Almost everyone is held down by what some call “the silent killer”. Procrastination strikes everywhere. We all want to avoid the pain or discomfort of doing something we feel is boring, stupid, pointless, hard, complicated, risky, possibly really emotionally painful and so on.
But even though we know that we will have to do it eventually and that we’re just deluding ourselves we still put it of. Often with reasons we know deep down are weak and we really just made up. We get stuck in a vicious circle of doing too little of both what we want and what we don’t want. We get stuck. Here are 7 ways to squash procrastination and move forward.
1. Recognize that there is more pain in procrastinating than not
If you have procrastinated a lot (like me) you might have discovered that:
You procrastinate to avoid doing something that is boring, hard or something like that. You want to avoid that pain.
But after having some experience with procrastination you’ll probably realise that procrastination itself causes your more pain than actually just doing what you were supposed to. Realising the true amount of pain in the two choices will make it easier to get things done.
2. Force yourself to do it before you really absolutely have do it…
…and your self-esteem will go up. And the next time you feel like procrastinating remember that you forced yourself, but that you felt better when it was done. There was a nice reward when you were done. Whenever you feel like procrastinating remember this to get you to start moving forward.
3. Create a flow
Instead of doing nothing, begin with doing something. Clean your desk, take out the garbage, wash the dishes. Just stack a couple of simple actions to create a flow, a momentum. When you’re in the flow, in that forward motion, getting started with what you have to do will be much easier. Also, cleaning up can get you too feel more motivated. A messy work-environment seems to often reinforce procrastination.
4. Get some leverage
Sometimes we procrastinate on things that aren’t just dull tasks in the office or school. Maybe you are stuck, not able to take the next step fearing some deep personal pain. If you are thinking about changing jobs or career or taking a next step in a relationship you are probably focusing on what could go wrong. Instead, get some leverage to both push and pull yourself forward.
How to: Take a pen and a piece of paper. Write down as many things as you can come up with that you will miss out on, not just now but the next few years if you don’t take this step now. Really dig down into yourself and feel that pain that you will feel not just tomorrow but in a year and the next five or ten years.
Then write down all positive and wonderful things you will experience if you take this decision and move forward to where you want to go. Think about them and write down all those things you will experience and feel, not just in the next few days but in one year, in two, in five years or ten. Get the stick and the carrot to work for you. And put the problem in a longer time perspective to really give it an emotional punch.
5. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time…
Don’t look at everything you have to do. One of the common sources of procrastination is feeling overwhelmed. Break it down into smaller tasks. Write them down as a list on a piece of paper. Focus on just getting that one small task or part of the big thing done. Then move on to the next. Take it one step at a time and don’t think about the rest. Before you know it you’ll be half way there.
6. Change your beliefs
The problems that repeatedly put you into a procrastinating state might disappear if you change your view on reality. Examine your beliefs. Ask yourself if you could see things in a more beneficial and effective way for yourself.
Realise you can choose you beliefs about yourself and the world. The past is not the future. You don’t have to hang to limiting beliefs based on past experiences if you don’t want to. You are here right now and you choose and can change your habits.
7. Make a small deal with yourself
Here is an effective one I first heard from Ed Bliss (well, actually now that I think about it I probably first heard it from a teacher back in school about ten years ago. It kinda rings a bell).
Here’s how you go about it: Promise yourself that you’ll work on something for just 5 minutes. After those 5 minutes you can do something else if you want to. But make a note on your schedule when you will come back to the task and work another 5 minutes with it. As Bliss notes, not matter how unpleasant a task may be, you can often talk yourself into working 5 minutes on it. I’ve found this one to be effective to make a dent in those tasks you have put of for a longer while. After you’re done with those first 5 minutes the next 5 minutes will feel a little easier. And after that the next 5 minutes will feel even easier. Or maybe you raise the bar to 10 minutes of work. Getting some actual work done on that task, if only for 5 minutes, gives you a rush of exhilaration. Making a game out of how much work you can get done in those 5 minutes can also be a small but in its own way fun challenge.
