Are
you a victim of laziness, a root cause of procrastination? Do you often suffer
because of what you initially considered as easy has turned difficult with the
loss of time, and what appeared hard, due to further delay, has become
impossible now? You may draw comfort from the fact that you are in the company
of many that are affected by procrastination. But you must realize that you
will experience true comfort, if you get rid of your laziness by shaking
yourself up into action. Like many others, you can indeed stop procrastinating
and start meeting deadlines, by following a few simple steps that teach you
effective time management.
1. Plan your daily must-do activities. Draw
up a to-do list; preferably, write it down on paper; or, use a computer if you
prefer.
2. Prioritize the activities, the more
important ones taking precedence over the less important. If there are urgent
things to do, but not important enough to be worried about if not done, put
them below the important ones. The idea is based on the established principle
that 80% of rewards accrue from 20% of effort directed towards accomplishing
important work.
3. Estimate the time required for each of
the listed activities after analyzing their complexity. Avoid underestimation,
as you may not have enough time to do well a particular of piece of work.
Similarly, avoid overestimation, for that may leave some activities without
enough time. A realistic budgeting of time is a must. Time allocation is a
skill that is acquired with experience. So keep reviewing and revising your
time schedule as you progress.
4. Organize your life. That will help you
avoid wasting your precious time and leave more time for the actual work. Remember indiscipline causes confusion, even
chaos, in life. It eats into your time. Avoid sloppiness. For instance, leave
your personal belongings of daily use, like your glasses, your clothing, your
computer etc., in the same place. If you
do, you won’t need to spend time looking for them all over the place. Apply the
principle of doing work first and then taking time for pleasure and relaxation.
Reverse the order only at the pain of falling prey to procrastination. You can
get time for rest and relaxation if you are efficient in doing your assigned
work.
5. Start working bit by bit. You may see a
mountain at first, but mountains can be moved, especially if you begin by
moving just a small stone from it. You know you cannot move the entire mountain
all at once. Do not be overwhelmed by the immensity of the task before you.
That will put you off. And you will put
off the task for another day, which will never come. Just begin by taking one
small step and you will invariably reach your destination.
6. Put first things first early in the day.
Remember procrastination grows into a habit by the minute. Begin your day by
launching yourself head first into the most important job waiting to be done.
7. Learn to cope with anxiety, depression,
stress and other similar conditions of the mind related to your problems in
life. Keep yourself fit, not just physically but mentally as well. Learn and
practice suitable mental relaxation techniques such as meditation.
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