Bloggreatgranddaughter Sticks of From Chaos To Serendipity is having some issues with procrastination, and is asking for advice.

Here are three tricks that I use that sometimes help:

1) Procrastinate in place - have the thing you're supposed to do in front of you, then screw off. For example, if you're supposed to write a blog post, but you'd rather read a book, sit in front of the computer, open your browser to your Blogger editing page, then sit & read your book. That way if your better nature kicks in, you can just jump right onto your task.

2) "Just for 5 minutes" - Get a kitchen timer. Set it for 5 minutes. Work on your "supposed to" project for 5 minutes. When the timer goes off, quit.

Although the idea is to get you going, don't be afraid to actually quit after 5 minutes sometimes so that your brain doesn't get that idea that this is just a trick to make you do what you're supposed to.

3) The "what's stopping me?" list - Write on a sheet of paper "What's stopping me for doing [my project] right now?", then list the reasons/excuses you're using for avoiding the work. Sometimes seeing your problems in writing makes it easier to figure out how to solve them. The added bonus is that you still get to procrastinate, because you're not actually working on the project by doing this, even though it may lead to productive activity ;-)

If you've got any other tips, please drop them in the comments.

Posted by: Harvey at 07:13 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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