Powerful Paddling in the Shallow Waters of Procrastination.

Posted on August 19, 2012 by David Newsome, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

I have a few more days! It can wait until….? This is the mantra of the procrastinator. I define procrastination as a dream deferred. In my opinion, it’s more serious than just putting off a specific task. When a person delays a specific task or duty, it creates a wide-reaching chain of events that inevitably changes the desired outcome. In addition, procrastination has a high cost to others as well as oneself; it shifts the burden of responsibilities onto others, who can become resentful. Procrastination destroys teamwork in the workplace and private relationships. In order for the person to understand why they procrastinate on a habitual level, they need to understand how deep the procrastination lives within them.

In Deon Du Plessis’ How to Define Procrastination to Get the Most out of Yourself, Du Plessis states that for many people procrastination is something that they associate and identify themselves with far too easily. The challenge is that once you identify with a behavior (positive and negative) it becomes part of who you are and your experiences and actions are filtered through this identity. My experience has led me to believe that procrastination becomes a way of life, an attitude. Just as a person can be known for being friendly, having a great smile, the procrastinator is known for what they don’t do—get things done in a timely fashion!

As with any habitual condition, procrastination does not have to be a lifelong phenomenon. There are steps a person can take to stave off this level of irresponsibility. Whether they are putting off an assignment for work, school or just hoping that the one thing they needed to handle a week ago would go away, overcoming procrastination can be as simple as a couple of steps:

• Anticipate roadblocks – when you begin to pursue whatever you were putting off, know that things may not come easy. Realize that when the glitches arrive, they may serve to dampen what motivated you to start this process in the first place.
• Show yourself something different – If you planned on taking that 5 mile run in the evening after work, get up earlier and do it before work. The change in habits will jump start your life and if consistent, change the way you think and react when you make a commitment to accomplish a task.
• Reward yourself – everyone has to have something with which to look forward. Arrange a reward for yourself when you complete the assigned task. The reward will serve as the focal point and keep you from thinking about the task at hand.
• Give yourself a break – don’t be hard on yourself. Everyone has hang-ups! The only failure is in not trying.
• Practice makes perfect – practice starting the task and then get into the habit of finishing what you start. The feeling you will get once the task is complete will last a lifetime. Seek out those feelings each time you begin something new.
• Go public – by going public, you put pressure on yourself to perform. You become accountable not only to yourself but also to everyone you told.

When you are stranded on procrastination island, there is no one available to help you develop the courage to break the waves, get out of the shallows, traverse the open ocean and get back to civilization but the one person who helped you put things off in the first place – you! Paddle powerfully and consistently using the tools above and they will help you get back on track, making good decisions, finishing those important and not so important projects on time and being the steady, dependable person you knew you had the ability to become. While today’s economy is challenged, it is the best time to make an investment – an investment in you. Stop procrastinating by taking one step forward today.