The pursuit of success is intrinsic to most of us and we are more drawn to accomplishments, however the main hurdle to realizing them is the habits we have formed. There might be some other reasons contributing to failure, though there is one thing that is absolutely pernicious, even talented people fall prey to such habit and subsequently their potential is not tapped into. It’s called procrastination. In this article, we are going to see how we can get rid of such behavioral phenomenon. To simply put it, procrastination is a tendency to put off or delay things without any reason. It is such a habit that causes a person to delay what he needs to be done, due to laziness and lethargy. It is pathetic for people to be in search of perfect opportunity and proper time and in this way a big chunk of their life becomes wasted. To tackle or treat such disease of procrastination, the famous author and self help guru wrote a phenomenal book titled as ‘Eat that Frog’. The book is stocked with the methods that help you overcome the habit of procrastination. Frog is the assignment that has been laid on the table for weeks and you don’t take steps to complete it. Frog is that phone call that you have been willing to do for past months and you feel hampered to do it. Frog is that power point presentation that you wanted to forward to your boss, but you haven’t finished it yet. Frog is that online course that you intended to apply but for some reasons you are unwilling. Eat that Frog refers to doing that every action that you run away from. There are some workable techniques to overcome and fight against procrastination which are as follows:
1. Set the table: You should lay the table to begin your next project and the goals attached to it must be clear. You should have clarity of thought. Before you start doing something, you should see its objectives and goals. Being unclear about goals is one of the major cause of procrastination. Clarity brings motivation, the more clearer your goals are, the more motivated you feel. Ambiguity and lack of clarity lead to confusion and disorder which causes you to procrastinate. When you are not clear about things, how can you execute them. In order to execute any task, three steps need to be followed:
a) Decide what exactly you want: Before you set to work on your goals, make firm decision. Of course you will be confronted with many challenges but since you have decided, you won’t hesitate.
b) Write it down: when you write down your goals, they become tangible. It help you organize yourselves mentally. And it is the first step towards starting your journey.
c) Set a deadline on your goal: Nothing can be achieved without setting a deadline. You should make certain that there is a deadline attached to your goal.
2. Plan everyday in advance: If you plan everyday, you will get a direction in your life. Starting to do lists and plan each thing you are going to execute throughout the day will get you closer to your goals. Once you develop this habit of planning things beforehand, procrastination will take to its heels.
3. Apply the 80/20 rule to everything: This rule is called Pareto principle which was first introduced by Italian economist Velfredo Pareto. The fundamental concept of this rule is that 80% of the output or results stem from 20% of the input or action. 80% of the outcomes come from 20% of the efforts. 20% of your work determines the 80% of your results. Every economic activities follow Pareto principle to get better results. Now you have to find out the tasks that need to be executed to get more results. Your life will be in state of equilibrium by following this principle.
4. Consider the consequences: You need to be aware of the consequences of your work before you begin it. If a particular task is executed or avoided, you need to get acquainted with how it affects you in the long run. And this is how you can make sound decisions about your time.
5. Practice creative procrastination: This one is somewhat paradoxical. Basically, the author believes that you cannot do everything you have decided. So you should pick out the tasks that seem difficult but have much worth and that it will help you in the long run. These kind of tasks have to be done as soon as you get up in the morning, so you will spend rest of the day being less burdened. And that tasks that are doable can put up with mild delay. The point that the author is trying to make here is to eat the ugliest, worst and most difficult frog in the morning.
6. Focus on key result areas: Here you need to find out the areas where you get maximum results. In whichever occupation you are, you should be able to distinguish between important and unimportant that helps you increase your efficiency. Every work you are involved in comprises significant and insignificant areas, areas that concern you need to be identified to maximize your effectiveness.
7. Leverage your special talent: Every person has a special talent. The point is to find it out and put it to use that leads to the maximum growth and improvement of overall personality. Once you take advantage of your talent, it will help you succeed in your life and make a powerful impact on the world.
8. Identify your key constraints: Hurdles and impediments need to be identified that hamper your growth. It is essential to identify them and put them away in order to accelerate your growth. Otherwise if you fail to do so, you will find it hard improving your life. To be unaware of your constraints is also one of the causes of procrastination and you keep putting off your tasks because you have trouble identifying the impediments that slow down your progress.
The most productive thing to do after you wake up in the morning is to start the most difficult, crucial and challenging task. Mostly people tend to avoid doing the things that require effort and toil. This particular task has the most impact on you, so it needs to be completed anytime throughout the day. Since it is often delayed or put off, it keeps creating distraction not allowing us to do even the low value tasks. Therefore, it is a wonderful habit finishing it off early in the morning and avoid distractions that come with it if it is not done.
(Author is a freelancer. The views, opinions, facts, assumptions, presumptions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the authors and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)
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