Off Your Duff

Ok honest now are reading this article because of a real interest or, is there a less desirable project waiting. If so you are guilty of the P word procrastination.

The research reads like swing set assembly instructions. One group says how horrible it is, or the other how good. As usual I tend to take the middle ground.

One article had an extensive list of things the procrastinator should do to quit. My first thought was the true “do it later” person would just keep putting off reading the list.

Some people are always going to put off things till the last minute, no matter how much they try to change. It has been shown there is an adrenalin rush that occurs as a deadline approaches. This helps you to work faster (not to mention it feels good .

The down side the finished product is generally not as high quality if it is put off until the deadline. The non procrastinators, don’t get the rush, but have less stress and a better result in the long run.

The Off Your Duff way of doing thing has always been to keep moving. This is really hard for the person that puts things off. There are a few tricks for the brain. Repeat this to your self there are no big tasks, just little ones connected together.

Break all projects into small bite size pieces. When you complete each small part, give yourself a small reward. A short walk, half a hour of TV, a cookie. Anything you enjoy. Before you know it the whole task is done. Remember rewards     are for doing something, not for putting it off.

Now for the ugh part, if you have many tasks to complete, the order of the little pieces your work on should be do the one you like least FIRST. My worst is bookkeeping it is always the first one I do.

The best advise is to know yourself, and work with what you have. If your a person who puts off everything, try to do some small preliminary tasks well before your deadline, then you can concentrate on assembly, and final tasks at the last minute. I tend to do all of my research earlier, then assemble the finish product in the wee hours of the morning.

The important thing is to DO IT, whether its early or at the last minute.