INSPIRING MONDAYS FROM EDU: TODAY INSTEAD OF TOMORROW

TOMORROW, TOMORROW AND TOMORROW AGAIN...

We often repeat these words of Macbeth, albeit in a completely different context: not with anguish and bitterness, but with hope and relief: the hope that tomorrow we will finally start doing something that we have been planning for a long time; relief - because we will finally start doing it, and tomorrow is just around the corner, so you can relieve yourself of the guilt of not taking action yet. Therefore, there is nothing to worry about, because tomorrow we will do what we have been thinking about for a week, month, year and what is still waiting for its tomorrow.

And then tomorrow turns into today. And we decide again that we will start tomorrow.

you know it? You know the situation when an important matter has been postponed for a long time - sometimes unpleasant, sometimes nice, sometimes simply requiring effort - to tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow, and as part of the filling today, a number of substitute, less important or not so urgent works are performed? I suspect that many readers have experienced this at least once in their lives, others from time to time or often. It's a nasty trend, initially deceptive with the promise of "you have plenty of time", then causing more and more stress, finally slamming in the face with a venomous: "Sorry, but did you know that the deadline is this week / today / in an hour?". There is a great mobilization of forces, a furious race against time and either a painful disappointment, because you did not make it on time, or a pyrrhic victory: although you made it on time, but at what energy, mental, physical, sometimes also relational or financial cost.

Yes, it's a nasty trend. Tendency to what? For procrastination, of course. Because that's how she likes to torment us: procrastination.

PROCRASTINATION, OR?

What is procrastination? This is explained by Edyta Duda in the article I can do anything, but ... then, regarding this phenomenon:

“The word comes from the Latin pro, which means “forward”, and crastinate, which means “tomorrow”. We procrastinate, delay, postpone action. And we bear the cost of it. Acting at the last minute, we feel unnecessary anxiety and usually underperform. [...] The specific cost is the stress associated with operating at five to twelve, less satisfaction with life, and regret for missed opportunities.

But in procrastinating, we also lose something more important. William Knaus, a psychotherapist who deals with this problem, writes: "In the world of personal procrastination, you put off telling those important to you that you care about them, you avoid taking the risks you dreamed of, or you continue to smoke when you know it would be wiser to quit. [...] You keep passing up development opportunities for fear of not doing well enough... «. [...]

There are different reasons and styles of procrastination. The effect, however, is usually the same: after a momentary relief comes more pain. »Procrastination is like a credit card: lots of fun until you get the bill« [...]. Is it worth taking this loan?”.

The question of whether it is worth it, everyone has to answer for himself. As it turns out, there are several types of procrastinators, i.e. people operating in procrastination mode. For some people, putting things off until the last minute can be useful or convenient in some ways - for example, as a top-down excuse for a potential failure or an adrenaline rush. However, many people would gladly exchange procrastination for effective action - but how?

The first step is to realize that the problem of procrastination applies to us at all (for this purpose, you can look at the quoted article and take the "A procrastinator is you?" test). The second is to determine which group you belong to (here the book Do It Now. Stop Postponing Things Until Tomorrow, whose author, Jeffery Combs, distinguishes and discusses six types of procrastinators, will be helpful here). And the third step? Finding ways to combat procrastination. Only, again - how?

TOMORROW WILL BE TODAY

The author suggests nine ways to help free yourself from procrastination and go from "I'll do it tomorrow" to "I'll do it today":

“Enough of talking and planning, just start taking action – step by step, even step by step.

• Have a clear goal , remember what you are striving for, and do not lose sight of it.
• Turn off all distractions (especially Facebook and iPod).
• Get into the habit of persevering despite difficulties and setbacks.
• In times of crisis , seek the support of someone who believes in you and supports your dreams.
• Defuse excuses that not yet - there will always be one.
• Take responsibility for your action , for starting it and finishing it.
• Don't look back , especially don't dwell on past failures.
• Divide large tasks into smaller batches , set and adhere to deadlines for their completion.
• Forgive yourself and others when things don't go your way.

What could be added to increase the number of ways to fight procrastination? I would add three more suggestions to the set (to make a nice dozen):

Reward yourself for every step forward, even a small one - because then the association is fixed in your head: the action performed equals pleasure (immediate) and reward (even the smallest and most trivial).

Create lists or plans of what you want or need to do - the presence of a "to do list" can be motivating (or, when more and more things are piling up, it can scare and scare away the desire to postpone).

Imagine often and in detail how you perform a task - visualizations are very helpful and effective, because thanks to them our mind gets used to the vision of ourselves (i.e. us) doing what we think about.

And you? What will you add to this list?

In conclusion, I remind you of the reading hint: Jeffery Combs, Do it now. Stop putting things off until tomorrow. Maybe we will reach for this book - not tomorrow, but today?