Overcoming Procrastination

What is procrastination? Procrastination is putting off an action that you know you should do, but for some reason, are not very motivated to do it. We all have those chores, duties, or courtesies (the handwritten letters to our loved ones) that we subordinate to virtually everything else in our daily routine. Could it be that what makes people special in the lives of others is their ability to perform those things that we, somehow, are unable (or unwilling) to do? Are there steps we can take to overcome our difficulty with this procrastination? I think there are, but, you may have to continuously address what your own procrastinations are. Here are a few suggestions:

Take, for instance, the sending personalized handwritten notes; go to the website moo.com (or another like it) and create your very own personalized stationery, note cards, etc. Pick a style that is an extension of your personality. It may just be your initials, or it can be your name as the header with a famous quote that you appreciate and want to share as a footer. I chose for myself, one with just my name at the top and a quote by Mark Twain about kindness as a footer at the bottom on the reverse side as a footer.

Once you have your stationery in hand, you are ready to begin spreading the love. I think we can all agree that once the procrastination of a task has been overcome and the job accomplished, there is a great sense of relief, satisfaction, and maybe even, accomplishment.

This very blog is one of my own subjects of procrastination. I cannot tell you (it would be too embarrassing) how long I have been “thinking” about writing a blog. For me, I sometimes have to box myself into a corner to accomplish a certain task. Oft times we need help accomplishing a task and it just takes the right person to come along to complement our own skill set and fill in the elements of the task that we are lacking.

Acknowledging that last statement could be a major step in solving our procrastination dilemma.  In order to fulfill a wish or goal we have, it could be quite probable that we need help! Not realizing that we need help or being afraid (or too lazy) to seek it out can actually be the main obstacle that prevents us from moving the project forward.

Some personality types may be less comfortable seeking help from others. For example, people with more introverted personalities may be less comfortable seeking help.  People, like myself perhaps, fail to seek the help we need because of our “do-it-myself” attitude.  Learning to work with others who can facilitate our progress should not be a matter of pride or an attitude of overconfidence. 

If you are overly self-conscious of your flaws or are a perfectionist, asking for help may feel like showing weakness. Regardless of what your personality type may be, knowing when you need help is very important in order to be successful and achieve your goals.

It has taken me many years to learn to invite help from others for projects I cannot seem to complete by myself.   You can research your own personality type and delve a little deeper into your own strengths or weaknesses by logging in to 16Personalities.com and taking the Myers-Briggs test.

Stay tuned!  Much more to come!