Fresh Focus On Productivity!™

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An overwhelmingly large task can propel even the sturdiest task master towards procrastination. If you are a procrastinator by nature or long term habit forming, you may not even have a chance to get that large task done! Thanks to all those who are somewhat organized, there are steps you can take to climb out of that pit of procrastination.

First you must set your goals.

Whether you are dealing with a small or large task, or contemplating your lifes dreams, the place to start is with a set of goals.

There are a few things to remember when doing goal setting. Goal setting can occur at many different levels; long term life goals, daily goals or singular task goals, to name a few. Start with the broad goals and work your way down to the smaller items. For instance succeeding at your job can be the broad goal, keeping your boss happy by completing all tasks on time, then making them even more precise by focusing on one task, and then the things you need to do to complete that task. Using this method you have now brought it down to the nitty gritty of your goals. Remember to always keep your wording positive and encouraging, and write them down. Writing them down will make your goals seem more concrete and set.

Once these goals are in place, they will have caused a direction to your achievement. Now think about the things you need to do to acheive those preset goals.

The second step to completing your task, again whether it be small or large, short or long term, is to make lists of what needs to be done.

Start with your smallest goals and write down every point you will need to complete to achieve that goal. Prioritize these points to ensure you get what needs to be done,done first. Keep going up your list of goals until you have written all the points it will take to acheive all of your ultimate goals. This will be easy if you have previously written down your goals. Also, by writing things down you have set the stage for a preliminary reward. As you complete each point on your ‘to-do’ list, you cancheck or cross them off, giving yourself a sense of accomplishment at the same time!

Now you have set goals, made your ‘to-do’ lists but you are still not actually doing anything to complete the task. That is where the third step comes in.

The third step to completion is to motivate yourself.

There are always many things you can do to motivate yourself. Some are visualizing what it will be like once you have achieved your ultimate goal. Let yourself daydream about that a bit. Do not forget to remind yourself that you have taken positive steps thus far to complete the task and that you can do these things! Take into consideration the smallest points you have on your to do list. You can do those! You have set goals, made lists, you are ready!

Yes, now you are really ready to go. With your goals, lists and enthusiam you should be ready to get started. Some people, however will STILL have a hard time actually STARTING. Sometimes being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel is not enough to get those hard core procrastinators to get going. That is why this last step can be so important. The fouth step is to form a reward system for yourself.

The first reward you can count on is that of accomplishment. As you complete each point on your ‘to-do’ list you can cross those off. Soon the list will get shorter and you’ll start feeling excited that you have gotten so far. Another reward that you can give yourself is giving/doing for yourself something you enjoy after completing a certain amount of points on your list. For example once you complete five points on the list you can surf the internet for fifteen minutes, or something like that. This will also serve as a time-management tool. You will be able to estimate how long your points will take to complete and for how much time you will be rewarding youself. Time-management being an important part of completing a task but not one to focus on now.

Focusing on getting away from procrastination, if you follow all of these steps; goal setting, ‘to-do’lists, motivation and rewards, you should be able to get up and get going with the tasks at hand. The procrastination pit is certainly not bottomless and these steps should take you up and out. Be positive and you can lead yourself to success!

Laura Gagnon lives in Ottawa, Canada with her husband and two, soon to be three, sons. University educated, with aspirations of future education, Laura strives to share her unique experiences and knowledge with others as she lives by the mantra that “a good leader leads by example.” To all those who choose to follow their dreams, come on this journey and lead your lives to success.
http://leadyourlives.blogspot.com

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