A practical guide to eliminating procrastination

But if you need a little help in eliminating the bad habit of procrastination from your life, try the following technique.

First make a list of why you procrastinate. Be honest with yourself.

Second, list down all the different ways you procrastinate. Again, be honest with yourself. Do you find yourself at the coffee corner five minutes into writing the report? Do you go over to Tom's table to talk about the car you are planning to buy the game? Do you surf the web more often than not?

Then, make a list of the benefits of starting and completing the tasks that you have been putting off. Your list should answer the following:

1. Why I must do these tasks

2. The benefits of getting this done

After you have done this, make a to-do list to plan your day.

1. What needs to be done today

2. What are the important tasks

3. The best time for each of this task

4. Can these tasks be delegated

5. What is the best way to go about completing each task

Once you done this, you set yourself going about finishing each task at a time. Just focus on completing one at a time. Avoid the urge to jump the next one. Concentrating on the task at hand gets it done quickly and prevents the mind from clutter.

After finishing one task, give yourself a small break. This is important if you had just finished a demanding task. The break will allow your mind and body to refresh and you will have more energy for the next task.

Just before you call it a day, list down all that you have accomplished and finally list all the feelings you get starting and completing things.

Use this four list technique every day until you develop the habit of doing what needs to be done no matter how unpleasant. Once you have developed this habit, all you need is only one list, the to-do list, to help you to avoid procrastination.

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