Why do we procrastinate? I don’t know anyone who can honestly say that he or she never suffers from this bad habit.
Eric Zimmer claims that procrastination has two main causes: either the task seems too overwhelming, or there is uncertainty or ambiguity that prevents you from rolling up your sleeves to get it behind you.
It is common knowledge that 90% of all diets fail. It is also true that we choose how we want to behave and how we follow through on our goals. Conquering procrastination is a skill that can be learnt and practised, Zimmer believes. He learnt three lessons from the popular board game RISK and put it to the test:
Lesson one is to take small continents first . If you start out too big, chances are that you will fail, simply because the task at hand will overwhelm you. A writer suffering from Writer’s Block, was told to write for only 5 minutes a day, every day. At first this seemed like a silly exercise, but she soon regained her momentum and overcame her fear. The secret was to focus on consistency and biting off a small bit, every day.
Lesson two is to concentrate your armies . Focussing on a single task at a time, not trying to do too many things at a time, is the key to success. When people want to lose weight, get fit and change their lifestyle, they often fall into a “self-improvement binge” which is a sure way to invest in disappointment, says Zimmer. Identifying one thing that you could do successfully, investing all your time and energy into that activity, is the way to go.
Lesson three is to make treaties and alliances . Identify a group of supportive friends that know what you want to achieve, that would hold you accountable and encourage you.
This is how you change your life and overcome procrastination – one assignment at a time.
