For many people, having a schedule is a way of being accountable to oneself for how one spends one’s time. I’ve fallen into that trap lots of times. I think I’ve finally gotten past that now.

I’ve had the most success not procrastinating when I do away with a schedule altogether. An example of this is my procrastination with my job. I hated going when I felt like I needed to be working on projects that I had at home. I had a schedule and I was working (quite efficiently) on getting these things done. But every time I had to stop so that I could go to the office, or work from home (I do both weekly), I would freeze up and not want to go to work.

One day a few weeks ago, I decided I couldn’t keep this up. I nixed the schedule, told myself that my “home” work wasn’t that important and that I needed a life. The very next Monday, I found myself doing housework I had for months been putting off/doing/putting off again.

It’s been a little over three weeks, and I’m into a fairly laid back routine, and I’ve not has as clean a house and clean laundry in years! I’m wowed by this change. No kidding.

What was even more exciting was that going to work that first week wasn’t a chore. I actually enjoyed getting out of the house on the day I went into the office and I spent an extra 3 hours there that evening catching up some stuff that needed to be done.

It’s been several weeks now, and I’m feeling much more at peace with my job, and I’ve actually gotten plenty of work done on my “home” projects–more than I expected and enough to feel like I’m getting things done.

So, my verdict? Maybe accountability and scheduling your time is not the solution at all. Maybe it’s part of the problem.

Post from: Perpetual Procrastination

Accountability is Overrated

Over on the Remote Access Computer site, I give tips and information about how I use remote access computer software to work from home. I especially like doing this because I can work extra when I feel like working but I can cut back when I really don’t want to work.

This is also very effective for household work. If you have an urge to clean your bathtubs, but your floors really need picking up, do the tub anyway.

This is actually just a way of using procrastination effectively. Stuff is getting done, and sometimes that’s just as important as getting any specific thing done. There are always going to be days where you’re not going to want to do something that probably needs to be done, but don’t take that as an excuse to go watch TV. At least if you do something else, you’ll have done something!

This tip isn’t for everyone of course, because you need to be the kind of person who actually wants to do something besides watch TV on a regular basis.

But if you can use it, this is a powerful method of beating the urge to procrastinate.

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One sneaky way to avoid procrastinating – work when you feel like working, not when you have to work

I have untold amounts of practice procrastinating. In fact, I’m writing this post (which as been a draft for about a year) as I procrastinate on something else—a lot of something elses, to be frank.

It feels nice keeping my skills up-to-date.

Don’t you ever wonder that if you quit practicing your procrastination you might forget how to procrastinate?

That was a tongue twister, wasn’t it? Whew. I had trouble reading that back through…

This is where I get serious. Because the answer to that question is “yes.”

I’m not going to make this into a long article, so I’ll say only one more thing. Think about it. If you just start practicing not procrastinating one day, and practice a little every day, pretty soon, you won’t be procrastinating nearly as often.

So call it practice. I do. This was my daily practice to quit procrastinating. My next goal? Become a finisher.

Hey, you might could say I’ve been practicing that this morning too! I’ve finished this post.

Post from: Perpetual Procrastination

Expert Advice: Practice

That’s never been more clear to me than after this weekend, when I spent some quality time listening to the unabridged audio book Become Who You Were Born to Be: We All Have a Gift…Have You Discovered Yours? by Brian Souza. Now, I’ll admit, the book feels slow sometimes, meandering through biographical tales of inspiration more often than offering practical advice. However, even books that don’t always seem to be filled with interesting and fascinating material sometimes contain real gems of wisdom. This is one of those books.

The author relies on us to learn by example instead of offering a simple list of things we should do to find out what our passions are. These examples give us the opportunity to see how others discovered what they’re good at and what they’re passionate about. This is actually a nice way to handle the subject since not everyone follows the same path to discovery.

I am not finished with this audio book yet though, so I can’t say how it all turns out. I can say that I’ve gleaned at least one important, possibly life-changing, bit of wisdom from the book so far and I’m anxious to try it out as an antidote for procrastination. This might not be how Souza meant for me to use his material, but that’s the beauty of books. We all take something different from each one.

