With no one to blame at the end of the season when the deadline is fast approaching, I often realize that my procrastinating attitude has cost me a good project or assignment. It is human to feel lazy and postpone things. It is human to want to do something more interesting than the monotonous work at hand. Mostly, the work is monotonous because we have done it a good number of times and get the impression that we are fit to do something better. I have gone to the ridiculous extent of planning to go to a psychologist to avoid procrastination. Luckily, I met an old HR lecturer from my college who has come up with wonderful advice to avoid procrastination and enjoy your work. It sounded similar to the literature available, but its simplicity really bowled me over.
The first important thing to be dealt with is the forgetting attitude. We tend to forget things after procrastination. So, if we can avoid forgetting things, procrastination is not a difficult thing to deal with. My lecturer told me like this. The human brain is most active in the first few minutes as we wake up in the morning. Whatever happens then is remembered well for the rest of the day and even more than that. The brain also sends positive vibes across the body immediately after we wake up. So, we need to make the list of things that we have been postponing of late every night before sleeping. As soon as you wake up, you need to say yourself- I love to do this work today. This work refers to the most irritating and complicated thing that you have been postponing till date. You need to say it at least ten times to yourself even before you are out of your bed. That has the maximum impact and you will be startled how easily you get to do the work on the same day.
Division of work is the other important way in which we can avoid procrastination. Scientists suggest that our brain requires at least 5 minutes break after working for every 25 minutes. This is necessary to rejuvenate the energy cells and regain the interest that we are doing. Normally, filled with zeal to complete things, we work continuously for hours sans any break. By doing so, very soon we will dread the work because the information is registered in the brain that it takes so long for that work to get completed without any break. Your brain works in the way you want it to. So break your work to enjoy every 5 minutes after a hectic 25 minutes work.
Man is a creature of reason. We do not do anything without any reason. I earn to make my ends meet and provide my family with whatever is necessary to lead a happy life. I have got the reason to work. Happiness is the reward towards which I am aiming and struggling so hard. Similarly, for every little work that you do, present a reward for yourself so that the sub-conscious mind is eager to complete the work to fetch the reward. You will be amazed at the perfection and speed with which you can complete your work for the sake of a reward. I present myself with a wonderful lunch at a good restaurant for having completed a difficult assignment in a short period of time. I even buy a book for myself for having done a particular work. You can plan your little or big rewards to keep your mind on the track.
The other place where everyone falters is the inability to prioritize things. We are confused as to what is important and what is not at certain junctures. You can follow your superior's instructions to avoid the dilemma. If there is no instruction from the superior or if you have no superior, you have to understand the important work that will ensure smooth flow of organization production process and complete it first. Such things are easier said than done. However, you learn to prioritize things by experience. It is better to experiment a lot in the initial stages to understand the nuances of the various processes in your organization.
Enhance your knowledge every frequently to know the short-cuts necessary to complete a particular work. Technological developments are saving a lot of time and a constant updating of skills is necessary to benefit from these developments. We procrastinate when we find that the particular job is lengthy and boring. With experience and technology in the right mix, you can devise ways to make your job easier for yourself and for others.
It is very obvious that procrastination is a very trivial issue and can be easily overcome.
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