Chances are, if you have a teacher, a boss (even if the boss is yourself), or a client, you’ll hit a familiar roadblock. Procrastination!
One of my favorite descriptions of procrastination is from the blog Wait But Why, with characters like the rational decision maker, instant gratification monkey, the dark playground, and the panic monster. There are actually a number of different types of procrastinators.
You don’t really have to have even read the post to know these characters, because they probably live in your head too!
I could be wrong, though. Maybe you’re a student and you love finals, because it means winter break is almost here. Or maybe you thrive off those nail biting hours before your boss will storm into cubby area and demand to see your results. Or maybe you enjoy thinking about that client that definitely wanted your work yesterday.
Chances are, you are reading this because you are about to hit one of those deadlines. Hi Panic Monster!
Don’t worry, y’all. It happens to the best of us. As much as I try to tell myself that I’ll be on top of everything for the month, I’m usually not.
The good news is that being a procrastinator doesn’t necessarily mean you’re lazy. It might be caused by anxiety, fear of failure, or negative perfectionism. According to the infographic, one out of every five adults are chronic procrastinators, so we’re definitely not alone. We are actually hard wired to procrastinate.
If you look at four of your friends/classmates/coworkers and you’re the one who hasn’t studied, written your paper, or finished a project, you might be the procrastinator. I promise you’ll be okay, though. Today’s infographic provides you with 15 different ways to stop procrastinating, and start getting stuff done. Discover how to fight off procrastination with these tested techniques.
A couple other ideas:
- Make a to-do list with calendar reminders
- Visualize what it will be like when it’s done
- Tell everyone publicly when you’ll finish (one thing social media is good for)
- Think about what happens if you don’t finish
- Break up what you have to do into smaller tasks
- Manage your time, literally, by setting a timer on your tasks
And if you procrastinate a little too much before your final and are thinking about pulling an all-nighter, you might want to reconsider your sleep options. Now, if only I would take my own advice.