6 steps to overcome procrastination

Have you ever thought what the world’s most deadliest disease is? (The one which plunges you from your own success and well-being.) It’s a single word that dominates in your entire life; Procrastination. As a bookaholic, I have read many books especially in the genre of self-improvement. Every great mind of our human era have spoken about procrastination, about not doing our important tasks at its first place.

I came through a book named ‘Eat that frog’ by Brian Stacy recently which is a complete masterpiece about how to avoid procrastination. Brian Stacy conveys various strategies and methodologies regarding the alignment of important tasks of your life and how to eat those slices within a short estimated period of time. So how to overcome procrastination? The following are some of the best ways to overcome procrastination.

1. Think in paper.

Have you ever thought of aligning your tasks in your life? Maybe in your office or in your personal life. The first and foremost step to avoid procrastination is to write in a paper all your works that you are doing currently. Once you have written all your tasks in a paper, you have to categorize the tasks based on the 80/20 rule, which is the second step on how to beat procrastination.

2. 80/20 rule.

20% of your contribution in the listed work produces about 80% of the result you are being aching for. The rest listed workloads are time consuming but of little valued stuffs, from which comes the third point.

3. A,B,C,D formula 

The practise of putting away low value workloads by prioritizing your work list, the A,B,C,D formula. The workload under the list A is the mandatory highly efficient works that are to be done immediately. B categorizes the less mandatory works that are to be completed but not immediately. And so on, the grade goes down. The tasks under E are of no value which does not impact your life even if it is not done.

4. Upgrade your key skill. 

Learning is a never ending process. Updating yourself and upgrading your key skills to the latest technology in market and of your need is the necessary step to sustain with the flow of your work. Failing in up-gradation of your key skills directly impacts on your work life.

5. Take one step at a time. 

Don’t rush yourself. Plan your work hours and execute according to the plan. Take one step at a time. Multi-tasking isn’t important but completing the most important task on your list in the particular estimated time with proper efficiency and without any error in it is the most important key stone for your success in overcoming procrastination.

6. Last but not the least, Sleep.

Sleep and rest are two main key features to boost and recharge your brain. 

Even a machine needs some rest to avoid mal-functioning and other technical issues. What about our fellow humans? Even if you drag you to hell in order to complete your work in a particular time without resting, you will take a hell lot of time than your normal productive hours to complete that particular task. But the sad part is that you can’t recognize that you have been non-productive for the entire period. So enough amount of sleep and rest are vital for your body to remain in action when you are about to procrastinate.

I would like to make a note here. Every human in this world, starting from the great scientists to our normal fellow beings are procrastinators. There is no one in the sector of non-procrastinators. But what matters is how much time you spend on your idle state.

Months, hours, days, hours, minutes or seconds, it’s up to you.

About the Author:

Shripathy Swaminathan is a passionate writer and an aspiring author from the Manchester city of India. Graduating in the field of engineering, he started his quest to find the writer in himself in order to inspire people by his thoughts.

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