Procrastination is the Thief of Time
What is procrastination? It is the avoidance of doing a task that needs to be accomplished. It could be further stated as a habitual/intentional delay of starting or finishing a task despite its negative consequences — Wikipedia
For example, let’s say your goal is to be a prolific writer and an insatiable reader. Nonetheless, you know too well that in order for you to achieve this goal, you need to start writing at least a few pages per day to hone your prowess.
You also know, you need to read widely and intensely. But you are not doing any of the above yet. You keep saying in your mind that you will start when the opportune time comes. Unfortunately, such a favorable time will NEVER come. At least it will never CREATE itself.
You have to put your acts together and create that opportunity to start the engine. The keyword here is, you got to ACT. Yes, be active. Proactive.
Remember, what you know cannot change anything in your life and in your world. What you do with what you know is what will bring your desired results. Simply stated, knowledge is great and cool, but wisdom is what makes things change. Yes, Wisdom — applied knowledge!
What do you need to do? You need to set aside some time. Not next year, next month, week, or tomorrow, but now.
So why now? Why should you always value your “now”? Since you are a mortal being, you cannot control what will happen next second. But you have the present and I guess that is why it is called present, yes — a gift! Huh! Right? You can create a conducive environment that can enable you to start writing or doing whatever it is you have been procrastinating, now!
Why is time so important? Look at these well-known facts;
1. Time lost is never recovered.
You can lose money in business, but you can recover much more in future transactions, but not with time.
2. Time is always moving whether we are using it in the right (beneficial) way or not
3. No one can buy time once is lost. Unlike other resources, that can be lost and replaced in one way or the other, time can never be traded.
You’ve heard it said that “Time and tide wait for no man!” That is a cold hard fact. Regardless of who you are, the clock of time will always be ticking. It doesn’t wait for anyone. It respects no one. It keeps on going. Whether I am a master or a slave time goes…
When you procrastinate to do the right thing at the right time, you will eventually fail to achieve your goals and success is not yours to behold.
When you fail to discharge your duties or responsibilities in time, you will find yourself without enough time to do so later.
Do you sometimes wish you had the ability to turn back the hands of time? You are not alone. All of us do, especially on missed opportunities.
Despite all that, there are ways you can avoid procrastination by following simple proven ways. These are things that you probably already know, you just need to do them.
#1 Handle any potential distractions
Avoid distractions. In order to be present in mind while deeply getting consumed in a task at hand, always create an environment that reduces needless interruptions.
For example, you can mute notifications on your mobile phones or laptop. You can sign out from social media pages and concentrate on the writing or reading whatever you want to do.
Set up a work area facing a window that opens to a scenery that is calm and quiet and not with so many activities going on outside. By doing this you reduce distractions.
# 2. 10 Minutes Daily Preview
Remember not everything you do every day will move you closer to your ultimate goal.
There many tasks that crave for your attention. But remember, you don’t have to run frantically in a helter-skelter manner like a headless chicken in order to achieve your goal.
Calmness and orderliness is the king. These two are the recipe for your success. So how do get this duo?
At times we are all pressed with a thousand minor cares. In order to succeed, you must set aside ten (10) minutes, every morning to preview your day.
Point-by-point, prioritize your tasks. Group your tasks together that can be done at the same time (batching) — following one another to avoid unnecessary repetition.
Check which tasks will consume most of your time. Is there a way to automate some of these tasks? What can you delegate to others? Do you need to travel from one point to another? Can you combine some errands?
# 3. What Are Your Most Important Things?
Note all the important things for the day. For example, in order to write an interesting article, you must do research on the internet on the keyword(s) first. So, research must take priority!
Then collect at least 5 great articles from the internet and read all of them before you write your original copy.
The order of action also must flow along.
# 4. Eat that frog first.
What? Yes. Well…not literally.
This means that you start by doing the hardest tasks first. That way you will have almost a surefire way of getting a successful day and you might as well hit one of your milestones.
The task that may first seem overwhelming, can turn out to be achievable after all.
# 5. Break down Big Tasks into Smaller Tasks.
Big tasks are intimidating at first. Then again remember, if you divide this big task into smaller manageable tasks, it will be easier to accomplish a lot.
Take, for instance, if you set to write 10,000 words per week, you could divide it into 5 days and write say 2,000 words a day for five days and proofread it on the sixth and seventh day. This is practical and achievable.
Conversely, if you procrastinate until the sixth day and write all 10,000 words in one sitting that would be tough. Well maybe you can do it, but it will require more sweat than former way!
So, to work at your optimum without any modicum of stress, always avoid procrastination like plague!
Call to Action:
Always take smaller steps in time that have compound effect towards your goal than to wait and make a quantum leap!
