|
|
      |
| The Lounge | Champions | The Wire | Schedule | Audio | Arcade | The Top Ten | Historical | Email | Video |
|
|
|
| The Lounge | Champions | The Wire | Schedule | Audio | Arcade | The Top Ten | Historical | Email | Video |
 |
Ending Procrastination
Perseverance is about as important to achievement as gasoline is to driving a car. Sure, there will be times when you feel like you're spinning your wheels, but you'll always get out of the rut with genuine perseverance. Without it, you won't even be able to start your engine. The opposite of perseverance is procrastination. Perseverance means you never quit. Procrastination usually means you never get started, although the inability to finish something is also a form of procrastination. Ask people why they procrastinate and you'll often hear something like this, I'm a perfectionist. Everything has to be just right before I can get down to work. No distractions, not too much noise, no telephone calls interrupting me, and of course I have to be feeling well physically, too. I can't work when I have a headache." The other end of procrastination - being unable to finish - also has a perfectionist explanation: "I'm just never satisfied. I'm my own harshest critic. If all the i's aren't dotted and all the t's aren't crossed, I just can't consider that I'm done. That's just the way I am, and I'll probably never change." Do you see what's going on here? A fault is being turned into a virtue. The perfectionist is saying that his standards are just too high for this world. This fault-into-virtue syndrome is a common defense when people are called upon to discuss their weaknesses, but in the end it's just a very pious kind of excuse making. It certainly doesn't have anything to do with what's really behind procrastination. Remember, the basis of procrastination could be fear of failure. That's what perfectionism really is, once you take a hard look at it. What's the difference whether you're afraid of being less than perfect or afraid of anything else? You're still paralyzed by fear. What's the difference whether you never start or never finish? You're still stuck. You're still going nowhere. You're still overwhelmed by whatever task is before you. You´re still allowing yourself to be dominated by a negative vision of the future in which you see yourself being criticized, laughed at, punished, or ridden out of town on a rail. Of course, this negative vision of the future is really a mechanism that allows you to do nothing. It's a very convenient mental tool. I'm going to tell you how to overcome procrastination. I'm going to show you how to turn procrastination into perseverance, and if you do what I suggest, the process will be virtually painless. It involves using two very powerful principles that foster productivity and perseverance instead of passivity and procrastination. The first principle is: break it down. No matter what you're trying to accomplish, whether it's writing a book, climbing a mountain, or painting a house the key to achievement is your ability to break down the task into manageable pieces and knock them off one at one time. Focus on accomplishing what's right in front of you at this moment. Ignore what's off in the distance someplace. Substitute real-time positive thinking for negative future visualization. That's the first all- important technique for bringing an end to procrastination. Suppose I were to ask you if you could write a four hundred-page novel. If you're like most people, that would sound like an impossible task. But suppose I ask you a different question. Suppose I ask if you can write a page and a quarter a day for one year. Do you think you could do it? Now the task is starting to seem more manageable. We're breaking down the four-hundred-page book into bite-size pieces. Even so, I suspect many people would still find the prospect intimidating. Do you know why? Writing a page and a quarter may not seem so bad, but you're being asked to look ahead one whole year. When people start to do look that far ahead, many of them automatically go into a negative mode. So let me formulate the idea of writing a book in yet another way. Let me break it down even more. Suppose I was to ask you: can you fill up a page and a quarter with words-not for a year, not for a month, not even for a week, but just today? Don't look any further ahead than that. I believe most people would confidently declare that they could accomplish that. Of course, these would be the same people who feel totally incapable of writing a whole book. If I said the same thing to those people tomorrow - if I told them, I don't want you to look back, and I don't want you to look ahead, I just want you to fill up a page and a quarter this very day - do you think they could do it? One day at a time. We've all heard that phrase. That's what we're doing here. We're breaking down the time required for a major task into one-day segments, and we're breaking down the work involved in writing a four hundred-page book into page-and-a-quarter increments. Keep this up for one year, and you'll write the book. Discipline yourself to look neither forward nor backward, and you can accomplish things you never thought you could possibly do. And it all begins with those three words: break it down. My second technique for defeating procrastination is also only three words long. The three words are: write it down. We know how important writing is to goal setting. The writing you'll do for beating procrastination is very similar. Instead of focusing on the future, however, you're now going to be writing about the present just as you experience it every day. Instead of describing the things you want to do or the places you want to go, you're going to describe what you actually do with your time, and you're going to keep a written record of the places you actually go. In other words, you're going to keep a diary of your activities. And you're going to be surprised by the distractions, detours, and downright wastes of time you engage in during the course of a day. All of these get in the way of achieving your goals. For many people, it's almost like they planned it that way, and maybe at some unconscious level they did. The