翻译：
几乎所有人都被所谓的“沉默杀手”压制着，拖延随处可见，我们都希望能够避免痛苦或那些让我们感觉到麻烦、愚蠢、无意义、困难，复杂、危险、情绪上饱受痛苦的事。
然而，即使知道始终逃避不了必须要做的事，我们还是不断安慰自己说只是拖延一下下而已。有理由相信内心是脆弱的，而我们真的只是尽力在做，深陷在要和不要的恶性循环中，难以自拔。有七种方法可用以摆脱掉拖延的毛病。（英语美文欣赏 www.lyy5.com）
1． 要了解拖延只会增加痛苦的事实
如果你跟我一样有爱拖延的毛病，你可能已经发现：
你喜欢拖延时间是为了想要避免麻烦或困难，你的目的是想要避免痛苦。
当你有了一些拖延时间的经验后，你可能会发现比起正常的事态发展，拖延时间只会增加痛苦。衡量这两者间的厉害关系，你就知道到底怎样做更简便些。
2．强迫自己在最后期限前解决问题。
你的自尊心会因此而增长。下次在你又想要拖延的时候，记得要强迫自己，当你顺利完成某件事时，感觉会很好，这么做也是种奖励。不论什么时候你想要拖延时间，就记住这点，它让你更进一步。
3．制定流程计划
开始动手做总比什么都不做要好。清理你的桌子，扔掉垃圾，洗洗碗盘，累积一些简单的工作任务来制定流程，创造动力。有了计划流程之后，从必须做的模块入手会显得简单得多。同样，妨碍物的清理会让你感觉更有动力，糟糕的工作环境只会为你的拖延毛病创造条件。
4．借助外界的杠杆力量
有时，我们不仅仅只是因为工作或学校上枯燥的事而拖延时间，你可能深陷某种痛苦而无法继续前进，假如你一心想着换工作或如何让某种关系更进一步，那么你可能就会将注意力集中在会导致你犯错的因素上。如此，就适当借助外界力量帮助你进步吧。
步骤：准备好纸笔。如果你还未正式开始这个计划，那么就写下尽可能多你所想到的在未来几年内可能被遗漏的事，挖掘内心的思想，感受那种不仅仅只发生在明天，而可能发生在未来一年、五年或十年内的痛苦。
然后，如果你决定去想去的地方，那么就写下所有你将要经历的积极美好的事。深思后写下近一年、两年、五年或十年内你将经历的那些事情和感情。要懂得软硬兼施的运用。等你真正有了解决的办法后再一击击中。
5．你会如何吃掉一只象？一口吃掉。
不要总着眼于你必须做的事。造成拖延毛病的其中一个原因是由于压力过大。你可以将它们分解成一个个小部分，列成一张清单。将注意力放在其中一个小任务或某个大任务的其中一小部分上，然后再继续下一步，一次只完成一个步骤，别总是三心二意。等你真正了解到这点的时候，其实相当于完成任务的一半了。
6．改变自信
如果你改变自己对现实的看法，那么反复将你推入拖延状态的问题可能会消失。试验下你的自信心，问问自己是否可以看到对自己有益或有效的出路。
你要知道你可以对自己和这个世界充满信心。过去的已经过去了，不代表未来，你完全没必要把自己放在过去的模子里而无法自拔，你已经从过去走到现在，你可以选择更可以改变你的任何习惯。
7．跟自己打个小赌
这个方法很有效，是我从教育学者布利斯那里第一次听说的。（事实上后来我想到那可能是十年前从老师那第一次听说的，这多少给了点提示）。
如何着手：下定决心只花五分钟在某件事上，五分钟之后做些你想做的事，当你打算继续工作五分钟时，就在你的时间表上做个记号。布利斯的笔记上说，不管工作多让你厌烦，你都要让自己坚持五分钟。
我发现这个方法对于分解长期的工作很有成效。在完成了开始的五分钟后，你会发现接下来的五分钟工作会感觉比较容易些，在这之后你又会感觉更容易些，或者你可以将时间提升到10分钟一次。在这短短的五分钟内做些真正有用的事，那样也就给了自己充实的感觉。来玩个游戏，测试五分钟内你能完成多少工作量，可能你能完成的很少，但这个游戏充满挑战的乐趣。
