Are You a Victim of this Career Killer?

Your word of the week. Learn it and Learn to Avoid it...
Procrastinate - pro•cras•ti•nate [proh-kras-tuh-neyt]
To put off till another day or time; delay. - courtesy of Dictionary.com
The word itself comes from the Latin word procrastinatus: pro- (forward) and crastinus (of tomorrow). – courtesy of Wikipedia.org

A great man once said:
“Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not achieve anything with it.”

Dato Vijay Eswaran – The Sphere of Silence

Are you finding yourself putting off important tasks day after day? Sure you do, but it’s okay. You are not alone. Most of us tend to do a little thing called “procrastinate”. It’s basically the bad habit that stops you from completing your tasks, and can even prevent you from achieving your goals and dreams.

If you want to control and ultimately beat procrastination, you need to understand why it happens. Use this simple guideline to remove this time-sucking black hole from your day.

1. Put a Face to the Problem
There are a number of causes why we procrastinate. Some of us lack desire, or on the other hand, some of us are self-proclaimed perfectionists who feel they do not have the proper skills to complete the task now, so will not bother doing it at all. Some of us simply avoid doing the job based on fear of failure or even success. Regardless of the reason, avoiding the task is not an option.

2. Be a No-Man/Woman
Finding other things to do instead of your assigned task will only lead to panic and hopelessness with the due date quickly approaching. Stop saying yes to tasks that can wait. It will only make your life that much easier.

3. Challenge Yourself Already!
Motivate yourself by realising that once you complete the task, you will learn something new. If it is a task you have done before, try to do it a different way. You could discover an aspect that will make it more enjoyable (or bearable) in the future!

Another way to work around procrastination is to reward yourself for your efforts. Break down the blocks that prevent you from doing your job by earning that well-deserved treat following comlpetion!

Have You Made it this Far?
Well it's a good thing you didn't put off reading this article. The key points you should have learned are to recocognise the signs of procrastination, prioritise, and do motivate yourself to do the job. Keep this in mind the next time your're assigned something you dread.

Now get back to work!