333: Stop Procrastinating NOW! (or soon) - Part 4 - 11 Practical Steps To Productivity

The concluding episode in a short series about the roots of, forms of and remedies for procrastination. INTRODUCTION: -A brief review of the series -Four Simple Reasons for Procrastination (Difficulty, Time-consuming, Lack of knowledge or skills, Fears) -Four More Complex Reasons for Procrastination (Perfectionism, Anger/Hostility, Low Frustration Tolerance, Self-Downing) 11 PRACTICAL STEPS TO PRODUCTIVITY: 1. Know What you Want/Identify 2. Belief/Attitude 3. Make a Plan 4. Decision 5. Determination 6. Do the Work/Commit 7. Practice Resilience 8. Have Reminders 9. Start Small 10. Practice Patience 11. Recharge COMMON IMPEDIMENTS & RATIONALIZATIONS (from Cal Poly Academic Skills Center (ASC): Procrastination) Mañana - "I'll do it tomorrow." Contingent mañana - "I'll do it tomorrow, if ..." Grasshopperism - "I need to have some well-earned fun first." (In aesop's fable, the grasshopper fiddled and played all summer while the ants stored up winter supplies. When winter came, the grasshopper suffered.) Escapism - "I've got to get out for a while to clear my mind." Impulsiveness - "My problem will be solved if I change my major, or attend a different college, or... " Music and reading - "I'll relax a while and then get started." Cavalry to the Rescue - "The professor will get sick and cancel finals!" "I'm more productive when I work under pressure, so I'm postponing all my work until the pressure builds up and then I'll get it done easily." "I don't know how to do this problem, so I'm waiting until I know how before I do it." "This job is easier to do when I'm in the mood, and I'm simply not in the mood right now." "I waited until the last moment before and it worked out okay, so why not this time?" "If I wait until the last minute, I won't spend so much time on it." "Circumstances beyond my control prevented me from doing so." "I've worked on this for so long that I have no interest or energy for it." Shop: Look Closer: Cal Poly Academic Skills Center (ASC): Procrastination - http://sas.calpoly.edu/asc/ssl/procrastination.html 10 Ways to Push Yourself to Excel at Work in the New Year - http://www.lifehack.org/articles/work/10-ways-push-yourself-excel-work-the-new-year.html HOW WE PROCRASTINATE - http://www.unstuck.com/how-we-procrastinate.html David Allen, Getting Things Done - http://www.davidco.com/ The Trivium method - http://www.triviumeducation.com/ tragedyandhope.com - http://www.tragedyandhope.com/ Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rational_emotive_behavior_therapy ABC Worksheet - http://www.stressgroup.com/ABCworksheet.html It's About Time:The 6 Styles of Procrastination and How to Overcome Them - http://www.orgcoach.net/overcomeprocrastination.html