This week I’ve had the privilege of having meetings with 3 new clients, which I love doing. One of the common subjects that has come up is procrastination – the art of putting things off and wasting time on other less important tasks.
For some people it’s just a frustration that means they tend to leave everything to the last moment. For others though it has a serious affect on their productivity and ability to perform well at work.
Are there certain tasks that you always put off to the last minute?
Do you find yourself rushing to complete a job when you’d had lots of time initially and as a result it’s not your best work?
Does the battle to try and make yourself do the work cause you stress and anxiety?
There are a number of reasons that people procrastinate such as:
- Lack of motivation
- No tangible reward for completion
- Feeling overwhelmed
- A non-specific or extended timescale
- A fear of failure
- Lacking confidence and self-esteem
- Anxiety
The first step to overcoming procrastination is to identify what type of task it is that triggers it. It could be those jobs that are on a subject you’re not an expert in, or when you’re not clear what the expected output is.
Once you’ve identified the work you procrastinate on then you can work out the reason you are putting it off. Is it any of the suggestions above?
There are many strategies suggested to break the cycle of procrastination. One that I share with my clients is to set a timer for 15 minutes and give yourself permission to stop working on the task after that. If you want to continue afterwards that’s a bonus, if not repeat the 15 minutes at another time.
The great thing about this is it enables you to overcome the feeling of being overwhelmed or of no reward as you’re only doing 15 minutes.
Why not give it a go, who knows what you can achieve when you’re not procrastinating!
If you’d like to find out more strategies on how to overcome procrastination then book a call with me at www.speakwithjo.com and I’ll get you started.
Good luck.
Jo x
