Stop Putting Things Off Until the Last Minute
We all put things off at some point in our lives; it’s a part of our human nature. But have you ever counted the times that you’ve procrastinated until time expired? You’ll be amazed at how much opportunity is lost if each little thing put off is recorded.
Do this: Cut out a blank piece of paper the size of a business card. On the top write a brand new task that needs to be done in the near future. Write the time frame it must be completed in on the upper left hand corner, and rate the difficulty on a scale from the 1 to 5 (5 being the most difficult) on the upper right hand corner. Every time you fail to use an open spot on your schedule to work on your undertaking, place a tally mark on the piece of paper. Keep this in your wallet or purse. This will help you to understand how much you REALLY do procrastinate.
I had to study for my finance test that was coming up in two weeks. I rated the difficulty a 3.5 and wrote that I had 9 days to study. I only ended up receiving an 85% on the test, and I wrote 8 tally marks on my paper. Those 8 missed opportunities could have been used to get me an A on the test.
Don’t lie to yourself when you are evaluating, you will only be hurting yourself. You cannot improve on your weakness when you try to ignore your faults all the time. Be true to yourself and you’ll be able to take better control of your life. When you evaluate your tasks, always compare similar difficulties and time frames. If you slack off on an average of 10 times for a certain obligation, bring it down to 9 or 8. Go at a steady pace, but keep on improving. You’ll feel better about yourself for knocking off those annoying chores that linger around, and you will have more time on your hands.
