LESSONS FROM THE NOW HABIT
Sometimes, when we face an overwhelming task, we tend to
procrastinate. Procrastination happens when we delay doing a certain task not
because we are lazy, it may mean something deeper than it. Anxiety, fear of
failure, insecurity, perfectionism, lack of self-confidence to name a few.
If you happen to be someone who procrastinates, you should
consider reading Neil Fiore’s book The Now Habit. It will greatly help you in
beating procrastination. In my case, it helped me understand how to deal with
this mechanism. I, too, have been a procrastinator. But when I learned how to
manage it, life became easier and less stressful.
Today, I am going to share with you some lessons that I
learned from the book that will help you turn procrastination to productivity.
1. Procrastination
comes from insecurity
There are certain instances in our lives
where we did something, and we got shamed from doing it. It can be a simple
task from our employers, or from our parents. As a result, when we are faced
with the same tasks or any types of task from these people and from others, that
certain scenario triggers our insecurity, our fear of failure and getting
embarrassed once more. Thus, we delay doing the task and become unproductive.
What you can do is to identify what simulates the delay when you are faced with
tasks. Only then if you know the enemy that you can kill it.
2. Procrastination
is trained into us
Procrastination is something is not
innate, but it is some that other people instilled in us. Our parents wanted us
to get high grades to become the best, our teachers also want us to become the
best. They set these standards for us that make us procrastinate because we are
thinking that there is no room for failure. Instead of doing the task, we think
hard on things and make everything looks complicated. What you can do is slow
down and process until your mind is clear.
3. Don’t
be too hard on yourself
Most often, we set standards for
ourselves. When circumstances come that we fall short, and we fail to meet
them, we blame ourselves and we put too much pressure on our shoulders. This is
why we are so much afraid to make a mistake and fail. We are afraid of imperfection
and not being able to meet the expectations of ourselves and others. Remember,
it’s okay to take a pause, and it’s okay to fail; it’s an opportunity to make
yourself better.
4. The
more painful work is, the more procrastination
The heavier the task is, the heavier your
loads will be. This means double the delay. Today, instead of doing what we
have to do, because of all the triggers mentioned above, we use activities like
watching funny videos on YouTube, browsing memes on Facebook, watching Netflix
and the like just to escape from the feeling our triggers bring us. When we
feed procrastination, and we let it consume us, it can turn to a habit. It can
turn to prolong unproductivity which certainly will not contribute to our
success.
5. Try to
unscheduled your life
Unscheduling your life means considering
that you have other life than just work. What Fiore wants to say here is we
should find time in a week to do things that that we really desire to do and
that bring fun and happiness in our lives. A little escape from work can do so
much to make you feel good about yourself and to get you in the mood for work.
6. Record
your distraction to block them
You have to take note of the things that
cause interruption while you are working. No matter what distractions are
these, jot them down and try to evaluate their importance. This will help you
eliminate them and therefore, help you to be more focused on working in the long
run.
We are all faced with challenges through the tasks that we
encounter every day. If there are things that I learned from all these, it is
being patient and kind to yourself, giving yourself time to learn and process
things and accepting that you are capable of falling short that can make a
difference.
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