We’ve all been guilty of procrastination at some time or another. It’s okay to admit it. Many business owners link it to poor time management (no time) or lack of planning (no goals). While this may play a part, procrastination is more about attitude.
Procrastination is putting off or delaying actions or things that need to be done. In many cases, we put off important tasks while doing low-value stuff. So why do we put off for tomorrow what we can do today? While common excuses include no time and not sure what to do, the main reason for most people is ‘I didn’t feel like doing it’.
The things we often put off are the things we don’t like to do – even when they are important. In his book, Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy provides 21 ways to stop procrastinating and get more done. One of the takeaways that I use often is to attack the ‘biggest’ frog first! Early morning is when I’m at my best so I try to work on critical tasks (even ones I don’t want to do) at that time. It also gets the ‘task’ off my plate early, so it’s not hanging over me all day long.
Another way to beat procrastination is to break projects into smaller actions. Big tasks can be overwhelming – so we tend to want to put them off. Chunk them down and spread them out over smaller periods of time. Finishing the first task will often motivate you to keep going!
I find these work for me and other suggestions in the book may work for you. Procrastination is a self-management issue, don’t let it stop you from accomplishing what you need to do to achieve more in your business and in life.
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