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Procrastination

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Now Or Later Signpost Shows Delay Deadlines And Urgency

“Procrastination is the bad habit of putting of until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.”

– Napoleon Hill

In our lives, there are important tasks we love to push over to the next day because they appear to be boring and mundane. When we keep pushing important tasks to the next day or say to ourselves, “I will do it later” recognize that you have been bitten by the procrastination bug, well not literally.

So what is Procrastination?

Procrastination happens when you do something that is more fun and enjoyable or that you are more comfortable at doing instead of doing important tasks that would ultimately lead you to your goals.

When you procrastinate it signals the failure to focus, and when you fail to focus on activities which would lead you to your goal, you often tend to lose sight of your goal, and thus your goals become a distant dream, buried in the unwanted activities which would leave you unproductive and feeling empty.

How do I recognize when I Procrastinate?

To control procrastination you must begin to recognize when you start to procrastinate and be aware of it.

An example of procrastination could be, say if your goal was to be fit and get in shape, then one of your major activities to reach this goal would be to exercise on a daily basis. Exercising daily could be monotonous and boring although a major requirement in order to reach your goal of being fit and getting in shape, so you may tend to instead watch your favorite program on TV, or catch up with your friends on Facebook as these activities are more fun to do. Soon you would be so caught up in these fun activities that you would forget about your exercise routine.

Does this sound familiar?

Well, Procrastination happens because normally as human beings we tend to choose the easier route if we are provided with two options.

So watching TV or browsing the Internet instead of exercising would be an easy and fun option as it requires less effort and we are comfortable with it. Well, this was just an example.

When we get into the habit of procrastination its effects can be very disastrous. Say if you are a professional and if you procrastinate, delaying critical tasks could have an adverse effect on your career and promotions. If you are a student, procrastination would drastically affect your results and grades. If you feel unwell and sick and procrastinate on meeting a doctor or seeking medical help, the consequences could be life threatening. So you see, everyone seems to be affected by procrastination.

“Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases and its toll on success and happiness is heavy. “

– Wayne Gretzky

You must try hard to break the habit of procrastination if you need to move ahead in your life and become successful.

In the next post I will give you some Important Tips and Insights on How to Overcome Procrastination in your life.

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Setting Goals you can achieve.

By on in Self-Help

Blue Goals Word Showing Objectives Hope Aiming Mission And Future

Introduction.

Just as a Sailor has a map when he sets out on a voyage, in the same way it is important for us to have a proper map before we set out on the journey of life. In most walks of life this seems to be true, consider an architect going ahead with a building without a proper blueprint in place, things would turn out to be a disaster. So planning and setting goals is paramount if we want to be successful in life.

What are Goals ?

Goals help us to set our objectives and helps us move towards accomplishing various human needs like Financial needs ( To be debt free, save for retirement and so on), Emotional needs ( Have better relationships, better family bonding), Physical needs  (Staying fit, exercising regularly, losing weight), Spiritual needs ( Connecting with the higher power, doing charitable works).

So an example of a financial goal could be, “I want to be debt free by 31st of December” , or a Physical goal could be, “I want to lose 20 pounds by Christmas”.

Why is Goal Setting Important ?

Goals give you a roadmap or direction towards reaching your desired outcome in life. Goals keeps you committed and focused, so you always know what you are aiming for. This helps you accomplish tasks easily and be less overwhelmed.

What are the types of Goals ?

Goals could be Short Term, which could range from 3-6 months to 1 year. Medium Term, which could be any where from 2 – 5 years. Finally Long Term, which could be anywhere in the range from 10 – 20 years. So basically all your goals will fall into one of these 3 categories.

What are the Components of a Goal?

Goals should be

Specific

This means the goal must be clear and unambiguous.

Measurable

If a goal cannot be measured, it is not possible to determine whether you are making progress towards its successful completion.

Attainable

It means goals that are realistic and not impossible.

Relevant

It is important to choose goals that matter. Ask yourself the question is this goal worthwhile?

Time Bound

Set a deadline or a target date for completing a goal.

How can I set Goals ?

The first step towards goal setting is to identify the area in which you would like to set your goal. This could be Financial, Emotional, Physical or Spiritual. Now write down your goals in each of these areas you choose. Keep writing down all goals you would like to accomplish in each of these four sections till you have a long list.

