Procrastinate Much? Here is How to Get the Procrastination Monkey Off of Your Back.

February 10, 2017

Don’t we all procrastinate to some degree? Why do we do it?

I discovered an awesome Psychology Today article about #procrastination, “Why We Procrastinate.” Is it cultural? Is it conscious? Why is telling someone to JUST USE YOUR CALENDAR (or day planner) like telling a depressed person to JUST CHEER UP? This article shares several critical elements on #procrastination that will help unlock some blind spots.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200507/why-we-procrastinate

Researching this topic I also discovered Tim Urban, who is a self-proclaimed procrastinator. While he has tried, his best attempts have been unsuccessful. In his #TedTalk video, “Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator”, he puts it all into perspective in a lighthearted way. Even as his TedTalk was approaching, he experienced his #procrastination “monkey”.

Remember that paper you had the entire semester to complete?  You tried to start early, but something else seemed to either be more exciting or important. Urban explains all of us #procrastinate. It appears once we get that monkey off our back often when the fear of looking bad, failure, appears to be more eminent.

My perspective:

  1. Reward ourselves when we “swallow (eat) the frog first” as Samuel Clemens said. Simply said, do the task that is least desirable, lease fun… first. Everything else becomes simpler psychologically.
  2. Find a buddy that can support you in creating this new habit (3 weeks); otherwise, we can and often do fall back into familiar patterns.
  3. Write and post your commitments somewhere prominent (i.e. Bathroom mirror, refrigerator, etc.). Add new items to your list with dates. Check them off as they are done so you can see your progress.
  4. Document things you need to do. Get them out of your head. This will help you keep focused on your current commitment.

Good luck! Let me know how it goes.

 

#pefrormanceimprovement, #procrastination, #personaldevelopment, #leadershipdevelopment, #marktwain, #psychologytoday, #humanbehavior, #SamuelClemens, #TimUrban, #TedTalk