Procrastination: A Great Way To Booby-Trap Your Life
Hello. My name is David Price...and I'm...I'm a procrastinator. All together now: "Hello, David Price." Yes, it's true, I am a long-time citizen of the procrasti-nation, though I think I would consider myself a recovering procrastinator at this point. It is definitely something I have struggled with most of my life which is why I think I developed into being able to do my best work under pressure nearing a deadline. That's not to say that I think that is the ideal situation and it is something I have been working on over the last several years (especially after entering post-graduate studies), but it's not easy to overcome for those of us less than type-A personalities.
I have learned that the only thing that works for me is to break major tasks into parts and then to give myself a deadline for each of those "mini-tasks." A tool that has helped me structure this sufficiently has been Yahoo Calendar in conjunction with Outlook. Because they can be synchronized, I can put my tasks in Outlook (or directly into Yahoo) and then have Yahoo actually send me automatic update emails (I only recently figured out how to do the email thing, but it's a great way to build in accountability). This also allows me to keep track of what tasks remain to be done and what has been accomplished for that oh-so-sweet feeling of satisfaction. Of course, the secret is not to put off going through the process of planning!
Psychology Today has chimed in on the subject of procrastination in their latest issue. The following excerpt is a part of an article called, "Ten Things To Know About Procrastination.":
So, I know I'm not the only one who has struggled with this tragic flaw. Anybody willing to 'fess up? Come on, now, confession is good for the soul. Do you struggle with it or have you mastered it? If so, what's your secret?
It's OK, you can tell me tomorrow.
(ht: Lifehacker)
I have learned that the only thing that works for me is to break major tasks into parts and then to give myself a deadline for each of those "mini-tasks." A tool that has helped me structure this sufficiently has been Yahoo Calendar in conjunction with Outlook. Because they can be synchronized, I can put my tasks in Outlook (or directly into Yahoo) and then have Yahoo actually send me automatic update emails (I only recently figured out how to do the email thing, but it's a great way to build in accountability). This also allows me to keep track of what tasks remain to be done and what has been accomplished for that oh-so-sweet feeling of satisfaction. Of course, the secret is not to put off going through the process of planning!
Psychology Today has chimed in on the subject of procrastination in their latest issue. The following excerpt is a part of an article called, "Ten Things To Know About Procrastination.":
"There are many ways to avoid success in life, but the most sure-fire just might be procrastination. Procrastinators sabotage themselves. They put obstacles in their own path. They actually choose paths that hurt their performance."I couldn't agree more with that statement and have experienced the frustrations associated with a lack of productivity many, many times. The fact is, we're created for productivity. Having been created in the image of God, we are made to work; to accomplish; to succeed. That doesn't mean that it's always easy to do, though, does it?
So, I know I'm not the only one who has struggled with this tragic flaw. Anybody willing to 'fess up? Come on, now, confession is good for the soul. Do you struggle with it or have you mastered it? If so, what's your secret?
It's OK, you can tell me tomorrow.
(ht: Lifehacker)
Labels: David C. Price
posted by DAVID C. PRICE at 2/13/2006 02:00:00 PM
|
3 Comments:
Alright, I confess. I am one of the biggest procrastinaters in the world. I would say that I am THE biggest, but if so I would probably have put this confession off until later. Don't know what the secret to overcoming it is, but I would definitely be glad to learn. I'm sure it would help me with getting everything done that I need to do nowadays.
Hey man, I was gonna leave a comment a couple days ago but I'm just now "getting around" to it. Are you sure you weren't writing about me?
Kim
Well, I wasn't gonna name names, but...
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home