Hi, my name is Jon Butt and I’m a procrastinator. We should all try that.
Remember I said this a few times that the first trick to overcoming procrastination is admitting that you procrastinate and figuring out why.
We all do it. You are not unique my friend. We all do it. I don’t know many who don’t, however I do know that they are generally very successful.
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Some people are quick starters. That doesn’t always help. So I have a few tips that will help. This is what I’ve learned over the years and this is how I got stuff done. And believe me I still procrastinate.
I still struggle to get stuff started because I only like to start things when I know I can continue to do it consistently and effectively with quality, so therefore that is my constant excuse for not starting stuff that I should have started and for putting it off.
Just wanted to let you know it’s like getting it off my chest. So, we’re not all different.
Weekend Challenge
#1 Start Work Immediately: Each workday, start work immediately. Now what I mean is when you get to work don’t go and make a coffee.
Don’t start to open emails. Do not pick up the phone. Turn off distractions such as your mobile phone. Turn off social media notifications. Do some work immediately.
That is one of the utmost tricks I’ve learned is to not do all of the automated habit easy stuff. The stuff that you’re putting off is the stuff you don’t really want to do because the rest there is easy.
It’s easy to read emails and answer or delete them. It’s easy to look at Facebook, look at the notifications, and quickly read what people said about you. Don’t do it my friends.
#2 Choose 2 Things to Do First Every Single Day: You probably have a to do list. Your to do list is only going to be effective if it has proper to do’s. Things that when you do them they will make a difference to your business or to your life and they will move you forward.
So, every single day do one or 2 of those and they will regularly be ticked off. Imagine if you only did one 5 days a week. Take some holidays, pull that 200 working days a year.
So, 5 days a week, 200 days a year, do one thing. That’s 200 things. If you are doing the right things, that 200 things is going to get you very far.
#3 Don’t Be a Perfectionist: Do not wait until it’s just perfect. Read the book, The Lean Starter by Eric Ries.
Just get started and fix things that need fixing as you go. Nobody is looking. You haven’t started your blog yet because you don’t think you have enough material.
You think you need to have a lot of stuff written and then put up there before someone comes on. No you don’t have a blog. No one’s reading it.
So, as of Day One you put up the post. No one will read it. You put up a post on the second day. No one will read it. So, don’t worry. It’s good enough for now.
We have built my entire business on these 2 things of: good enough for now, and better. We strive. We go from good enough for now to better. And better becomes good enough for now and then it will be better.
And then good enough for now and better. And we’ve moved forward like that all the way. If we waited till it was perfect, we wouldn’t have done anything.
#4 Set a Deadline: If you have a set deadline for getting something done, it will help you to stop procrastinating. If you say — I’ll get this done soon, it does not become a priority, but if you say you want to get it done by the end of the week or month, you have set yourself a deadline.
# Number 5 Understand Why You Procrastinate: Understand that it is a problem because you’re not getting enough done. You pretty good at getting stuff done but you may be dragging it out.
There’s a thing called Parkinson’s law where if you give someone 8 hours in a day to do something, they’ll take all I ask. If you gave them 4 hours they do the same thing in 4 hours.Whatever it is, they will fill their time with it.
When people retire they say I’ve never been so busy. That’s because the things they do they now take ages to do because they can but it still fills their time so they thought they’d have a lot of spare time.
They‘re filling it by just doing things more carefully and more slowly and more relaxed manner. So, why did you procrastinate? Perhaps you’re lazy. Perhaps you’re just playing tired. Perhaps you think you’re a night owl.
Perhaps you’re suffering from stress. Figure that out. Understand it. It’s like I’ve never been an alcoholic but as we all know the first step to recovering from alcoholism is admitting you are an alcoholic and understanding.
Some people are proper full-on alcoholics. Some people are not too full on alcoholics but they are alcoholics. And the first step is to admitting that. So, understand. That will help.
#6 Get An Accountability Partner: Now I’ve taught often about masterminds, about support networks and everything but on a particular task or as purpose, get yourself an accountability partner.
Now find someone where they will help you, and you will help them. They have to have some kind of understanding of what you’re doing.
Make sure you are on a similar sort of level. My friend Adan from Dublin, he doesn’t have my marketing experience but he’s launching a product that is similar or similar stage to the product that I’m launching so though I have more experience on that he has experience in things I know nothing about and helps me now.
But we are both in the similar position with the project that we wish to get completed so we can help each other. Now, when we have our meetings, we have them every 2 weeks. We fill in notes and send them to each other the day before the meeting and after our meeting which by the way we have on Skype or on the phone.
You really need to be speaking so that questions can be answered, or emailing that doesn’t really work. Afterwards, we will have both make commitments of what we’re going to do before the next meeting which will be in 2 weeks time.
And, we then send each other an email of our commitments which is probably 2 or 3, not too much. So that we‘ve said will get that done. It’s like a self-commitment but also we know we’ve got someone who’s going to hold us to account.
Things come up, life gets in the way, you have children they get sick, you have to be off work, you have holidays — don’t worry about that just, work around them.
These things happen but an accountability partner’s going to be with you all the time all year so then you won’t have excuses. What about the rest of the time? That will help. Once you tell people that you are going to do something they’re going to ask, did you do that?
You’re going to feel pretty silly or look pretty silly if you didn’t so that’s a big one. These things are what I did to work around it and I still procrastinate but I am miles more productive and effective than I was before I learned any of these.
And, I’ve learned these from others. Others have told me how they’ve done it and I still listen to people who’d crack on about how to avoid procrastination. And if I pick up new tips I’ll add them.
But these made a difference. That is your weekend challenge my friend. I want you to succeed! I will help you if you’ve got any questions ever. Ask them on any social media.
Have yourself a fantastic weekend.
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What are you procrastinating on?