One morning, a simple or busy schedule, difficulty getting started and the quick expression: “I’ll do that later. There’s no rush!”
Have you ever experienced this? This article is probably for you too. Today we’re talking about procrastination.
According to the Larousse dictionary, “procrastination” is:
Tendency to put off until tomorrow, to postpone, to temporize.
Why am I writing about this? Because everyone has been there. And it’s not so much the fact that I’ve been there myself that interests me, but that many of us go through it often. If right now you’re having trouble deciding to take action, you’ve come to the right place; we’re going to talk about it in a few lines.
From my point of view, when procrastination becomes recurrent, there is a strong possibility that it comes from a lack of organization, frustrations or fears.
Sometimes, outside of your area of expertise, you don’t know how to go about achieving something, so you waste time. Sometimes, afraid of the stakes of the problem, you become paralyzed and prefer to postpone, so you waste time. In other cases, you constantly think about yourself, that you are behind others. You focus on it and get stuck.
How to overcome organizational disorganization, frustration, or fear? There are two things to do: plan and act.
Your brain allows you to store astronomical amounts of information. You can’t imagine how much you’ve been able to remember since birth!
Yet your brain has limits. As powerful as it is, you must take care of it. You overload your memory with your spontaneous daily plans, organized or not, often in disarray, and you think you can remember them on time and in order. Wrong! Managing your days like this increases the risk of forgetfulness, inconsistencies, laziness, overspending, and sometimes even disagreements with those around you.
Why not let your brain focus on what really matters, like what the other person is saying right now or the problem you’re trying to mentally solve? Why clutter your memory with information that you could store somewhere to refer to when the time comes?
Whether you’re a calm person or not, the urgency applies to everyone: buy a notepad, plan your days, and take action.
- BUY A NOTEPAD OR DIARY:
You can plan on a piece of paper or a sticky note, or on your smartphone, tablet, or computer. But personally, I recommend taking it seriously and using a real, physical notepad and pencil. You’ll never want to leave your side (some in your purse for women, some in a trouser, shirt, or briefcase pocket for men). Your notepad is almost as important as your wallet.
- PLAN YOUR DAYS:
You are supposed to write there:
- at least once a day (in the morning);
- at best twice a day (morning and evening).
Throughout the day, you consult your notepad. You mark what is done when it is done and you add any tasks that are added as needed.
This is my method. You can use it as inspiration and apply it to your needs and as you wish.
- TAKE ACTION:
What would be the point of writing for the sake of planning? The information you write in your notebook is usually structured (ordered) by order of execution and by order of importance and formatted by yourself. Your notebook is the guide that allows you to remember where to start so that you remain consistent and don’t forget to do anything. It also allows you to ensure that you have a visual of everything that needs to be done. In the end, your pride will come from seeing yourself gradually accomplishing your daily tasks. And above all, from realizing that you have thus conquered “procrastination.”
ULTIMATELY
Gradually, planning pushes you to project yourself further and further into the future, through practice. It makes you a proactive person. Boredom no longer exists, idleness has no place, productivity increases because we realize that there is so much to discover, so much to do, and so little time that we no longer want to waste it.
IF YOU ARE ALREADY USED TO PLANNING AND ACTING
Sometimes you slack off. Note that each time this happens, you feel a drop in your productivity and quality of life. Don’t slack off for long. You know better than I do that time waits for no one. You need to get back on track quickly.
PLAN AND ACT… IT’S NOW OR NEVER!