The Spanish called it Mañana Habit and had reason to call it a habit or a lifestyle. Procrastination is a deadly lifestyle once it gets into your system. Not only that it disrupts regular patterns of activity by putting off for tomorrow what can be done in the now. By continuing a habit of procrastination especially in the workplace, you aren’t far from seeing huge pile of paperwork and mounds of tasks snowballing towards a giant compact ball of things you should have done but did not do.
Procrastination is a condition that you should not disregard. For a professional, student, or almost anybody for that matter, take charge of your habits and make a decision to go from this disruptive behavior and channel your energy into something productive. Here are ten tips that are meant to help you stabilize your defense against procrastination and keep you going on the right track once more.
1.Mission Critical Method. Before leaving work for the day, do take a few minutes and identify three “Mission Critical” items that you need to accomplish. Begin with only three to start your recovery. Do these before leaving and never put them off for the next day. It will take less time than you think it would and it would free up some space during tomorrow’s shift.
2.Have a nice and healthy breakfast within one hour from your waking time. The body’s energy needs are at its peak during this time so make sure you fuel up to get the much needed energy for productive work.
3.Develop a habit of doing things when they’re supposed to be done. You could do this by coming up with a regular morning warm up routine. You could do some stretching, yoga, meditation exercises, or stretching. By doing the same stuff everyday, you make your body healthier and you develop a habit of doing things on time.
4.In managing approvals from others, remind them that their inputs are valid but decisions have deadline issues. Value their input then forge ahead.
5.Take control of your physical activities as well as energy throughout the day. Make sure you’re getting enough nutrition to provide energy for two to three hours. The brain and body needs to be fed with healthy fuel to encourage logical thinking and good decision-making.
6.Upon arrival at the office or workstation, don’t immediately plunge into the stacks of paperwork or launch emails and other applications. Start with something light like listening to music for five minutes and do breathing exercises. Brace yourself and you’ll be more synched for the day.
7.Block off some time in your calendar for doing the easy things that you have been putting off. This gives you more time to do the mission critical tasks and gives you less reason to procrastinate because of lack of time.
8.Do the most important tasks when you’re at your peak and when energy levels are high. For most people, the 9 – 10 AM window is the best time for mission critical items. Know your body and work according to its strengths. The less stress work brings on you, the more you’ll be willing to accept tasks and not put them off.
9.Close or minimize distractions. These include unimportant stuff like a personal instant messenger application. Sometimes, closing your email and just checking it at regular intervals would keep you focused on your tasks. After all, if they really need you they’ll give you a call.
10.Utilize available technology. All-in-one applications like Microsoft Outlook takes different items and puts them in one integrated interface. Task lists, email, due dates, meetings can be found in your panel at a glance.
The bottom-line is simple. Get your body in tip-top shape and lessen the reasons to procrastinate. After all, it’s a personal choice.