Marty Nemko has an interesting article on procrastination on Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. He must have been speaking directly to me; I am an offender, but probably not one of the worst.
Whatever the cause, my clients find the following approach helpful in overcoming procrastination. Ask yourself, “Is it in my interest to start on this task now? And if not now, when?” There’s always a moment, usually unconscious, when you decide whether to start a project. If you make that decision consciously, you’ll often choose to start working right away. Picture the benefits of finishing the task. Imagine how good you’ll feel not having to bring home last-minute work.
For example, It seems I generally write my papers for my MBA classes in the last possible moments.
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8:23 pm (reply)
What if someone kept putting off asking that question? Are they supposed to ask themselves if if it’s in their best interest to ask themselves that question? What if they put off asking that too? Then they will have to ask themselves if it’s in their best interest to ask themselves if it’s in their best interest to ask themselves that question, won’t they? And if they put off that one too … well, it can get really messy. Good question to ask though.
10:42 pm (reply)
Procastination is like a war on oneself. So many battles.
1:34 pm (reply)
Hi Flexo,
University of Calgary, Canada has an excellent website on the causes of procrastination.
http://webapps2.ucalgary.ca/~steel/surveys/future_value/
2:14 pm (reply)
I’ve been studying for the level I CFA examination and find myself falling behind my planned study schedule further and further, yet I still put off completing practice questions on a daily basis. It has been a real eye opener to me. I thought I would have more self-discipline.
4:21 am (reply)
That quote reminds me of Steve Pavlina’s Blog for some reason. I guess lots of inspirational books have similar material. Unfortunately, it rarely works on me. Sigh.