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Stop Procrastination - Just do it!
What stops you from 'getting things done?' Have you ever started your day with good intentions of completing a task or project only to find that by the end of the day you've hardly worked on it? Or have you ever set a goal to attend a seminar, learn a new skill or just have more time out for you? I'm sure you have. I'm not going to write a long-winded explanation about the art of procrastination or "putting things off" but what I will do is share with you the secret of actually "getting things done"?putting an end to procrastination and just getting on with it. I believe most people overload themselves with too many unimportant tasks or commitments, which in the scheme of their day or life is really of little benefit. Our society is so conditioned to "being busy". If you ask a colleague or friend "How are you?", generally they answer "I'm busy/flat-out/snowed-under", even on weekends! But what are they "busy/flat-out/snowed-under" doing? "Being busy" can be totally different to "being productive". Bill's story Bill, a friend of mine is an extremely intelligent and creative person. He's "flat-out" in his role as the Marketing Manager for a large manufacturing company. Having observed Bill in his working environment, he constantly allows everyone and anyone to interrupt him. He believes in the "open door" policy. He allows the day to evolve rather than planning what he wants to achieve. Bill's office looks like a bomb-site so he consequently wastes immeasurable amounts of time searching for paperwork. Bill has just turned forty - the 'mid-life' crisis decade. He's married with two children 8 and 10 yrs old whom he loves dearly. Unfortunately due to his work commitments he does not spend as much time with them as he wants to. He 'used to be' fit but now he's on the pudgy side. His excuse for not exercising is "I don't have the time". Starting work by 8.00 a.m. and finishing around 7.00 p.m. Who would have the time? Bill is like many people I know who don't realise there is a better way. Bill called me a few weeks ago. He'd decided he'd had enough of "never having time" and wants to get organised for living his life. (Prior to this, I used to offer unsolicited advice but he took no notice). How Bill stopped his procrastination and "just did it" This is what happened: Bill cleaned out the clutter from his original "bombsite". We devised simple systems tailored to Bill's creative personality to cope with the mountains of paperwork. Now that Bill has systems he has been able to identify tasks which he can delegate to others. We've worked out simple and easy to implement strategies for coping with interruptions. The "open door" is sometimes closed. Bill now uses a diary (that's right he never used one before) writes a daily list of things to do and scribbles all his notes in it. No more scraps of paper. We worked out where Bill spends his time and prepared a weekly timetable so that he can work in a more structured way and get more done. Such as allocating specific times of the week for certain tasks, rather than letting them build up to unmanageable levels. Time for himself was also factored in. He now gets up at 6.00 a.m. and goes to the gym near his home 4 mornings a week, has breakfast there and then blasts off to work. Those of you who exercise first thing in the morning know what I mean. Bill's now eating more nutritious food. Instead of the unhealthy restaurant food he will often have his lunchtime meetings in a "trendy café" where he can choose what he eats. The last time I spoke to Bill he said he had reduced his working hours. He was leaving the office by 6.00 p.m. the latest and was feeling so good he is considering training to compete in his gym's mini-triathlon. How's that for stopping the procrastination and "just doing it". You can too, you know. We often know what to do, even how to do it. All you need to do make a decision to stop your procrastination and take action today. About The Author Lorraine Pirihi is Australia's Personal Productivity Specialist and Leading Life Coach. Her business The Office Organiser specialises in showing small business owners and managers, how to get organised at work so they can have a life! Lorraine is also a dynamic speaker and has produced many products including "How to Survive and Thrive at Work!" To subscribe to her free ezine visit http://www.office-organiser.com.au This article may be reproduced providing it is published in it's entirety, including the author's bio and all links. For further information please contact Lorraine Pirihi: lorraine@office-organiser.com.au
