Procrastination

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The dreaded big “P” that hinders the accomplishment of a lot of things. A lot of people admit to procrastinating now and then. Why? Different people have different reasons and this often include: fear (of failure or of success), uncertainty about a certain goal, lack of determination, lack of motivation, or it has become a habit to put things off.

What if you really want to overcome the habit of procrastination?

Zig Ziglar once said,  “If you need to wake up in the morning and eat a live frog, you wouldn’t want to look at that sucker for too long!” Brian Tracy on the other hand took inspiration from Mark Twain who said, “Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”

What’s with the frogs and what do they have to do with procrastination? The frogs are what we tend to put off or postpone doing due to different reasons we tend to associate with the task, it’s hard, impossible, it can be done later, there is so much time to do it and other similar excuses. Swallowing the frog first thing in the morning gets more things done and allows us to achieve our goals.

How do you swallow the frog? The following points are taken from Brian Tracy’s book Eat That Frog (21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time):

1. Set the table
2. Plan every day in advance
3. Apply the 80/20 rule to everything
4. Consider the consequences
5. Practice the ABCDE method continually
6. Focus on key result areas
7. Obey the law of forced efficiency
8. Prepare thoroughly before you begin
9. Do your homework
10. Leverage your special talents
11. Identify your key constraints
12. Take it one oil barrel at a time
13. Put the pressure on yourself
14. Maximize your personal power
15. Motivate yourself into action
16. Practice creative procrastination
17. Do the most difficult task first
18. Slice and dice the task
19. Create large chunks of time
20. Develop a sense of urgency
21. Single handle every task

Stopping procrastination does not happen overnight, it takes dedication and determination to overcome it. Praying about it will definitely help a lot.

Inspiration

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Most of us have icons that we look up to, people whom we want to be like. They can be famous figures, persons who are well-known ages ago or at present, they can be simple people we admire for certain reasons, they can be our parents or someone from the family. Some people look up to their teachers, others want to follow the path of influential historical figures like Plato, Aristotle, Hemingway, Mark Twain, Gandhi, Thomas Edison, Mozart, or Einstein to name a few. The list of names are endless.

It is okay to have an icon, someone we can take inspiration from in order to succeed. BUT we must consider certain factors in choosing.

1. VALUES

Does/Did this person have positive values that can help me become a better person?

2. LIFESTYLE

Does/Did this person promote a healthy and positive lifestyle ?

3. RELATIONSHIP

Does/Did this person have healthy relationships with his/her family, friends, and colleagues?

4. LESSON

What lesson/s can I learn from this person that can help me achieve my goals?

5. CONTRIBUTION

By having this person as an inspiration, what can I contribute to the fund of knowledge or the world (even in my own simple ways)?

6. IMPACT

What positive impact did this person have in my life that I want to be able to pass on to other people?

7. SPIRITUALITY

Does/Did this person live his/her life to glorify and honor the Creator?