Well hello, you can never have a word-for-word memorized extemporaneous speech!
(hope you understood what I mean)
here it goes:
Much ado about nothing, do these words ring any bells?
You may be thinking about a comedy William Shakespeare wrote hundreds of years ago, but no, I will be talking about the sentence’s literal meaning: Procrastination.
We all have ideas about what procrastination is... some might say that procrastination is just plain laziness, but let’s talk about procrastination according to an expert.
Harold Taylor, a certified speaking professional in effective time management, defines procrastination as an “intentional and habitual postponement of an important task that should be done now.
Now that you know what procrastination is… are you one of the many who procrastinates?
§ Have you experienced planning on doing an assigned task but kept delaying it? In your mind you say to yourself, “Ah, there’s much time left.” Then after some days you’re in a hurry trying to do the job just before the deadline.
§ You also might be sick of doing things or you simply don’t know where to start.
So, are you tired of delaying things? Then let’s get on a journey and learn how to stop procrastination.
It is important to understand the causes of procrastination first before we move on to fixing it.
Albert Ellis, a renowned clinical psychologist, explained that procrastination roots from what he calls as “irrational beliefs.” Some of these are:
§ That we always have to be perfect
§ That failure in a task means we fail as a person
§ That everyone must like us and be kind to us all the time
§ That we should never have to work too hard
Hell yeah, you may be thinking that these are too silly to be believed in and to cause procrastination, but they really do…
Other than irrational beliefs, we avoid doing things that we deem as unpleasant or complex.
To tell you the truth, motivating myself to write this speech was ironically pretty hard. For me this speech is too much to handle, and I had a “few” procrastinations before I started working on this.
We at times defer things when we’re waiting for a good mood or when we think that the place we’re in does not set us perfect for doing a task.
I’ve been a victim of this. I have lots of reasons: I feel lazy, I feel too sad to do a thing. I think this room is too dark / too bright. I can’t work on a place like this… How about you?
After learning the causes of procrastination, we can now go forward to the strategies in overcoming it. There are two types: Task Strategies and Environmental Strategies.
We cam employ task strategies to get us motivated. There are actually lots of them, and their impact varies from person to person. I’ll be discussing seven so you guys could choose what fits you.
FIRST: Accept the unpleasantness of the task then compare it with the unpleasantness of delaying the action.
>Sure you hate working your butt off and missing out on shopping or movies with your friends, but then again… Getting a grade of 5 sucks and humiliating yourself to the next century sucks as well.
SECOND: Try to be interested in the task,
Perhaps you simply don’t care much about the subject matter, or you have no any concern on what you’ll receive in the end. Make an effort. You could get interested by rewarding yourself / giving yourself an incentive for getting a job done.
Knowing you’ll be rewarded with something you enjoy can be a great motivator.
THIRD: Use self-motivation affirmations.
>The way you define a task is a major factor in getting motivated to finish it. You could try repeating positive thoughts on your mind, or make it visible by posting positive messages such as:
> the sooner I finish, the sooner I’m free… and
> there’s no better time like the present.
FOURTH: Divide an overwhelming task into smaller ones and focus on one task at a time.
>This is really effective. I tried this and somehow I ended up with a result I’m really happy with.
>Doing this strategy makes tasks seem more manageable and attainable.
FIFTH: Develop a good sense of self-confidence.
>Face it. When you fail at something you lose interest on it and then you delay doing tasks related to it.
>Believe in yourself – believe that you can and you will do the job properly.
SIXTH: Employ proper time management techniques.
> Make up a prioritized to-do list and schedule the tasks written there.
>Stick to that schedule.
>You’ll feel a sense of accomplishment every time the list shortens.
SEVENTH: Ask someone to check up on you and periodically remind you not to procrastinate.
>This is like peer pressure: If somebody checks up on you from time to time you’ll feel forced to do your task on time.
You can try environment strategies to get over delaying things.
FIRST: Tailor your environment for work or study
ORGANIZE. Make sure your desk is clean and clutter-free. Everything you need should be in front of you.
AVOID OR ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS. These are TV sounds, magazines, snacks, etc. This is to make you stay focused. Close your door. Switch off your cell phone.
SECOND: Remind others not to bother you while working.
Let others know that you are unavailable while you’re working on your chore. Take note that the word OTHERS means EVERYONE except you. No excuses.
I have just discussed the nature and the causes of procrastination plus some ways to stop it. I hope you all learned something from it.
So if you’re like me who sits around and does nothing while the deadline looms everywhere, now’s the best time to get going! Don’t wait for something magical to happen... Start now!
To get you more motivated to work, here’s a quotation I want you to ponder on:
I’ve grown vividly aware that in life there are no extra days or second chances. Like many of my friends, I used to feel comfortable sacrificing today, tomorrow, a week, maybe a year, in the hopes of something better in the future. Now I sense that wasted moments and wasted hours get woven into wasted lives. It is from the book Letters to Emmy by Greg Raver Lampman.
Thank you very much for listening.
SOURCES:
How To Stop Procrastinating. n.d. 19 February 2008. (http://www.getmoredone.com/tips2.html l)
How To Stop Procrastinating And Other Exam Survival Tips. 03 December 2003. 18 February 2008. (http://www.albany.edu/main/features/2003/12-03/3exams/exams.htm)
13 Tips To Stop Procrastination. 25 June 2007. 13 March 2008. (http://myeverydayplanner.com/blog/procrastination/13-tips-to-stop-procrastination/)
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