Now identify your Short, Medium and Long Term Goals. After this shortlist your most important Short, Medium and Long term goals. If you have set very big goals it might be a better idea to divide bigger goals into smaller manageable sub goals.

For any goal to be a success, it is essential to ask the key question why is this goal  important for me. List down all the reasons below each of your goals why is that goal really important for you. This process gives you the passion or inner drive, which is the fuel that steers you towards reaching your goal.

Next, set specific deadlines for your goals. Goals without deadlines seldom get accomplished. Finally, revisit your Goals on a regular basis. This helps to keep you on track towards accomplishing your goal.

How can I stay motivated when I start to pursue my goal?

When your Goals are enormous in size, it is normal that after working on your goals for a few days you may lose interest, and may consider quitting.

The best way to overcome Goal fatigue is to divide your goals into smaller sub goals or milestones. This helps you to accomplish your smaller sub goals much easily and when you accomplish a milestone you feel motivated. It is a good idea to celebrate achieving milestone, consider rewarding yourself on achieving a milestone, this could be as simple as going out for a movie or going to your favorite restaurant.

Another good strategy to keep yourself motivated is to work with like minded people, for example if you workout at a gym, you could consider having a gym partner. This not only keeps you more accountable towards your goal, but also your peer group can give you valuable tips and insights, which can help you reach your goals much faster.

Conclusion.

Just as the old saying goes, “If we fail to plan, we plan to fail”, it is very important for each one of us to set goals in our life and take action to accomplish each set goal.

 

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Using To Do Lists to stay organized.

By on in Self-Help

ToDo-Small

As responsibilities increase we see ourselves inundated with more and more tasks. While it is wonderful to make progress in our life and take on more tasks, we must realize that we still have limited resources of time, energy and focus.

When we are busy juggling with too many tasks, it is very easy to overlook tasks which matter the most to us and which are most important. This happens when we try to make a mental note of the tasks and try to take on the tasks from this mental list that we prepare. Even the most intelligent person, or the person with a razor sharp memory may tend to forget tasks when we just make a mental note of it without putting down the list of tasks on Paper. There have been several times, when I have overlooked or forgotten an Important task just because I did not make a note of it on paper or on my smartphone and tried to rely on my memory for it.

Does this story sound familiar to you? Dont worry you have To Do Lists to your rescue.

So what is a To Do List ?

A To Do list is a list of tasks you have to get done. You may make a To Do List on paper, on your PC or even nowadays with the advent of smartphones and apps it can be made on your smartphone.

Why bother to make a To Do List ?

Making a To Do List has the following Advantages

a. The most important advantage is that it makes you more organized and focused.

b. Memory is a limited resource and often due to every day stress we may tend to forget tasks which we have made a mental note of, so making a note of it on a paper, PC, or on your smartphone could be a wiser choise.

c. Helps you from feeling overwhelmed thus reducing your stress, as tasks are listed down.

d. Once you list down your tasks it is easy to sort out your most important tasks.

How do I make a To Do List ?

a. Carry a small notepad with you to write down your tasks, nowadays even a smartphone can help you log your tasks.

b. Firstly write down tasks as they come to your mind however trivial they may be, this will help you capture the task you got to do without forgetting it.

c. Now that you have got all your tasks listed down, move the most important tasks to the top of the list. So the tasks with the highest priority are on the top of your list.

d. The topmost task is the task which requires your full attention and the task which you must aim at completing first.

e. On finishing a task on your To Do List, put a Tick Mark against the same.

f. At the end of the day review your To Do List to determine the tasks you completed and tasks which are incomplete.

g. The incomplete tasks can be moved onto your To Do List for your next day

Repeat these steps to build your To Do List and stay on top of your tasks.

The Key step is to review your To Do List at the end of the day and move the pending tasks to your To Do list for the next day.

Also do not forget to move the most important tasks to the top of the list as those are the tasks which require your complete undivided attention.

So get focused and stay productive.

If you like this article and would like to take your productivity and focus to the next level, be sure to check out this eBook now available on Amazon.

 

Productivity

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Get Focused – Your Key to Success.

By on in Self-Help

Staying Focuced is key to achieving success in your life. This video gives you some practical tips on how to stay focused and be productive. Enjoy the Video !!!

If you would like to take your focus to the next level and Finish what you have Started and achieve your life goals be sure to check out this new eBook available now on Amazon.

Productivity

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