Procrastination?
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I have a huge problem with procrastinating, and just ultimately being lazy. When I am interested in something I take that on, and am no longer that way.. but when I just have nothing to do that is engaging enough I can’t seem to get into it. Is there anything I can do to get myself to lose my procrastinating habits?
Posted: October 5th, 2009 under Time Management.
Tags: Procrastinating, Procrastination
Comments
Comment from j_henault52
Time October 5, 2009 at 10:33 am
here is what works for me. never put off what you can do today
Comment from Rose W
Time October 5, 2009 at 10:33 am
Sounds like you might have ADD. Look into it, if you do, there are ways to help yourself deal with it. I do, it helps knowing what I’m up against.
Whenever you have to do something, try to put an interesting spin on it, or go at it from an angle that is more interesting. Like, make a competition of it, or time yourself doing a chore and see if you can do it faster next time.
Comment from Bulk O
Time October 5, 2009 at 10:33 am
Well you might try this. I basically have the same problem in the sense that I’m a very fast learner, but the result is that I can get bored with things quickly, but sometimes those "boring" things just have to get done.
What I do is form a list in my mind of what is important for right now and then I pick the highest thing on the list and work to complete it trying to avoid any other distractions. Once that is done I usually give myself a little break and then start on the next thing on my list.
Frankly to do this I have to be in control at work more then most people (I’m a software engineer) because people have this stupid idea that if they give you 10 things to do at a time then it is some how faster then doing 10 things in a row, and I have to point out to them if they insist on switching me around the work will take much longer. The point with it for me is I find that I once I actually start a task and I don’t get interrupted I will usually see it through to the end. The trick is to realize that this task is what I want to do with my life right now. Sure I might be bored with it (usually only until I start it), but it is the most important thing right now, and is a good way to wait for something that will engage me more.
Please note that away from work the most important task might be doing nothing, but thinking about things, like what is important to me. Just because you aren’t doing a "task" doesn’t mean you are idle. The time I hate is when I sit say watching TV and I realize that I got nothing out of it, it just pasted the time. TV is fine, but only when it did something, like I enjoyed a show or learned something, or it let me relax.