Goal Setting: Stop Procrastinating
   

Procrastination is the goal killer. It eats away at your time and energy. It prevents you from ever getting started, and you can never finish a project that has never begun. Here are some of the major reasons why people procrastinate and what you can do to put it off.

Poor time management can be a reason for procrastination, especially if you do not have a clear grasp on how much time is available. You might have difficulty prioritizing the tasks, or trying to do too many things at once. It helps to clearly identify your goals and to write them down. Rank the goals in order of importance. The more important goals should be worked on first. Set yourself small goals with specific time limits on them. However, you should not spend so much time in the planning phase of a project that the project itself never gets started. Remember too that no plan will ever be set in concrete and some changes will be necessary. Over-planning and subsequently not making tasks is just as devastating as under-planning.

You might feel anxious or overwhelmed by your task, so you spend more time worrying about what you might be doing wrong instead of just plunging in and working on it. Maybe you are filled with negative feelings about yourself or your ability to complete the project. You might feel that there is no reason to work on goal if you do not do it perfectly. Stop! Positive thinking will go a long way with this. Change words such as “can’t” to choose not to – quite often you really can and it is just your mental attitude that is holding you back. Think back on projects that you have completed successfully and the steps that you took to get through those. Or think about another item that you are good at and use it to boost your self-esteem. If you are concerned about the quality of your work, remember that something is better than nothing every time. Give yourself credit, too. We are often our own worst critics, and those glaring imperfections that you see might be barely visible to someone else.

Some people will procrastinate when they are not sure exactly what they should be doing for their goal. Who do you ultimately report too? Who gave you this project? Is there a boss or teacher that this goal is for? If so, go back to them for further instructions and clarification. If this is a personal goal, go back to the drawing board – what is keeping you from reaching your goal? Why have you not already completed it? Do you need special equipment? Write out all of your obstacles and how to overcome them. This will then be your plan and instructions on how to get what you want.

Other people become bored or have difficulty concentrating on the goal. Take a step back – are you working on this the most efficient way that you can? What could you be doing differently? Think about how you work best. Do you work better with music on or off? Do you work better in the mornings or in the evenings? Sometimes, just stopping work on one aspect of the goal and focusing on another aspect can get you going again. Usually, how you get from point A to point B is not as important as the fact that you actually get there. Make a list of things that are distracting you and do whatever you can to avoid them.

Still other people just never have learned how to sort through problems. If you are one of those people, try to recognize procrastination and what you get from it. Do you gain something? Then try and figure out how best to fix it – sometimes talking with a counselor will help, while for others a self-help book or program will do magic. Realizing that you even have the problem in the first place is the first step to fixing it.

Then of course there is just the plain avoidance of doing something that we dislike or that is uncomfortable. At this point it is important to realize that no one else is going to do the task for us, so that if we want it done we have to do it ourselves. Make sure that you have all the equipment that you need and a comfortable place to work. Reward yourself for your success – even if you are just meeting a small goal.

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by SolveYourProblem.com : 2006

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