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Career
Tips
 Never
put off work for tomorrow!! Stop procrastinating.
Procrastination
bust!
"Maybe
I could write this article tomorrow…"
Tomorrow comes, and there you go again.
It's
time to pull up your bootstraps!
Procrastination,
the long-winded word has a lot to trip you up with. It means to
put off, or defer an action till another day in time. Instead
of tackling first things first, you prefer to squander time just
because you are in no mood to work.
You
may prefer to take on inconsequential tasks like answering mail,
making telephone calls and justify this by calling it 'priority'.
At the end of the day, major tasks suffer as a result and you
are in the 'last minute rut' again.
Here
are some ways to fight back.
•
Toughest
ones first
A particular part of a project may seem the toughest, or a certain
task may loom ominously in the background- that's the one to tackle
first. This will help ease the nagging concern and help you do
the other jobs better. As the feel good factor takes effect, your
confidence levels will also reach a new high.
•
Check
listing
One effective way to prioritise your work is to draw up a checklist
where you list the jobs in their order of priority. Make sure
you keep it in a handy place so that you can update it on a daily
basis. Allot more time for the major jobs and marginalise the
minor ones.
•
When
emotions interfere
Maybe you have failed in the first attempt and your emotions are
riding low as a result. Just because you lack the backing of a
success does not give an excuse to procrastinate. If you have
to improve and enhance your skills to equip you, now's the time
to do it.
If
you are going through a crisis- it could be a personal loss or
a disappointment, and it becomes extremely overwhelming, take
time off to get over the loss. This will help speed up the recouping
process. Give a hint of it to your colleagues, you might find
yourself the support and sympathy you need.
•
Mission
impossible
When
tasks make you stagger, and impending jobs loom large, you may
be tempted to buckle under the pressure and give in to procrastination.
Don't think of the task as a Herculean one, but break it down
into smaller manageable tasks. If it means you have to delegate
some work to your co-worker or subordinate, then do so.
•
Perfection-
the benchmark
Strive towards Perfection and don't ever compromise on quality.
There's no use doing a hotch-potch, rushed up job of it. So make
sure you deliver top quality work, even if you have to work overtime
towards this.
•
Don't
pass the buck
Don't try and blame circumstances or people for your inefficiency.
You may say, "if only I had got that promotion, I would have given
more towards my job". Stop the 'ifs' and 'if onlys' and get on
with the job and you'll be surprised at the work you are actually
capable of!
•
Reviewing helps
Analyse your performance at the end of the day and try to plug
those leaks. There may have been ways you could have done a better
job. Try and implement improvements the next time around.
There is hope for those who want to beat procrastination. According
to research it happens to be one of those habits most amenable
to change. There's a way out for those who want to change and
half the battle is won for those of us who have made up our mind
to fight procrastination.
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