Technofriends

Though they say recession is ending, its still not very visible, and when things start going in recessionary mode, its very important that one stops procrastinating, starts saving money regularly by employing some hacks, start prioritizing etc…. As per a research, people who procrastinate have very little self-control and have difficulty making choices. The prime causes of procrastination in are attributed to lack of self confidence and therefore the fear of failure.

I have learnt that putting off things for tomorrow, do no good for your health, wealth and the overall happiness.I was a regular last minute guy, but the realization of not doing things at the right time, led me to practice a few productivity hacks and i am listing them below.

In this article, i will describe  5 simple ways i have been using since a last few months to beat the the procrastinating pig inside me. These hacks have worked for me and i hope that they do work for you as well.

1.) Plan the work and then work the plan.

I read this line somewhere and started following it a few months back. Everything i wanted to do in a day is there in my plan. I depend heavily on Remember the Milk, for maintaining my to-do lists. I also Evernote, for taking notes about stuff i am planning about. Remember the milk has an iPhone app as well and same about Evernote.

One key point to remember when scheduling and planning stuff is about being realistic and prioritizing tasks. A good way of achieving realistic estimates is by breaking down the task into small small subtasks and then doing an estimation. This is a key project management philosophy but it can be applied very well in real life as well.

2.) Sprint the tasks you have been holding back since long

One of the best way of beating the fear of navigating a pretty tricky situation or some fear is by putting it up for a sprint style work methodology. As Seth Godin says

“When we sprint, all the internal dialogue falls away and we just go as fast as we possibly can. When you’re sprinting you don’t feel that sore knee and you don’t worry that the ground isn’t perfectly level. You just run.

You can’t sprint forever. That’s what makes it sprinting. The brevity of the event is a key part of why it works.”

If you have any task, which you have been holding back since long, just get onto it and take it to the finish line. Seth’s right when he says, you can’t sprint every day but it’s probably a good idea to sprint regularly.

3.) Motivational triggers are important in life.

I used to procrastinate owing to lack of motivational factors, then i discovered and set the motivational triggers for doing small tasks on time and i can pretty much confirm, it works. But do remember, money is not always a motivation. Find your motivational triggers and believe me, you will find happiness.

4.) Bring in Reinforcement

Its easy to not do things ,if you are accountable only to yourself, but that’s not always the case. If you have some long pending task, which possibly involves group of people; gather all of them and set a date and time when you are all going to finish your respective portion of tasks. Ensure that everyone shares his/ her progress. You will be surprised by how much you can accomplish.

5.) Don’t forget to Reward yourself.

When i used to procrastinate about going to the gym, i started out saying  to my body and mind, ” You are not getting any of those pastries and ice creams, till you actually go and burn all the extra calories you have accumulated”, this worked, as i found the motivation and also the reward. I set aside a target and upon reaching the target, went out and did whatever i wanted to do.

Motivation alongwith the reward, act as food for your body, mind and soul.

In the end, all i will say is, procrastinate, but don’t make it a habit. It won’t take you anywhere.

You can also follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/vaibhav1981

Do stay tuned to Technofriends for more, one of the best ways of doing so is by subscribing to our feeds. You can subscribe to Technofriends feed by clicking here.

Related posts:

1. 5 Ways I Am Saving Money During This Recession ( And So Can You)
2. [Webware] Gantter is a Free Web-Based Project Management Tool
3. Visualize Data and Share it in many different ways with Widgenie
4. Are You Also Playing Secret Santa This Christmas?
5. [How-To] Multiple Ways To Send Free SMS in India