I am a PROCRASTINATOR. I try to get around it by playing little tricks on myself, but it is hardly possible to overcome it. I live and die behind deadlines as a means to a way to overcome procrastination. I mean, I am not alone in this, but it is still annoying (check out this cool Zen book of practical tactics).
Here I am, 4am on a Tuesday… 6 weeks late on a project and look at me, I am still procrastinating. That’s weird. I have excuses out the ass for the delays and of course many of them are real and actual. But it is kind of crazy that I am still procrastinating. And the worst part is – I actually like what I am doing.
Seriously.
Okay, so now I am going to provide for myself (and those reading) some recommendations on what I should do to get into it.
- Get into a routine. If getting up early is your thing, or working late – do it consistently until your project is finished.
- Dangle “the carrot.” What’s that one thing that you really want, but haven’t given yourself? Make sure you don’t give it to yourself until you finish.
- Take breaks and be realistic. It is important to reward each stage of your project with a small break: 10-15 minutes to jump around or blow off steam with email, etc. Build in time to do the things you need to do, like playing with your 18-month old, or taking a shower.
- Turn off Facebook. Most of us love to hate Facebook and secretly, especially when we are procrastinating, we have a tendency to revert back to the safety zone of other people’s lives. Live in your present and turn off fucking Facebook.
- Lose the distractions. I have my daughter running around, staff at my house and tons of emails that alert every time they come in on my phone. I have to turn off my phone, shut all the doors, lock myself in a cave to get anything complete. Just try to be nicer than me about it, okay? I am a real bitch.
So that’s where I am for the moment. It is now 5:51am and I have still yet to do anything. Maybe I should start?