Management Growth Strategies

Transcription

1 Management Growth Strategies Overcoming Procrastination Introduction The only difference between those who have failed and those who have succeeded lies in the difference of their habits. Good habits are the key to all success. Bad habits are the unlocked doors to failure. (Og Mandino) Procrastination is the thief of time and thief of life. It is also the thief of money, success, happiness and self-esteem. Everyone procrastinates to one degree or another. The Law of Least Resistance causes people to do the easiest thing whenever possible, and the easiest thing is usually to work on low-value, no-value tasks. Overcoming procrastination is an essential step for you to get more, and more important things, done in your work. In this lesson you will learn: How to identify the areas of your life in which you procrastinate The specific tools, principles and tips on how to eliminate procrastination Your specific areas of procrastination and how to overcome them How to personally apply key task-launching tools in your work 1

2 Overcoming Procrastination Learning how to overcome procrastination systematically is a key to success in life. It is difficult to imagine a successful person who was a procrastinator, in any field. 1. The starting point of overcoming procrastination is for you to become completely organized in your personal and business life. 1) You need clear, specific goals to which you are committed. 2) You need clear lists of activities organized by priority. 3) You need a clear idea of the rewards and benefits you will enjoy by achieving your most important task and achieving your most important goals. 21 One of the major obstacles to procrastination is the failure to distinguish the difference between the urgent and the important. 1) The urgent is seldom important and the important is seldom urgent. 2) The tasks that are not urgent but are important can often contribute the most to your life, and can have the greatest negative consequences if you don t complete them on time. 3) The natural tendency to delay big, important tasks, develops the habit of procrastination. 3. Practice Creative Procrastination or Completion by Deletion by practicing the Law of Forced Efficiency. 1) Procrastinate on the 80% of your tasks that contribute only 20% of your results. 2

3 2) Consciously choose the tasks that you are going to procrastinate on rather than procrastinating unconsciously or accidentally. 3) The mark of the intelligent person is that he or she does the essential tasks that move him or her toward his or her goal. 4. The most important part of overcoming procrastination is for you to launch immediately into your major task. Get on with it! 1) Decide the most important thing that you have to do at this moment, and then begin immediately. 2) Develop the habit of starting immediately on your major task every single day. 5. One of the most effective methods of overcoming procrastination, and getting started on your major tasks, is to use the Salami Slice Technique. 1) Rather than trying to eat the whole salami at once, slice off one small piece and start on that immediately. 2) A related method to the salami slice technique is called the Swiss Cheese Technique. Pick a five-minute part of the job and punch a hole in the task at hand to get launched. 3) Once you take the first step toward the completion of a task, it is much easier to keep on working. 3

4 6. Another way to overcome procrastination is for you to establish a reward structure and a schedule for yourself. 1) Decide upon a reward that you will give yourself upon completion of a major task, or upon completion of a part of that major task. 2) Hold your own feet to the fire; be very strict with yourself with regard to finishing the task and enjoying the reward. 7. One of the qualities of successful people is a sense of urgency. This is something that you can develop with desire, determination and practice over time. 1) A sense of urgency is possessed by less than 2% of the population. 2) Whenever the job or task comes up, whenever possible, Do it now! 3) Repeat to yourself, Do it now! ten, twenty, thirty times per day until you have programmed yourself for fast action. 4) Today there is a tremendous Need for Speed; we value people who do things fast for us. 5) When you develop a reputation for speedy action, you are considered to be more intelligent, capable, competent and reliable. 8. Fast tempo is essential to success, resolve to pick up the pace and move faster through your daily activities. 1) A person who works at a fast tempo is able to accomplish vastly more in the same amount of time. 4

5 2) The faster you work the more energy you have. The more energy you have, the more you get done. The more you get done, the more valuable you become to yourself and your company. 9. Once you launch and get started on a job, don t stop until it is complete. 1) Discipline yourself to work away steadily until the job is finished. 2) Keep repeating, Back to work! whenever you feel like slacking off on a major task. 10. A technique for overcoming procrastination is to start your job on the outside, by doing one of the smaller tasks that you will need to do anyway. 1) Getting your workplace organized so that you can do your major task is a great way to get started. 2) Select something small and just do it immediately; this will often launch you into the whole task. 11 Another technique is for you to start your job on the inside, beginning with the core task. 1) Sometimes 20% of the work accounts for 80% of the value of the entire job. 2) By starting and completing the first 20%, you often build up enough momentum to carry you through the rest of the task. Do the worst first; begin with the most unpleasant or difficult thing that you are going to have to do throughout the day. 5

6 12. Sometimes you can motivate yourself to overcome procrastination by creating a sense of fear for non-accomplishment. 1) Ask, What are the negative consequences of not getting this job done on time? 2) What is the worst possible thing that can happen if you do not complete this task as required, on schedule? 13. Often you can motivate yourself by building up your desire in some way. 1) Think about all the benefits you will enjoy by completing this task on time. 2) Visualize and imagine the job as if it were already 100% complete. This mental picture often motivates you into action. 14. You can overcome procrastination by designating a particular time during which you are going to work on this task. 1) Give yourself 15, 30, 60, 90 minutes to work on a specific task, after which you will go and do other things. 2) Set an alarm to go off at the end of the time period, and race against the time, seeing how much you can get done in the time you have allotted. 15. Select one area where procrastination is hurting you more than any other area. 1) Resolve that you are going to defeat procrastination in that one area, or on that one particular type of task. 2) By disciplining yourself to overcome procrastination in one area, you start to overcome procrastination in other areas as well. 6

7 A good written plan, in complete detail, with a list of the tasks and activities necessary is a powerful way to launch you into doing the job. 16. Refuse to rationalize or make excuses for procrastinating or not getting started on the task. 1) Weak people continually make excuses rather than making progress. 2) See yourself as the President of your own personal services corporation, completely responsible for results. 3) Remember, everyone is watching you and measuring you on your ability to get the results expected of you. 17. An excellent way for you to overcome procrastination is to set deadlines, promise yourself and other people that you will have the job done by that time. 1) The more people that you tell that you will complete a task on time, the more internally motivated you will be to work day and night until the task is finished. 2) The more that you know that other people are expecting you to complete the task, the more determined you will be not to let them down. Make overcoming procrastination a game. Play little tricks on yourself to get yourself started and to keep going. Organize your work so that it is easy to start off with one small part of a larger task. Race against the clock. Promise other people you will complete the task on time. Do everything you possibly can to develop the habit of immediate task completion. 7

8 Action Exercises 1. List the three areas where you are most likely to procrastinate in your work: 2. List the three most negative consequences that can occur if you procrastinate and fail to get your key jobs done on time: 3. List the three greatest benefits to you of overcoming procrastination and developing the habit of rapid task completion: 8

9 4. List three areas where you can creatively procrastinate and eliminate tasks to free up more time for getting the results that are expected of you: 5. List your three most popular rationalizations or excuses that you use for procrastinating and not getting started on your major tasks: 6. What three tasks do you usually avoid doing until the last minute? 9

10 7. What are the three most important tasks that you could complete that would have the greatest positive impact on your life and your career? What one action are you going to take immediately to overcome procrastination and get more things done faster? 10