Tuesday, December 25, 2007

How to master procrastination?


Procrastination can affect every part of your life. It adds spice and challenge.It turns everything into an ordeal..

It is also a great way to piss people around you off. It puzzles them, specifically when you end up doing fine. It is a trait that beholders should proudly..(i'll complete next time)

I have to confess. I AM a procrastinator. A proffessional one. I get things done. but only when its last minute before its too late. I get on my nerves many many times.I tried to stop myself from this self-destructive behaviour. But I always procrastinate in that too..

I think it is time to share my talents..maybe you share some of these..or maybe you would learn from others..
1- Have a to do list: Okay, procrastination doesnt mean that you dont know what you have to do..that is a great misconception. If you dont know what you have to do..how will you manage when to procastinate what? you always have to know whachya gotta do..Just dont do it (yet).

2- Don't carry a watch: Not just that, but always ask abruptly about the time. What time is it now? OMG am running late..Carrying a watch would automatically deprive you from the right that you dont know exactly how much time you have got left, which typically means..there is much time left.

3- Dramatize: This is fun. complaining about the amount of work you have to do, and how little time you have left is always a great game to play. People sympathize everytime. People start to help. Not only that, it gives you even more time to waste.Keywords to use: Crisis, Ma2saah, enyahar, ed3eely, mesh hal7a2, tremendous, too much, too little, and the like :)

4- Remember the things you WANT to do: when there are things that you NEED to do..This is a typical me: Sitting online wanting to finish a certain research...hmm let's check facebook first, then google reader, then some blogs ofcourse, emailing an old friend, browsing flicr,then suddenly am reading through wikipedia, not to finish down my researchm but to look up some scientific concept like the six degrees of seperation, or maybe reading through a script of a movie i used to like, then searching for this part on youtube, then googling the cast..then what did i want to do? aaah the research..okay..what was it about..hmmm data warehousing..that needs some brains..I need to get myself a cup of coffee first..I can go on forever..bottom line: I do the research next day.

5- Organize: This is a great time waster. You have to finish some bills..You open your drawers then you realize that they need some tidying up.You can't work like this..You have to clean up that mess.After probably one hour of tidying up the drawers, color coding and categorizing every paper (procrastinators are also perfectionists), you get really excited and start with your wardrobe.

6- Now is the time: this is the toughest thing in procrastination: Deciding the exact time when to stop it. when exactly do you start studying for the exam? the previous day? the previous afternoon? or the previous night? When do you actually go prepare the presentation you have to do? On the weekend? or in the car on your way to work? I can't answer this question..But the moment you think it is physically impossible to finish what you have got to do in the amount of time given, then start doing it ;).

7- What's the worst that could happen?: you have something you gotta do and you really dont feel like it.so what? If your life is not at stake, then it is not really important now.

8- Getting it done: okay, you have wasted all the amount of time there is that you can waste. You have 10 minutes left to do the work that should typically take an hour. The keyword here is "focus". Remember that you procrastinate for one thing..the challenge..so you have to keep reminding yourself that "i can do this" in the last minute(s). I mean how many bombs in movies were deactivated in literally the last seconds just because the so called hero was procrastinating all the time..I mean if he can do it..so can you...

9-Congrats:
you did it! you finished what you had to do..whether it was sloppy or not, you did it :).You have to congrat your self and treat yourself a nice movie/meal/outing

10- The little things: I almost forgot to tell you how much it is important to waste your time doing the little things first..a phone call, grabbing something to eat, checking your mail, reading the newspaper, deciding what to do first,replanning, picking a new look, writing a list of a movie you would like to watch, actually downloading the movie..they work like magic..

P.S: This was written the night before my certifiaction exam(3 weeks ago), and was kept as a draft because i kept procrastinating proof-reading it.

1 comment:

grey said...

haha!

nice post:)