Procrastination and busy mums or how to stop putting off things you know you need to do.
I have written some articles about this in the past – but I thought it was about time that I put the pen to paper and wrote an article about this subject again. Why – because the reality is that procrastination is something that most of us are guilty of to some extent or another? And actually it is probably one of the biggest time wasters of all. And of course as a result it can impact our lives in lots of unforseen ways.
So do you think you procrastinate? Think about the following situations.
Do you often wait till the last-minute to start a project?
Do you put off calling friends, family or making appointments?
Have you a list of outstanding household jobs that are getting increasingly urgent.
So why do we procrastinate?
Sometimes procrastination gives a certain amount of control. Doing something when you want to do it – not being told when to do it – may also contribute to this habit of procrastinating.
Generally procrastination means there is an internal conflict somewhere along the line. And working out what that is may help you recognise why you have developed this time-wasting habit.
Along with the pay offs there maybe other reasons why you put off doing things.
Feeling overwhelmed: often caused by an overload of information or detail.
- Over estimating the time the task will take to complete.
- Starting but never completing a task is also a form of procrastination
- Thinking you would rather be doing something else.
- Worried about whether you can do it – so you put if off.
- If you some or all of this applies to you then you might want to try the following.
1. Confront and do the things which are most difficult first – rather than leaving them until last.
2. Break down projects into bite size pieces.
3. Time the amount of time it takes to do particular tasks.
4. Reward yourself when you complete a task
5. Time table tasks into your diary
6. Deal with stuff as it happens as far as possible.
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