I have to admit, one of my major weaknesses has been procrastination, it something that most people go through. But I have to be honest, I was next level. I mean I could always find a reason to do something later, in short, I had a serious lack of motivation. I was constantly waiting until the last minute to get things done. Don’t get me wrong I was always on time to work/school and had things done on time. However, I would find myself waiting until the last possible minute to do them. Until one day, I was frankly tired of my own B.S. It was time to make a change, and here is how I did it;
First, I had to figure out the why, and it honestly just boiled down to me not having enough motivation. I had to take a step back and really evaluate myself, and my goals. I wrote a list of things I wanted out of life and wrote them on a whiteboard. It was like a nudge every morning to work for what I wanted.
Secondly; I did create a daily schedule for myself; when I say schedule I mean toilet training your toddler schedule. I planned (or tried to plan) my days down to the hour (something I still do to this day). From what time I woke up, to what time I ate a snack, including in times to just do nothing. I’m a person who thrives under structure, so this was imperative for me. You can do this by using an app or handwriting it in a notebook (I personally chose to handwrite it).
Example:
Sunday; 4:30 AM- Wake up
4:35AM-5:00 AM – Morning routine
6:00AM- 6PM –Work
RELAX
7:45 PM- Meal/Week Plan
9:30 PM – Night routine
10:00 PM – Bedtime
This is the Planner i use, its 17 months and AWESOME!
The third thing, I disabled the snooze button on my morning alarm, think about it. Hitting the snooze button during your wake up alarm is just starting your day off with procrastination. Next, I did give myself the option to sit and think about what needed to be done, just did it. Examples of this are; if your job/school requires a report to be written, do it the day it’s assigned or if you need to get milk because you are about to run out, don’t wait until it’s gone to do it. These small changes will allow you to change your mindset.
Use your goals as affirmations, and say them throughout your day. I’ve even set them as the home screen on my phone. It gives me a consistent reminder, even if I haven’t said my affirmations that day.
TIME MANAGEMENT; a huge factor in changing your mindset, is having time management skills. Prioritizing things THROUGHOUT your day is a great method in utilizing your time properly and not spending too much time on things that aren’t of high importance. Making a to-do list for work/school is how I accomplish this (I’m a list person). So this is secondary to my daily schedule, I guess you can call it a sub-list, it’s basically compromised of certain things needed to be done. Whether I’m working or getting ready to study, the first thing I do is make a prioritized to-do list, which may or may not get done depending on call volume. This list does not have times set do to variability.
I have been able to master the art of not procrastinating through these changes, full disclosure I do have times where I slip up. But so does everyone, we are not perfect and that’s okay. Your goal should be maximizing your quality of life and accomplishing your dreams.
The key to ahead is getting started- Mark Twain
Tanasia.
That Girl Inspires 