Photo Courtesy of Amir K. (flickr)
I love to procrastinate whenever possible. I find very creative ways to put off doing things I need to accomplish. The funny thing is that I sometimes procrastinate on doing things I enjoy, as well as things I don’t. My to-do list is always too long. My time is always too limited. My energy level is always too low. My priorities are always too jumbled. At least, these are the things I tell myself all the time, whether they are true or not. Procrastination is a choice like anything else. The trick is to realize when you are procrastinating and make some small changes to procrastinate more intelligently. I’m not going to argue that you should eliminate procrastinating, because it can be very useful. I actually believe that procrastination is a fine art and you should take the time to master it. Sometimes you have to avoid procrastinating, and sometimes you’ll need to exploit it to your advantage. Take a look at the ideas I’ve put together below and let me know what you think.
Do the Worst Things First
I have adopted a new priority and goal accomplishment plan of action that I stole from Matt Morris, author of The Unemployed Millionaire. In his book he outlines his ABC priority system that requires you to take a hard look at what you need to get done and separate those items from what you simply want to do. ‘A’ priority items are absolutely essential to get accomplished immediately. ‘B’ priority items are important, but can be delayed. ‘C’ priority items are nice, but have no deadline or real necessity. Strangely enough, if you spend enough time looking at your to-do list, most items will fall into the ‘C’ category. If your plan is to accomplish the most important tasks each day, which it should be, then your goal is to focus only on ‘A’ priority items and do those first thing in the morning. By focusing your energy and time on the thing that’s bugging you the most, and you do it early in the day, you will free up the rest of the day to focus on what you enjoy. For a practical application, this means you would set aside an hour before work each morning to exercise, read, look for a new job, build your business, or do whatever happens to be the most important task on your to-do list that day. This strategy is the most effective way to never procrastinate on your most pressing tasks.
Avoid What You’re Dreading and Do Everything Else
This is the strategy I implement more than any other. I am a pro at avoiding what I need to do the most. This process began in college when I had a big assignment to complete, especially final term papers. It was easy to spot when I had something big to do because my room would be spotlessly clean, I would have worked out that day (maybe even twice), my smaller assignments for the next week would already be finished, and I would look like I had drank way too much coffee. What I have found is that I am amazing at accomplishing lot’s of stuff when I’m trying to avoid something. Nothing makes me more energized or focused than when I want to avoid facing my fear of that looming task. Take advantage of your fear and make the rest of your life highly productive and accomplished.
Put off That Nasty Task Until the Very Last Minute
This strategy builds on the last one. After you have cleaned up your life in every area imaginable, it’s finally time to tackle that big task. The best part is that the deadline is now incredibly close! Now your desire to finish what you’ve avoided for so long has been amped up and you’re ready to kick some ass. Pressure is an amazing motivator and an incredible time saver. I’ve mentioned before that I was the king of all-nighters during college. Despite the drawbacks of not sleeping, I would accomplish huge amounts of work in very short time frames. Instead of researching for a paper for an entire semester, I would boil down the work to just 4 hours. Nice. Procrastination paid off big time because it saved me so much time. By postponing your work, you will no choice but to finish it very quickly. Just be careful to allow enough time to keep the quality high. It would have been a waste of time to create a final paper at the last minute just to end up failing the class.
Eliminate Things That Don’t Need to Be Done At All
This strategy isn’t necessarily procrastination, but it’s actually the most effective way to not accomplish something ever. From another perspective, it’s the ultimate form of procrastination because you’re putting off the task forever. One of the worst things you could find yourself doing is spending quality time and energy working on something that adds no value or meaning to your life. This relates to the ABC system from above. I would label this category ‘N’ for Never. Never do something that doesn’t matter. I’m guessing that a few items on your ‘C’ list could be classified as here. Either way, it’s your choice how you prioritize your day and your time. Take control of your life and make the choices for yourself.
Don’t forget to check out my new revolutionary eBook for conquering life after college!
The Clueless Graduate,
Jeff Sanders
Follow @cluelessgrad
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