TEN TIPS TO HELP YOU OVERCOME PROCRASTINATIONHow do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! Break larger projects into manageable
"bites" and create a timeline for yourself to accomplish these smaller tasks.Remember that each project expands to the time allotted to it, so set a limit for yourself: I am going to return all my phone calls in an hour. I will file papers for 30 minutes. I will spend 15 minutes picking up around the house. Set a timer. You will be amazed how much you can get done when you focus your time. My clients report that they are much more efficient and effective when they set a time limit for specific tasks.Check your self-talk. Do you frequently say, "I gotta.," "I should.," or "I have to."? Replace this self-talk with "I choose to." and recognize that you are at choice about what you do. If you don't choose to do it, don't do it!Eat a live toad first thing in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day. Tackle that "toad" -- the task you have been putting off, the one that is hanging over your head -- because it will lift an immense load and you will feel much more productive.Train yourself to trim the F.A.T. When papers come into your office or home, give yourself these three choices: File, Act, Toss. (Note that "I'll just put it here for now" is not one of the choices.)Relieve yourself of the stress caused by all of the clutter in your home and office by setting up some systems to manage the paper in your life. Agood filling systemand a tickler file system are essential elements. For instructions on setting up an effective tickler system . My clients report that the tickler file system makes a huge difference in their ability to effectively manage paper and prevent
important activities from slipping through the cracks.Make a weekly appointment with yourself to plan your coming week. During your planning session, schedule important activities and tasks so you have a concrete plan for following through with your intentions.When planning your time, include both urgent (time-sensitive) and non-urgent but important activities in your plan. An example of an urgent activity might be a meeting or a project with an upcoming deadline. A non-urgent activity might be exercise or relationship-building - something important but not time-sensitive or deadline-driven.Make appointments with yourself to get administrative work done, such as paying bills or catching up with your reading. Treat this time as you would an appointment with someone else.Take 15 minutes at the end of each day to put things away and look at the calendar for the next day. Gather what you need ahead of time so you will be prepared for tomorrow.