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Procrastination
I have a serious problem with procrastination.
Sometimes I'll clean the whole house rather than touch a project or assignment that needs to be finished. I feel as if I physically cannot do the work. I know I need to do the work, I want to do the work, but I can't. I don't want to sound as if I'm whining, and I know I have to 'suck it up and just do it' but I was wondering if there was a way I could ease into it and not make every project so daunting? I'm stuck in this perpetual state of stress which does not motivate me to do my work and rather discourages me more than anything. As days pass by I alternate between seriously stressed anxiety and just not caring at all. Any advice would be appreicated. I want to start forming good habits, before it really is too late.
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Want to answer more questions in the Work & School category?
Maybe give some free advice about: School?
Hunny, I am answering questions on advicenators when I should be revising for A levels. Procrastination is a natural curse of us all.
SOOOOO heres what you gotta do.
Take a deep breath, relax. Its going to be done. If you actually DO the project and get it out the way I promise you will not be stressed anymore.
Day 1- (that's right now) Tidy everything, write a list of things that will need to be done on your daunting project. Write a plan, a list of things to be done in whatever order. Then finish up the rest of the day, set an alarm for early in the morning and have that list in a prominent place to see as soon as you wake up.
Day 2- (Tomorrow) Get up, get washed and dressed FIRST, eat, clean your teeth.
Do not watch TV no reading, nope, nope nope. TODAY, you do your project. This is the day you have set aside to do it, you must do nothing else. You do it and you take maybe an hours break for lunch.
You keep going until you are finished.
If you feel the need to do something else, or you think "I should really clean/read/make/do...that at somepoint" write it down on a list as something to do as a reward WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED.
If its a long project- set aside a "piece" of it to do each day at the same time and make sure you have done at least that much. Sleep and eat well and get up early to not waste the day and keep motivated.
DO IT. DO IT NOW. BECAUSE LATER BECOMES TOMMORROW AND TOMORROW BECOMES NEVER.
Good luck!
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I wish you had been a little more specific as to whether your projects and assignments are school or work related but either way there is probably a deadline and I am guessing that is what has you freaked out! The best way to handle this is to start on it immediately (the same day you get the assignment)plan it out in steps and make a chart of your progress. By using this method you can check things off as you go. I am the worlds biggest procrastinator so I know this works. I love to check things off a list! Every day you must look at the list and then do at least one thing. You can NOT procrastinate about looking at the list! You have to tell yourself "all I am going to do is pick up this list and look at it" then tell yourself "Okay, I am going to do just one thing on this list right now(remember you only have one job!)anyone, even procrastinators such as we can do ONE job, right? The time frame is important so you must start with the plan the first day or you will meet up with that deadline looming again. Let's say your project involves reading, research and writing, break down the reading into manageable segments, do a segment each day until you finish, now it's time to do research, one small segment and write a paragraph or two on it. Repeat daily until the project is finished. You can actually do several projects simultaneously this way if you just look at each segment as ONE job. Yesterday I had a ceiling to paint, grass to mow, gardening to do, clothes to wash, dogs to bath, a table to paint, plants to be planted, a bathroom to be painted, dishes to be done, supper to be cooked, beds to be made, cleaning to be done and of course sitting at the computer giving out(hopefully good)advise! Now if I look at it from that perspective I would just go back to bed and throw the covers over my head! I was very proud to cross four of those things off my list(sadly,cleaning wasn't one of them)but we did eat and that was good! Your frame of mind is very important here. You absolutely can NOT look ahead, you have to learn to live your life one day at a time!(all 12 step programs use this philosophy as well)You can not be stressed if you only have one small job, just for today. If this is still too daunting for you(I loved your use of the word daunting by the way, it is one of my favorites as well!) and you really can't bring yourself to look at the list then you probably should talk to a counselor about it to find out if there is a more complex reason behind your avoidance. Good luck!
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