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Tag: procrastination

  • The dream killer called procrastination

    Do you know that for the average human ‘I will do it tomorrow’ is their most used word. Everyone thinks we have time and tomorrow is still there, after all January has 31 days and February has 28 days and March has 31 days and we go on and in, till the year comes to an end, then we ask ourselves where did all the time go? What did I achieve in 365 days, then we enter the next year in regret.

    In my experience as a life coach, I have realised that when it comes to coaching people on goal setting a lot of people encounter what I call the goal killer AKA procrastination.

    Procrastination simply defined means leaving what you can do today to tomorrow, tomorrow in the case of a procrastinator never means the next day.

    A lot of people are chronic procrastinators and do not even know. To the regular Joe, procrastination may seem like just an habit, but I have realised that procrastination involves a special level of living in denial and daily lying to one’s self, it may be the number one reason why people say the grave is the richest place on earth.

    When I began coaching talent in organisationsespecially to overcome procrastination, in order for them to live their best lives the first phase which is diagnostic led me to formulate what I call the different types of procrastinators, I realised that as broad as procrastination sounds there are many underlying reasons why different individuals procrastinate, most of the time knowing what makes you procrastinate why you solves half of the problem.

    In this article I will be sharing on just four types of procrastinators.

    1. The Perfectionist: It seems very unlikely that someone like this will procrastinate, but most perfectionists will keep pushing back on a task simply because they want everything to be a certain way before they start, if it’s not up to a certain standard they refuse to continue the project, a peek into this persons closet shows skeleton of unfinished projects and we soon learn that perfectionism is just a cover up excuse for the persons inability to master the task given. Most times this person has an unrealistic picture of how the task is supposed to go, and would not start until this unrealistic picture is in the reality, this person forgets that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and that starting small is the key to a perfect project. If you do not bother starting, how will you even attain the picture of perfection you have in your head.
    2. The fearful procrastinator: This person delays in taking action because of the fear of the unknown, or the fear of what others may say if failure occurs. This person most likely seeks validation from those around him and, the thought of ‘what if this task flops’ is his or her mantra. This person unlike the perfectionist procrastinator doesn’t even bother starting the project, so most of his ideas are stuck in his brain and he will probably go to the grave with the ideas, if he doesn’t get professional help.

    This person doesn’t know that courageous people have mastered the art of going forward despite the presence of fear. A tip for the person is ‘failure is nothing but feedback’ change your perception of failure and watch yourself achieve what you didn’t know you were capable of doing.

    1. The overwhelmed procrastinator: To the passer by, this person is very efficient, and is quick to action, whenever there is a task to be done, this person is usually the first to volunteer his or her service, what no one knows is that this person in a bid to seem efficient and up to the task has taken on more they can bear. This person takes on way too much tasks and appears to be at the fore front of all tasks, unknown to most this person is crumbling beneath all the tasks, the person most likely has a mountain of uncompleted tasks, because they are tired and can’t juggle it all. What this person needs to realise that it’s ok to say no to anything that is a burden to you. Be more interested in results than activities.
    2. The last-minute procrastinator: This person’s most used phrase is ‘I work better under pressure’ the highest level of self deceit. This person leaves tasks till the last minute and begins to rush to complete tasks just at the last minute. What this person doesn’t know is that things like sleep, health, family time and many other things will suffer for this behaviour.

    The good news is that it doesn’t matter what type of procrastinator you are, it is possible for you to overcome in my practice I have recorded a great success of talent who increased productivity, wrote books, started huge projects after a few coaching sessions. With constant work and follow up through coaching a procrastinator can well be on his way to becoming a goal getter. For more information you can follow me on Instagram @coachgbemz or email me at gbemieobadan@gmail.com

    In the interim here are some tips to help you if you procrastinate:

    • Forgive yourself for opportunities lost from procrastination
    • Write down the tasks you need to complete and allocate a reasonable time to complete them
    • Attach a reward to each completed task, this way you can look forward to completing tasks because of the reward attached to it
    • Get an accountability partner to keep you in check, this could be a mentor or a coach
    • Eliminate all distractions
    • Celebrate your progress as you watch yourself become a goal getter

    A friend once said PROCRASTINATION is the only NATION where her citizens are denied visa entry into their DESTINATION. It’s time for you to get your visa entry into your destination, but first you must divorce procrastination.

     

     

  • The fastest way to kill your dreams – procrastination

    Do you know that for the average Nigerian, January is the longest month of the year? Just check it after January we will suddenly be saying Happy new month in July, after that we are buying chickens and saying merry Christmas, and suddenly the year has ended. Maybe I exaggerated a bit, but you definitely get what I am saying. Everyone thinks we have time and tomorrow is still there, after all January has 31 days and February has 28 days and March has 31 days and we go on and on, till the year comes to an end, then we ask ourselves where did all the time go? What did I achieve in 365 days, then we enter the new year in regret.

    In my experience as a life coach, I have realized that when it comes to coaching people on goal setting a lot of people encounter what I call the goal killer AKA procrastination.

