Have you ever seen your most important tasks being put off by a few hours, a day, or even weeks, while you are getting busy with many not so important activities? Did you hope that you may have more time or be in a better mood tomorrow to get the task done? Does an upcoming deadline make you nervous? Do you keep hesitating every time you need to make a decision?

We all tend to procrastinate by putting off the things that we should be doing now. This happens with all of us time after time. Yet, what makes a big difference for your success is your ability to recognize procrastination reasons and to promptly take them under control. If not, this bad habit might steal your opportunities, damage your career or business, destroy your relationships, and for sure drain your energy that you can use for other things.

In my coaching practice I've heard many reasons why someone can't do something right now; you might not be in the best mood, wait for the right time, or have 'more important' things to do. There might be other reasons as well, such as unclear standards for the task's outcome, lack of clear goals, or you simply don't like to do the task.

However, procrastination doesn't have to play a big role in your life. Here are my top 5 to avoid procrastination. Ultimately, you will accomplish more, feel less stress, and have more fun:

1. Consider delegating the task. If you procrastinate because you don't like to do the task, ask yourself if you are the one who really needs to get it done. Maybe another family member could take care of it or you could hire someone to do it.

2. Don't put it on your to-do list if you don't need to get it done. Adding tasks that you don't have to do only creates a long to-do list which eventually gets overwhelming. Plus, it provides an excuse for doing something other than what you really need to do.

3. Just start it! The most difficult part of many tasks is getting started. Once you begin, it's often easier than you expected. And, when you have completed the task, the feeling is terrific and gives you a sense of accomplishment. Stop procrastinating and take the first step now.

4. Write down a set of goals for yourself. Get clear about where you want to be in 30 days, 90 days, next year, and three years from now, in business and your life. Now, how do the tasks you're putting off keep you from reaching your goals?

5. Look closely at how you procrastinate. Do you read and answer e-mails when you should be doing the bookkeeping? Do you surf the web or network online when you should be writing an article? Once you figure out the things you do to postpone what you need to do, it will be easy to figure out how to avoid procrastination by eliminating these behaviors. If you can't eliminate this behavior, save it for later, once you're done with the task you really need to focus on first.

Now, here're three questions to think about:

Which task are you putting off?
Why do you postpone the task?
How essential is the task to reach your set goals, feel a sense of accomplishment, or simply free up your energy?

Decide whether to eliminate the task from your to-do list or get it done! You'll feel much better.

More information about Petra and Coaching...

 

Create a 'Letter of Introduction'

Educate absolutely every single person you know about what you're doing by sending a 'Letter of Introduction'.

Describe what you do, who your ideal clients are, their biggest challenge as it relates to your work and what they experience as a result of using your service or product.

This way, you can turn your existing network - your friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintances - into your unpaid sales force. Try it!

 

Twitter

For all fans of 'Twitter', I'm twittering now. You can follow me at www.twitter.com/CreativePartner if you like. Check it out!

For those who don't know Twitter yet, it's a social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users' updates known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 bytes in length. For more information go to www.twitter.com

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Pick My Brain' Coaching Session

One-on-one 60-minute call with Petra Jakobskrueger, Success Coach for Women.

- Need to give your business a little 'boost'?
- Are you in career transition?
- Not sure of what to do or where to go next?
- Tired of being a stay-at-home mom?

During our call, you can ask as many questions as time permits. How we spend this time together is totally up to you, and could include:

- Direction on where to go 'next' in your business, career, or life
- Identifying and mapping your goals
- Creating an action plan around a specific goal
- Prioritizing your tasks to focus on the 20% that will make a difference

We can accomplish a lot in 60 minutes together. Rather than worrying it's time to act. Sent me an e-mail if you're interested to schedule a 'Pick My Brain' session.

"If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting off doing it."

~ by Olin Miller

 

Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time
by Brian Tracy

Description:
The legendary Eat That Frog! (more than 450,000 copies sold and translated into 23 languages) provides the 21 most effective methods for conquering procrastination and accomplishing more. This new edition is revised and updated throughout, and includes brand new information on how to keep technology from dominating our time.

Tell me more about this book

Further book recommendations

"Procrastination" Tales Of Mere Existence

Watch the movie
~ 2 minutes

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