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One of the biggest threats to any business is the great art of putting things off till later…Procrastination. Procrastination means avoiding doing tasks which need to be done, sometimes doing them at the last minute or even never at all. Procrastination is at its very nature unproductive and stops the individual and company from being efficient and effective.

There are hundreds of reasons why we procrastinate. The main reasons are that we feel overwhelmed by our workload, may be poor at time management or have poor levels of concentration so that we are easily distracted by say, office gossip.

A company can assist the individual. But in my view, it is down to the individual to work out their issues for themselves. Here are just a few ways to break the procrastination cycle at work as well as in other areas of your life:

1. Be honest with yourself.
Admit that you have fears and anxieties about your work. It’s a perfectly normal feeling. Once you face your problems, with a little concentration, time management, and action you will overcome these fears.

2. What’s the worst that can happen?
A lot of people put off decisions for fear of rejection or being made to look stupid. If you continually do this, these tasks become more onerous and more difficult to achieve. You have to just get on with the tasks you have been assigned. What is the worst that can happen? Will you die or be injured for doing your job? The answer is NO, so the more you just get on with things by consciously and deliberately doing them, then the easier it becomes and your new attitude will become habit.

3. Turn your tasks into small tasks.
Consider breaking large projects into smaller jobs. But make sure your plan to divide your jobs up is not just another delaying tactic.

4. ‘Just do it’
Don’t spend ages organising your jobs on your to do list. That will just get you concentrating on how big the job may be. Focus on what you have to do and ‘just do it’.

5. Exercise.
Take a couple of minutes frequently to stand, stretch or move about to stimulate both your body and your brain. If possible, get some exercise in your lunch hour.

6. Eat and drink well.
Your body is an important machine. If you put rubbish into your system, you wont perform to your best ability. Drink plenty of water and make sure you have a balanced diet.

7. Get a good night sleep.
Lack of sleep makes things worse and makes your lack of appetite for work and life even worse.

A few changes in your attitude and work habits will make a dramatic difference in the way you perform your work.

Best of luck!

Ian Lockyer

I am fully qualified marketing professional with a wide range of marketing and digital experience. Since July 2004 I have been a Chartered Marketer. I am also a full member of the Institute of Direct Marketing.

I have a passion for the internet and using new technology for marketing. I enjoy understanding and using new technology as part of the marketing mix. I passionately believe that the internet and, most recently, social media are fundamentally changing the way organizations need to act online.

Article Source: Procrastination let me down…tips to avoid putting those jobs off till later!

             

Tags: fear of rejection, great art, new attitude, office gossip, time management

This entry was posted on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 3:05 pm and is filed under articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.