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This phenomenon is called the "deferred life syndrome" in psychology, and I wrote about it in detail in the article: "The deferred life syndrome as a factor of failure." Knowing that procrastination is in your life is the first step to change.
1. Methods to combat procrastination
As I wrote earlier, the fight against deferred life syndrome is a complex work on oneself, working with both common and individual causes. And if we analyze your personal reasons at the consultations, here I will give a few techniques that you can already implement in your life on a general basis.
Setting personal priorities
You need to decide what exactly you want, what is primary and what is secondary for you. It is best to write down what you are moving towards, break down the goal into small sub-goals and specify each of them. Now, when you postpone things "for later", you will understand that you are postponing the achievement of your goals, and therefore nothing grandiose will happen in your life. Do you want it? It is up to you to decide. And besides, small goals are much easier to start than large and serious ones, so divide the "elephants" into small sub-goals, the smaller the better.
Write down your secondary benefits
Putting things off is always convenient. But what does it give you? Try to be honest about what might be stopping you.
- For example: I really want to watch a few stories on Instagram and a couple of interesting videos on YouTube. No one but you will read this list - admit to yourself what secondary benefits stop you from achieving your goals. Write a list and put it aside, come back to it after a while. Were these reasons really worth it?
15-minute rule
You can agree with yourself in writing or orally, indicating that all the things and ideas that arise in your head, you begin to perform here and now, giving it at least 15 minutes. If you like it - continue, if not, then switch to another one. This rule is based on the psychological effect — it is important to overcome the first resistance that triggers procrastination. In simple words, you do not need to think about the action, you just need to take it and start doing it.
Delegation of unnecessary tasks
Once you have identified a priority list of cases, you easily understand what you need and what you do not need. Those things that are at the end of the list, delegate to others or completely get rid of them. Find a way to solve them even if it costs some money, but you will be able to direct energy to what is really important to you.
- For example: You promised your wife to fix the faucet and postponed this for a month, you do not want to do this, you have no time, you are tired, etc. Just hire a person who is specially trained in this. You can also hire a maid to clean the apartment, if it somehow distracts you from important things and so on.
The less you have to do, the more energy you have. Remember that small procrastinations drain your energy, accumulate fatigue, and lead to setbacks.
Activity alternation
Alternate mental and motor activity, allocating a certain time for each task. At first, specifics will be in the first place for you, over time you will learn how to optimally allocate resources and time, you will easily understand how much and what tasks will take time.
Formation of motivation for success
What benefits will you have if your tasks are completed on time? Also spell it out clearly. You will see your weaknesses and low motivation in different areas, this is normal, it is important to increase it.
Learn to relax
Rest is not a time in which you think about unsolved tasks and affairs. Rest is the replenishment of your energy resources. Spend it with benefit for yourself, find the activity that you like. Try not to think about work and not to be distracted by work calls and chats during rest.
Daily routine
Set aside time for sleep, food, time with loved ones, and work. Do not mix everything together. Be sure to plan time for non-urgent matters, which also do not seem very important. This is the most crisis zone.
- For example: play with children, go for a run or read a book. All these things do not seem important and can be done later, sometime later, as a result, they are postponed for a long time and constantly postponed, which negatively affects the areas of life in which they are included.
It is such things that you should definitely plan and set aside time for them in your weekly schedule. Make Saturday a family day and spend time with children. And let's say Tuesday is Sports Day and the like.
REMEMBER, there are no perfect people. Sometimes, procrastination is a necessity.
It is not a question of not making mistakes at all, but of benefiting from the experience of making mistakes and making some improvements in your life that will help move forward and reduce the number of similar mistakes in the future.