    Procrastination simply defined means leaving what you can do today to tomorrow, tomorrow in the case of a procrastinator never means the next day.

    A lot of people are chronic procrastinators and do not even know. To the regular Joe procrastination may seem like just an habit, but I have realized that procrastination involves a special level of living in denial and daily lying to one’s self, it may be the number one reason why people say the grave is the richest place on earth.

    When I began coaching people especially to overcome procrastination, in order for them to live their best lives the first phase which is diagnostic led me to formulate what I call the different types of procrastinators, I realized that as broad as procrastination sounds there are many underlying reasons why different individuals procrastinate, most of the time knowing what makes you procrastinate why you solves half of the problem.

    In this article I will be sharing on just four types of procrastinators.

    • The Perfectionist : It seems very unlikely that someone like this will procrastinate, but most perfectionists will keep pushing back on a task simply because they want everything to be a certain way before they start, if it’s not up to a certain standard they refuse to continue the project, a peek into this persons closet shows skeleton of unfinished projects and we soon learn that perfectionism is just a cover up excuse for the persons inability to master the task given. Most times this person has an unrealistic picture of how the task is supposed to go, and would not start until this unrealistic picture is in the reality, this person forgets that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and that starting small is the key to a perfect project. If you do not bother starting, how will you even attain the picture of perfection you have in your head.
    • The fearful procrastinator: This person delays in taking action because of the fear of the unknown, or the fear of what others may say if failure occurs. This person most likely seeks validation from those around him and, the thought of ‘what if this task flops’ is his or her mantra. This person unlike the perfectionist procrastinator doesn’t even bother starting the project, so most of his ideas are stuck in his brain and he will probably go to the grave with the ideas, if he doesn’t get professional help.

    This person doesn’t know that courageous people have mastered the art of going forward despite the presence of fear. A tip for the person is ‘failure is nothing but feedback’ change your perception of failure and watch yourself achieve what you didn’t know you were capable of doing.

    • The overwhelmed procrastinator: To the passer by, this person is very efficient, and is quick to action, whenever there is a task to be done, this person is usually the first to volunteer his or her service, what no one knows is that this person in a bid to seem efficient and up to the task has taken on more they can bear. This person takes on way too much tasks and appears to be at the fore front of all tasks, unknown to most this person is crumbling beneath all the tasks, the person most likely has a mountain of uncompleted tasks, because they are tired and can’t juggle it all. What this person needs to realize that it’s ok to say no to anything that is a burden to you. Be more interested in results than activities.
    • The last-minute procrastinator: This person’s most used phrase is ‘I work better under pressure’ the highest level of self deceit. This person leaves tasks till the last minute and begins to rush to complete tasks just at the last minute. What this person doesn’t know is that things like sleep, health, family time and many other things will suffer for this behavior.

    The good news is that it doesn’t matter what type of procrastinator you are, it is possible for you to overcome in my practice I have seen that with a few coaching sessions a procrastinator can well be on his way to becoming a goal getter. For more information you can follow me on Instagram @coachgbemz or email me at gbemieobadan@gmail.com

    In the interim here are some tips to help you if you procrastinate

    –            Forgive yourself for opportunities lost from procrastination

    –            Write down the tasks you need to complete and allocate a reasonable time to complete them

    –            Attach a reward to each completed task, this way you can look forward to completing  tasks because of the reward attached to it

    –            Get an accountability partner to keep you in check, this could be a mentor or a coach

    –            Eliminate all distractions

    –            Celebrate your progress as you watch yourself become a goal getter

     

     

  • ‘Procrastination kills writing skills’

    ‘Procrastination kills writing skills’

    Releasing three books at the same time was indeed a big feat for Victoria Praise Abraham.  Penultimate weekend in Lagos, the three books were presented to the public through a reading to show the lessons espoused in them.  Edozie Udeze reports.

    Victoria Praise Abraham is best known as the author of Hope on the Go.  Apart from her numerous motivational articles which span over 12 years, she has just written three new books.  During the public reading of the three books which took place recently in Lagos, she made it clear that writing on positive issues has come to form part of her contribution to ensuring a sane, responsible and progressive society.

    The three books are: The Tiny Big First Step, Insightful Nuggets for Living and 100 Life’s Little Lessons.  At the reading, Abraham noted that the basic components of the books were to help people to be who they want to be.  “These books are self-help books,” she pointed out.  “And this is why I try to concentrate on the issues that add value to people, to the society and to those who want to be who they are, not only in Nigeria, but beyond.  For instance, procrastination is a destiny killer.  If you procrastinate a lot, please stop it.  It is time for you to move on.  Your life will pass you by if you do not wake up now to act.  It is better to handle life on practical steps taken to be an achiever.  When you procrastinate, you leave a lot of things undone.  In fact, what you ought to do today you not leave till tomorrow.  This is not good and it kills destiny,” she warned.

