How to Battle Your Procrastination

A Making Life Commentary:
How to Conquer Procrastination Effectively and Efficiently

By Robert N. Taylor

Procrastination can ruin your life. Constantly delaying the completion of tasks which should be done can lead to stress, missed opportunities, disappointments and a reputation as a failure. Indeed, you could actually become a failure.

With the above as real possibilities, the question rings out loudly: What is the most effective way of conquering procrastination in the shortest period of time possible? My research into issues of personal and social betterment led to the following conclusion.

It is critically important that you know why you are procrastinating in starting or completing a particular task or project. It is only once you know the specific cause of your particular procrastination that you can honestly begin the process of solving the problem. And you solve the problem not by attacking the problem but by attacking the cause of the problem with the opposite of the cause.

Keep that thought in mind. You solve a problem by identifying its cause and then attacking the cause with its opposite.

In the case of procrastination, there are only four causes for a person unnecessarily delaying the completion of a task or project;

#1 - Overburdened - You feel overburdened with other responsibilities and cannot find the time to start the task. Solution: Drop or delay the responsibilities which bring you the least benefit and create the time you need. Again, find the cause and attack with the opposite.

#2 - Fear - You fear starting the project because you think it will bring some type of physical or emotional pain or discomfort. Solution: Break the project into comfortable (or least painful) parts and tackle it one segment at a time. Do a little on a consistent basis and the task will be completed.

#3 - Resentment - You resent doing the task because you feel it has been forced upon you or should be done by someone else. Solution: Be man or woman enough to let your resentment be known and actually see if you can get the more appropriate person do the task. If this approach does not work, you have no choice but to adopt the strategy specified in #2 above.

#4 - Overwhelmed - You feel overwhelmed by the project because you are not sure how to go about doing it. Solution: Gain knowledge. There is virtually nothing you can confront which has not been confronted by someone else. They have either written about it or they are willing to talk about how they overcame.

Finally, remember that we only procrastinate when confronted with something we do not want to do (for whatever reason). If we truly want to do something, it will get done. Thus, identify the benefit that will derive from completing the project and not the negatives associated with doing the task or project. This mental trick works even if the only benefit is simply not having to worry about the uncompleted project any more.

Just remember, you cannot defeat a bad habit such as procrastination by attacking the problem itself. Instead, you must identify the mental or emotional cause of the problem and attack the cause with its opposite. This does not mean you can simply think your way out of procrastination. Thinking must be followed by some action.

This works even if the action is small. It can be small as long as it is also immediate and consistent.

Robert Taylor does extensive research into motivational and better life issues. More of his writings can be found at www.freewebs.com/wealthgazette/ .