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Monday, October 15, 2012

Beating Procrastination





These days, our to-do lists can be incredibly overwhelming. We have an abundance of homework, pieces to practice, songs to write, gigs to rehearse, people to see, and places to be!

With so many things running through our minds every day, it can be easy to confuse the important things with urgent things and the not-so-important things. We all procrastinate. We all get to the point where we have 100 things on our to-do list and we feel so overwhelmed that we choose an activity that doesn't require so much energy or focus.

In the spirit of our Latin Music Culture and Celebration, I'd like to share with you a Spanish quote that depicts the problem with procrastination: "El flojo trabaja doble." The direct translation is: "The lazy one works double." And this could not be more true! How many times have you put something off for a later time because "you'll have more time to do it then" and then suddenly that day comes and you're even more behind than you thought and you're scrambling to get everything done? Your physical and emotional wellness have gone totally out the window because you haven't slept and barely eaten more than a bowl of ramen or a hot pocket. Sound familiar?

Procrastination is one of the main factors for high stress in people, but it CAN be avoided!!

Reasons we procrastinate:

*Disorganization
*Failure to Prioritize goals
*Failure to set them at all
*Not having a to-do list
*Having too large of a to-do list
*"Multitasking"
*Ineffective use of time

Here are 10 ways to AVOID procrastination & keep it away for good:

1) Change Your Environment
*Take a look at your workspace. Does it promote focus or distraction?
*Change it ASAP or move to an environment that will keep you focused.

2) Stop Overanalyzing/Don't Dwell
*The more you come up with a "reason" (*cough cough* EXCUSE) to not do your work, the more you'll put it off for a later date.
*Give yourself the opportunity to exceed. Dwelling on the work you have to do makes it easy for your mind to expand it and make it seem tougher or worse than it really is. With all of the time you spend giving yourself reasons to not do the work, you could have been halfway done already.

3) Change Your Body
*Now that you have an environment you can work with, and you've put it out of your mind that this "can't be done right now," for whatever reason, get yourself into a focused state.
*Change your physiology. Notice how you are sitting or standing. Notice your breath. Notice your posture and the position of your head. Sit up, fix your posture, and take a deep breath. You are more likely to get to work if you're sitting up and ready to work as opposed to slouching over and frowning.
*SMILE! You're about to accomplish something and feel great about it!

4) Start With the Longest/Hardest Task FIRST
*This may seem counterintuitive, but the reason our workload becomes too overwhelming is because we put off the projects we should have started from the very beginning.
*Break it down into tinier steps and set a goal to accomplish each one step by step.
*Working on bigger projects for 15-25 minutes a day is a lot more effective and efficient than finding chunks of 2-3 hour blocks. (Remember: "El flojo trabaja doble!") Do it RIGHT NOW!!

5) Turn off your phone/computer/internet/iPad/iPhone/iDistraction
*Chances are you don't need your phone to do homework or to study (Don't come up with an excuse here.)
*Put your devices on vibrate or silent. This is YOUR time to be successful, don't let a phone call or text ruin it.
*If you need to type something up, turn off the internet. Learn to use your notes and books as a resource over Google. (Hint: It is college.) You'll get more out of work that you actually put work into (I know, what a concept, right?). And let's be honest: that cat video on YouTube is NOT going to help you study.
*Out of Sight, Out of Mind

6) Study Buddy
*Emphasis on STUDY.
*Surround yourself with people that are motivated to get work done. This kind of magnetic energy will inspire you to stay focused and driven.
*Don't let this turn into an excuse to hangout. Commit to actually getting work done before you start to vent about how much work you have to do. Quiz each other, proofread essays or music, and keep each other accountable.

7) Set a timer
*Commit yourself to working for at least 15 minutes without interruptions or distractions (i.e., checking Facebook or Twitter, answering that text, etc.)
*Take a 2 minute break to walk around, get a drink, and stretch. Be mindful of your breathing and keep yourself in that focused state. Set another timer for your next segment of work until you GET IT DONE.

8) Reward System
*Give yourself an incentive to get things done ahead of time.
*If you get all your work done during the week, maybe you could actually look forward to "Sunday Funday" as opposed to dreading another looming Monday.
*Tell yourself that if you dedicate 2 hours a day studying for midterms, you'll take yourself out to eat at your favorite restaurant, or maybe you'll go see that movie you've been wanting to see.
*Don't let the fear of not having time to yourself because you're too busy stop you from being productive. Tell yourself that being productive IS time for yourself and only for your benefit.

9) Expect the Unexpected
*Things happen. Take life into consideration when you think you'll be able to "just do it tomorrow," and then something comes up and now for some reason or another, you're stuck with an extra item on your list that know you should have just done.

10) JUST DO IT
At the end of the day, you know it, I know it -- we have work to do. Procrastination affects us in more ways than one and really disrupts our well-being. Remember that you are here to study, to learn, to create something of yourself and that's not going to happen by spending all your time talking about how much you have to do but never actually doing anything about it. Capisce??
And besides, why not now? Think of the sacrifices that both you and your family go through each day so that you can be successful. Don't let that be in vain. Recognize that you are fully capable of completing the tasks expected of you; you wouldn't even be reading this if you couldn't do it. No more excuses. No more "What If's."

"Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use."
~Earl Nightingale


Okay, now that you've used reading this article as an excuse to not get started on your homework (admit that you didn't even read the whole thing through you procrastinator you), you can do it NOW. I believe in you!! :)


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