Successful return from holiday: stop procrastination from being your enemy
Putting off activities without justification is known as the art of procrastination. If you are already familiar with it, you should know that doing it as part of your routine when you return from summer can become an obstacle to success.
Enjoying the summer and not wanting to think about work? With the excuse of ‘September is still to come’, do you often put things off until ‘tomorrow’? If the answer was yes, procrastination is probably holding you back from success and it’s time to put it behind you.
Do you know what it means? Etymologically, it derives from the Latin verb procrastināre, to put off until tomorrow; although it goes beyond that, as it includes making the decision not to act and carry out other activities of lesser importance.
According to Piers Steel, author of the book “Why we put off until tomorrow what we can do today”, people who procrastinate tend to be less healthy, less wealthy and less happy.
There are several reasons why people tend to ‘procrastinate’, including fear of failure or making mistakes, low self-esteem, indecision to avoid consequences, or even feeling the euphoria of getting things done at the last minute.
Whatever the reason for delaying projects, there is a solution and you can change it if you really want to. Gran Via Business & Meeting Center wanted to share these 5 keys to prevent procrastination from getting in the way of good work performance:
- Discover the reason: it is important to recognise the reason why tasks are delayed, a basic way to find a better solution.
- Minimise distractions: you need to get away from all those elements that make you lose your attention, such as electronic devices, social networks or family or friends who are close to you when you are working. Try to create the right atmosphere to motivate.
- Set time limits: it is important to set a date and time to finish activities. This will help to establish the right pace of work.
- Set 3 daily goals: instead of making a long to-do list, it is better to focus on the 3 most important things to solve each day.
- Use the strategy of mixing actions: this consists of combining two activities at the same time. For example: listening to an audio book while exercising. This way, you can combine something you like with something you don’t, giving you an incentive.
