Whenever I hear people
complain talk about "getting rid of procrastination", it drives me as crazy as getting out of debt does Mr. Kiyosaki.
If you feel like procrastination is killing you
just like many others in Steve's forums, here is my take:
Accept it. Seriously. Don't expect any quick fixes. Stop looking for the single right answer.
The key is to
never force yourself to give up on everything else because thing X needs to be done first. You won't accomplish the task
and you won't accomplish anything else either.
The most successful people in the world are the biggest procrastinators, yet, they are the best in their field because they just keep doing things. They are not necessarily doing what
seems to be needed at the moment but they are definitely progressing.
So here's what to do if you still
"suffer" from procrastination:
First,
accept that you won't be able to get rid of procrastination
ever and move on.
Second, when you get that s#cky feeling (called resistance) again, ask yourself the question:
what would I enjoy doing now? and start doing it. Usually the resistance will soon fade away (even if it doesn't, you've just accomplished something that's
also important!)
Third, now that you know
procrastination doesn't need to be "solved", start learning about it (and other related personal development topics such as the levels of consciousness) if you really want to get more productive. Covey's principle of separating the urgent from the important comes to mind (search the web for Covey quadrant) and David Allen's GTD system that helps you defining your work better. One of the key reasons to implement the GTD system is to
always have a whole bunch of constructive tasks to procrastinate on. Not many people get that but David said it himself (see the podcast below).
Remember:
It's a process, not a single event.
Have a productive (to)day using constructive procrastination!
Related articles on the web:
2 Rules to Stop Procrastinating by Trizoko
Overcoming Procrastination by Steve Pavlina
David Allen on Procrastination (Merlin Mann's 43Folders podcast)
Less-related articles:
Why Great Business Leaders Embrace Failures
Is Perfectionism Good for Your Business?
How to Work Smarter
