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Procrastination |
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Procrastination is one of
the single largest problems that interferes with the pursuit of
goals. Procrastination is a normal human trait, but there are
methods for dealing with it. There are three general causes of
procrastination:
Procrastination Cause #1: Goal
Conflict
We often have multiple goals which cannot be
addressed simultaneously in any given moment. As a result, we tend
to procrastinate working on one goal in order to pursue another, or
to address other priorities that may not be stated formally as
goals.
Procrastination Cause #2: Fear of Commencing
Work
Procrastination hits when it's difficult to embark
on a large task, usually because you're intimidated by the magnitude
of work ahead. For instance, procrastination prevents many people
from beginning work on preparing tax forms. They justify the
procrastination by doing many smaller, more bite-sized tasks (such
as the laundry), reasoning that these would need to have been done
anyway. Unfortunately, such procrastination causes us to squander
large time blocks (such as a free Saturday) doing small items that
could have been squeezed in between other commitments throughout the
week. The free Saturday would have been the ideal time to do the
taxes. Matching appropriately sized tasks with available time
windows is the essence of good time management, and a key factor in
the elimination of procrastination.
Procrastination
Cause #3: Self-Sabotage
This is the most difficult and
most insidious cause of procrastination. Self-sabotage essentially
means that, deep down, you don't really want the goal you've
consciously chosen for yourself, or you're afraid to try for some
reason. You might have fear of failing, fear of succeeding, fear of
giving up too much to accomplish the goal, or you may not feel
worthy of accomplishing the goal. Procrastination masks
self-sabotage by allowing us to say, "I'll start tomorrow," rather
than admitting that we just really don't want to start ever. If
procrastination remains a persistent problem, then self-sabotage is
probably the culprit. If so, the first step toward solving the
procrastination is to address the root cause of your self-sabotage.
Tips for Preventing ProcrastinationmyGoals.com (this Web
site) was designed to help people overcome their procrastination.
The site first helps you plan how you're going to accomplish your
goal, and we then send you email reminders to keep procrastination
from hindering your progress. These email reminders serve as an
external source of motivation, nagging you slightly that it's time
to get to work on whatever tasks you've chosen for yourself. With
myGoals.com, you are always in complete control of when and how many
email reminders you receive; they are completely optional. You can
use them to remind yourself of something just once, on certain days,
frequently, or even randomly.
If you have selected a
goal that you're committed to accomplishing, myGoals.com's email
reminders are extremely effective in combatting procrastination. If
you use our service and still find that procrastination is a
problem, then you should spend time honestly assessing if the goal
is truly important to you, or what factors might be causing you to
self-sabotage. It's okay if your goals change periodically, and we
encourage people to adjust their goals and deadlines if they learn
that their priorities have changed.
To learn more or sign up for a free trial, visit our
goal-setting homepage.
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