wasting time and accomplishing nothing.

2. Decide what are the most important things to do today.

This will help you focus your energy on what is important to you according to your plan instead of what others think is important. You will feel that you are in control of your life and your time, you accomplish the things that are important for you. It will also help you to finish your tasks on time.

3. List those important things IN ORDER in your diary.

This will ensure that you always remember what to do and avoid missing out on important tasks. It also helps you to check and track your progress. Effective time management is all about focus and organization. With a solid plan and list-to-do, you’re able to increase your chances of success multifold.

4. Work through your list in order.

Again, this will ensure that you tackle important taks in a focused and organized manner. Focus on and finish one task at a time according to your plan and list-to-do, do not jump around between different tasks. Doing so can make you lose your focus, make mistakes and end up having to redo and spend more time doing the same tasks. Remember that the essence of time management is NOT to waste time!

These are the essence of effective time management. Use and apply them daily and you will never feel like running out of time again.