great thing about keeping a time diary is that it brings all this out in the open. It forces you to see what you're actually doing... and what you're not doing. The time diary doesn't have to be anything elaborate. Just buy a little spiral notebook that you can easily carry in your pocket. When you go to lunch, when you drive across town, when you go to the dry cleaners, when you spend some time shooting the breeze at the copying machine, make a quick note of the time you began the activity and the time it ends. Try to make this notation as soon as possible; if it's inconvenient to do it immediately, you can do it later. But you should make an entry in your time diary at least once every thirty minutes, and you should keep this up for at least a week. Break it down. Write it down. These two techniques are very straightforward. But don't let that fool you: these are powerful and effective productivity techniques that allow you put an end to procrastination and help you get started to achieving your goals. To Your Success, Reproduced with permission from Jim Rohn's Weekly E-zine.Copyright 2005 Jim Rohn International. All rights reservedworldwide. To subscribe to Jim Rohn's Weekly E-zine, go tohttp://Jim-Rohn.InspiresYOU.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Motivation - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
What Motivates the Motivator? Someone wrote me an email a couple of weeks ago and said, "I would love to know what motivates YOU!" So I took them up on it and I want to spend some time telling you how I stay motivated.It is a valid question, this one of what motivates me. Right Action & Right Effort: The Keys to Martial Arts Mastery, Keys 3 &4 In the philosophical teachings that form the base for our Warrior Concepts Life Mastery Program, there is a model by which we can examine our thoughts, words, and actions from eight distinct perspectives. These eight "paths" which contribute to both who we are and how we associate with the world around us include our:1. Making A Lot Out Of A Little - Use It Or Lose It "Making a lot out of a little"Ever noticed how some individuals can make a little problem go a long way? Similarly, some folk can make a huge challenge seem somewhat insignificant.This is a life principle that actually determines whether we are a "little" or a "lot" person. Christian Gladiators? Athletics as a Metaphor for the Christian Lifestyle When Paul first arrived in Corinth in the middle of his second missionary journey, Acts 18:2-3 reports that he joined Aquila and Priscilla in the occupation of making tents. This fits in well with what Paul himself wrote at about that same time. 7 Stepping-stones to Career Growth and Excellence Achieving excellence in our work is an integral part of feeling genuinely satisfied in life. We want our careers or businesses to blossom, making us financially secure and content with our achievements. Motivation: The Power of Vision Here's an interesting story from the world of race car driving. One of the most important things that beginning race car drivers learn is what to do when they lose control of the car and go into a spin. Trust the "System" - It Works! The "System" - the overall structure and organization of this great creation that we're a part of? including our ability to personally interact with (and benefit from) the spiritual aspects of this creation (universal consciousness, God, whatever you'd like to call it).Here's the story behind our recent move. What You Can Do About Procrastination Goals stalled? Always running behind? Stuck in a rut?Procrastination means "putting it off". Whether it's a career goal, a home project, or something about your daily life, a sustained plateau on a goal can rattle your motivation, challenge your thinking. Motivation By Spring Cleaning Spring cleaning is a great motivator. Why confine it to Spring?It is arguable that we should not only give gifts at Christmas and make resolutions at the New Year. ADHD - Its a Wonderful Life As I usually do over the Holidays, I watched one of my all-time favorite actors in one of my all time favorite movies and that's Jimmy Stewart in "It's a Wonderful Life". Co-starring Donna Reed and made in the 1940s, the movie was not critically acclaimed at the time, but over the years has become a stable of the Holiday Season. Getting Started is the Toughest Part of the Job One of the most challenging things about starting on a new project, goal or task usually isn't the planning, the thinking about it and the mapping it out. It is the doing! Actually taking the first step is often the most difficult part of any new endeavor. Move On! I woke up one morning with a sharp pain in my ear. The last time I had an earache was some eighteen years ago. Are You Stuck? You know the feeling.There's something you want to do. Were Good at the Things We Like Read that again. It doesn't say "We like the things we're good at," though that's true as well. Creative Procrastination Do you ever postpone things, or just forget about them for a while, or tell yourself, "I'll get to that later?" Do you sometimes feel guilty about it? Well, it's true that procrastination can be a bad habit, but there are times when it can be useful.Procrastination When You Are UnsureSometimes procrastinating makes sense if you aren't sure you should be doing something. Teaching kids -- UGH!! (...and what I learned from it) I have a confession to make: I don't like working with little kids.Don't get me wrong. Fear of Failure The fear of failure is more deadly than failure itself. The fear of failure paints so many imaginary scenarios which petrifies you and renders you immobile. Motivation - The 4 Most Potent Ways To Awaken Your Enthusiasm .. How To Motivate Yourself For Success? I was having coffee with my friend the other day. He just joined a multi-level marketing company. Success -- The Key and the Fire Self-discipline is a powerful tool that can help you accomplish about anything you can dream or imagine. Self-discipline is the act of controlling our emotions, actions, thoughts, words and personal direction.
|
Section Site Map - Submit News - Feedback - Comments - Advertise with Us Copyright © 2006 Luminati Inc. All rights reserved. 
|
