Your “Someday” Goals: Stop Procrastinating
   

"Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today." We've all confronted this old adage in our everyday lives, sometimes under painful circumstances. For many of us, the biggest obstacle to obtaining our goals is not a lack of resources, courage, or hard work, but rather a proclivity toward procrastination. We put things off, and this constant procrastination proves to be the death of our goals. We become, as another famous old adage puts it, our own worse enemy. Here are a few tips on how to avoid procrastination and get on the road to realizing those often hazy, "someday" goals.

The first step to avoiding procrastination is to articulate all the goals you want to accomplish, whether they are personal or professional. Being clear about what you want pulls your goals out of that fuzzy, nebulous realm of "someday" goals, and into the real workaday world of achieving your dreams. Take out a pad of paper and pen. Even better, if you keep a personal journal, take that out. If you've never kept a journal or diary in your life, now would be a good time to start. Write down everything you would like to accomplish. Be as specific as possible. Don't say, "I would like to be thin." Write instead, "I will lose 25 pounds by August 1st." You might also want to write down motivating reminders on post-it notes. Hang these notes wherever you think you might need a reminder. Your mirror, journal, and refrigerator door—any place where you think you might need a reminder. The clearer you are about your goals, the greater the chance you will achieve them.

In order to push past your procrastination to achieve your goals, you'll have to learn effective time management. The secret to tackling a large goal is to break it up into manageable parts. Write down your goal, along with the different steps you must take in order to accomplish your goal. You may also want to write out a plan for yourself. Schedule your goal into your schedule. Make a little time each day that's dedicated to achieving your goal. Try to schedule this "goal" time around approximately the same time each day. Organize your work area and environment. Your environment should be conducive to your long-term goal seeking.

If you think that building a schedule for achieving your goal might not be enough to get you moving. Here are a few other tricks that can get you going. First, don't beat yourself up over your tendency toward procrastination. Don't plan on making a drastic transformation. Rather, be honest with yourself about your work habits, and address your specific vulnerabilities. For instance, if you tend to get bogged down easily and abandon large projects mid-stream, plan to start off small and easily, and then build gradually. Give yourself the advantage of not taking too much all at once. Also, pledge to work on your goal daily. This needn't mean that you have to tie yourself to your desk. Simply plan on doing something everyday that leads to you realizing your goal. Even if it's something small, this daily work will help you cultivate a working routine. Remember, even the smallest step can sometimes make the difference.

Another helpful trick is to build in procrastinating time into your schedule. Don't assume that you'll be working non-stop to accomplish your goal. Be realistic about it. What has worked for you in the past? What hasn't? If you think your work benefits from taking some time off occasionally, go ahead and schedule this time into your working schedule.

Another way to avoid procrastination and achieve your "someday" goals is to build a good support network of friends. Tell your friends and family members about your goal, and enlist their aid. Have a designated person to talk to whenever you feel disappointed or lacking in motivation. It's also important that you adopt a positive attitude while working on your goal. Give yourself permission to take it easy at first, and then gradually build into a routine of steady work. Be prepared to forgive yourself for backsliding. Don't make excuses. Simply pick up where you left on, and move ahead with your project.

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by SolveYourProblem.com : 2006

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