About Goal Setting

Souza advises us to “avoid the goal setting traps” because goals are often “boring” and “useless” unless “there’s a big juicy dream attached to them.”

This is very true in my experience and I’m wondering now how I can make this work for me and my never-caught-up laundry and my perpetually unswept floors. These are two tasks I hate beyond any other (except maybe dusting, mopping, and killing spiders).

I wonder if setting up a big, juicy dream might propel me toward these goals a heck of a lot faster than a dread of embarrassment at having an untidy and uncleaned house.

My Experiment

Souza says that “most goals appear to be unrealistic until we begin making strides toward their achievement.” So, my goal will be large, inspiring, and possibly unrealistic, but it will motivate me the way a tepid, small, realistic goal or dream never could.

Souza also says:

• Goals should be measurable and specific
• I should have definite but realistic schedule, timeline
• I should put together a written plan
• I should take immediate action
• Goals need emotional intensity because the emotion and intent behind a goal gives it meaning and zest

My Dream: I want to have the prettiest, tidiest, cleanest house (and laundry room) in my neighborhood. I want an awesome house (but don’t want to move). I want beautiful flowers around my yard, and a vegetable garden in back. I want warmth and beauty inside, some organization underneath it all, and clean floors and tidy furniture.

My Goals: (1) Sweep, dust, mop, and tidy each room in my house, one room per day starting today and allotting a reasonable amount of time per room, while striving for excellence in each room, and keeping a checklist of room names. (2) Arrange furniture and belongings in an organized and eye-pleasing way. (3) Start with a container garden this year, and plan for next year’s vegetable garden. Make, buy, or otherwise get pots to plant vegetables in this year, and visit the farmer’s cooperative this week to pick up flowers (and vegetables) for around the front porch, and plant them next weekend.

Wow. Talk about big dreams. :)

Next on my agenda? Explore my dream of an internet empire.

I’m going to post a follow up on this experiment on Friday. I’ll let you know if this particular dream fires up my soul enough to overcome any of my procrastination habits.

By the way, don’t forget to check out Souza’s book yourself. You can either buy it (audio book or print book), or check it out with your library card from the R.E.A.D.S. website.

Post from: Perpetual Procrastination

Planning isn’t the problem; the lack of a dream is

The thing is, you shouldn’t let that stop you from reading a copy of this book. Even though some of my habits haven’t changed, the book has helped me cope with my procrastinating ways and helped me change several keys areas of my life that lead to procrastination.

I downloaded the book from the R.E.A.D.S. database, and if you have a library card and an internet connection, you might want to give it a shot. If not, then consider buying the book from Amazon. (Don’t procrastinate. Amazon has this book at a bargain price of $2.99 as of today.)

I recommended The Procrastinator’s Handbook because…

The author of The Procrastinator’s Handbook: Mastering the Art of Doing it Now, Rita Emmett, sums up the beauty of this book in her introduction.

People who benefit from time management are like a group that has decided to go on a bicycle journey. They know where they want to go; their bikes are all ready, and time management principles are like the map or directions they need to set off on their adventure.

Then along comes the group of procrastinators meandering down the road. They haven’t decided yet where they want to go, and they’ve forgotten to bring their bikes, which don’t work anyway because they haven’t gotten around to fixing the flat tire. Maps and directions (time management principles) are of little use to this group. They need something different, so for them I developed my Conquer Procrastination seminars and wrote this book.

When people take my seminars, often the first questions they ask are: “Can a person really stop procrastinating?” “How can people expect to change their basic personalities or character traits?”

Procrastination is not an inherent part of your personality or character; it is simply a habit, an attitude. Can people change habits? Of course they can! Millions of people have stopped smoking, even though that habit is extremely hard to break. Can people change attitudes? Sure. Do you know anyone who used to think owning a VCR or sending E-mail was unnecessary, yet now — several years later — can’t imagine living without either?

I speak about procrastination from personal experience because I used to put off everything.

I most enjoyed her sections on identifying what types of procrastinator I am in what situations and then applying her suggestions for changing the patterns that keep me procrastinating.

Post from: Perpetual Procrastination

Recommended: The Procrastinator’s Handbook