Latest News:Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news Sarah Palin docu wins record ratings for Fox News (Reuters via Yahoo! News) In a week of records surrounding the Republican National Convention, Fox News Channel earned another one with its weekend documentary on vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. MySpace ad business ahead of target: News Corp (Reuters via Yahoo! News) News Corp's (NWSa.N) MySpace advertising business is operating ahead of expectations and its digital ad business is performing better than the marketplace, the company's chief operating officer said on Tuesday. DGAP-News: Northwest Oil & Gas Trading Company, Inc.: Acquisition of a promising gas project (n-tv.de) Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. News that counts: Editors' Picks for Wednesday from The PD (The Plain Dealer) The news is strictly by the numbers today: 4 The four big-league presidential/vice presidential candidates roamed Ohio Tuesday, coming within 28 miles of one another. We count the visits so far -- Barack Obama, eight; John McCain, 11. 8... For consumers, good news down the line (Sun-Sentinel) Whether you buy a new iPod or not, there may be good news for you in Apple's release of new iPods on Tuesday . False bankruptcy item highlights risks in online news (Market Watch) Investors are getting a fresh lesson in the power and perils of lightning-fast news on the Web in an already fast-moving market. Relief: Cubs get good news on Zambrano, Harden (ESPN) The Cubs received encouraging news on pitchers Rich Harden and Carlos Zambrano on Tuesday. Petraeus to Brief FOX News on Final Battlefield Tour (Fox News) Gen David Petraeus, fresh off an announcement that thousands of U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq, will give his final U.S. interview to FOX News Wednesday before handing over control of U.S.-led forces in Iraq to Gen. Raymond Odierno next week. Brooklyn elevators among city's worst, News finds (New York Daily News) They break down constantly and don't get fixed for weeks. Others are filled with the sour stench of dried-up urine. Elevators at public housing developments across Brooklyn are among the worst in the city, found a Daily News survey of 36 projects. Yahoo News Redesign May Pull a Technorati ? Why Not Twitter? (Wired News) Bloggers have uncovered URLs for a new Yahoo News layout which includes a ?Most Blogged? section. The list is presumably based off Buzz Tracker, which displays related blog posts and those that link back to an article. But wouldn't a "Twittered About" section make the site seem more cutting-edge? Site: news - Google News PRESS DIGEST - New York Times business news - Dec 4 - Reuters
MORE RESOURCES: Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for motivation ND's Weis gives Wolverines motivation (Post-Tribune) SOUTH BEND -- It's impossible to get through a Notre Dame-Michigan game without a little artificially induced motivation. Buckeye finds motivation plentiful for season opener (The Alexandria Town Talk) DEVILLE -- Some teams have to search for motivation to play a game. The Buckeye Panthers actually have a choice when it comes to preparing for their meeting with the St. Mary's Tigers. Charges of political motivation spice up debate at city council (The Sun Chronicle) ATTLEBORO - Take tight city finances, throw in charges of political motivation and add an impending primary election and you have a formula for a bitter and explosive debate - and that's what happened Tuesday on the city council floor. Motivation easy to find for Southern (The Joplin Globe) Motivation won?t be a problem for Missouri Southern in Saturday night?s MIAA opener at No. 7 Pittsburg State.?It?s going to be a great atmosphere,? Lions running back Toderick Hunt said. ?A lot of people, the adrenaline is going to be pumping. I know for me when it?s like that, that?s when I perform the best because it?s time to go. It?s time to go.?A sold-out Carnie Smith Stadium likely will be ... Get some motivation to move this fall (Delaware Coast Press) Summer is winding down and coming to a close. Life seems to pick up pace at lightening speed as soon as September arrives. Vacation time has ceased, the kids are back in school, and -- whether it makes you happy or sad -- bathing suit season is just about over. Haug: Spa will only boost motivation. (Crash.net) Mercedes-Benz motorsport chief admits that the disappointment of Spa will only drive McLaren on. Buttle calls it quits (Fort Frances Times) By admin Thursday, 11 September 2008 - 2:35pm. TORONTO?At a time when many Canadian athletes are finding motivation in the allure of competing at the Vancouver Olympics, Jeffrey Buttle found his desire to skate for gold on home turf just wasn?t there. Sharon Little has a lot of determination and motivation to perform (The Kansas City Star) Tragedy inspired the perseverance that led Sharon Little to music. “I was never really into popular music or popular culture growing up,” said Little, a Philadelphia native and the fourth of seven children. On Soccer: Dynamo reassess game with Quakes (Houston Chronicle) Having won six of their last seven games, the Western Conference-leading Dynamo have plenty of success from which to draw motivation ahead of this weekend?s match against the Earthquakes in Santa Clara, Calif. By Fr. Emeterio Barcelon, SJ (Manila Bulletin) NETWORKING is now used for marketing, manufacturing, for communicating down and up loading, for political information and motivation, for preaching the Gospel. A real trend is interactive echoing of what has been given, for commentary, better understanding, and socializing. Site: motivation - Google News Pistons' Wallace uses technical foul as motivation - The Associated Press
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