    Titilayo Oyinsan who read from the book The Tiny Big First Step read from two topical chapters of the book.  In chapter four, entitled 20 reasons why people procrastinate, she noted that laziness is a joy killer.  “Yes, the generality of people are lazy.  One way or the other you find that at a point or the other in a man’s life, we all have to fight the habit of laziness.  This, to my mind, is a monster and it needs to be killed off.  It has to be destroyed and cut out of one’s life.

    “Laziness is the number one reason why most people procrastinate.  Some people are lazy about everything while others are lazy about certain things.  But if truth be told, you find out that most of us are lazy in one way or the other.  Indeed, laziness is an evil that prevents people from fulfilling their destiny.  In fact, a lazy man cannot hunt for his food…”

    Oyinsan, a broadcaster, equally dwelt on chapter eight which talks on ‘ways to overcoming procrastination’ and observed that if you have to effectively overcome procrastination, you must first understand yourself.  You must understand why you do what you do most of the time.  You must understand why you procrastinate.  What is the intrinsic reason why you procrastinate?  Is it just plain laziness or are there other reasons?  Therefore, you need to fight procrastination through the instrumentality of self-management…  When ideas pour like torrential rain, you must exert strength and energy to ensure that you spend quality time putting these ideas down…”

    In the opening song rendered by Bukky Oluyale, who also read from Insightful Nuggets for Living, she sang to enliven the event.  With her sound and melodious voice which seeped deep into the audience, she said: “My life is in God’s hands.  And with God you can make it.  With Jesus, I, you, everybody can make it.  No matter what stands on your way, joy comes in the morning.  Therefore, there is a friend in Jesus who will wipe away your tears.  I know I can make it myself.”  While she sang, the audience cheered and chorused along showing that the ideas we have in us can be made manifest if we ask God to make it blossom.  In each person, is a talent and this talent can be made known if we try and then seek the face of God to show the way.

    In 100 Life’s Little Lessons, the central theme borders on the determination to succeed in life.  “I had to go self-publishing because I did not want to continue to wait,” the author noted.  “I couldn’t have waited for ever for my books to be published.  It is part of the procrastination we are talking about here today.  But in doing so, focus on God and then providence will help you.”

    In his speech, Ikechi Odigbo, an advertising magnet disclosed that if there is one writer who is qualified to write on procrastination, Abraham is that person.  “Yes, she knows better.  This has happened to her before.  This is why she is the author to handle this topic.  She has stories over the years on the issues of life relating to procrastination.  She has faith but she also knows that faith without work does not work.  This is why she has come to learn how to set goals for herself and then overcome procrastination.

    “Since Abraham began writing with depth and profundity, this is no longer a big challenge to her..  But the lesson to be learnt from this is that we all should not procrastinate.  I know I am one of the victims of this habit as a creative person.  But honestly, we need to conquer it.  This was why Monroe the writer, said that the graveyard is the biggest repository of unfulfilled dream.  A lot of people went to their grave without even tapping into 10% of their talents.  This is not good enough and so we have to wake up the dreams in us and work to perfect them.”

    Odigbo, the Chief Executive Officer of DDB Advertising Agency made it clear that everything we to achieve greatness are inside our beings.  “We should devote our time to our energy.  We should avoid discouragement and focus on the good life.  We should therefore have the conviction that we have set out to do well.  We have to relate with people of the same dream to see how we can harmonize and move forward.  And so when it comes, let us take it as it is.  Avoid idea killers in order to avoid procrastination.  It also takes prayers, for God guides our intellect and directs us on what to do.  It is God who says who we are and not people.”

    The reading was done to highlight the contributions of Abraham to intellectual development in the society.  An educationist and a graduate of the University of Lagos, Abraham has taken to writing as a way of life and her own way of building a sound society.

  • The hidden cost of procrastination

    The hidden cost of procrastination

    Last week I narrowly escaped what could have been a catastrophe. It was late morning on Wednesday and I was working on my Tablet PC. I was connected to the internet and downloading information as part of my research for a client project. A still small voice reminded me of the dangers of the internet and I was distinctly aware that my anti-virus was not working. It had stopped working in early February and I had not made out time to take it in for repairs.Besides, I had done online research many times since February and nothing had gone wrong. This time would be no different.

    Suddenly, through the corner of my eye, I saw an icon popup on the Task Bar at the bottom of my screen. I ignored it and stayed focused on my task. After a few minutes, a dialogue box opened and a strange looking program started scanning my hard drive. I stopped. An antivirus software with a brand name that was unknown to me was running on my PC. I thought,”Hmm… this is weird”. I tried to stop the program, but it would not stop. Every time I attempted to stop it, it would inform me that my PC was infected and open a screen asking me to put in my credit card details to purchase this unknown antivirus software.

    My system had been hijacked and soon I was unable to do anything on my PC. The virus aborted every attempt I made to download an antivirus, leaving a cheeky message that it had stopped a dangerous software from running on my system. Imagine the nerve! I was forced to make that phone call to my IT consultant. The call I should have made five months ago.

    Luckily, he could squeeze me into his late afternoon schedule, but I still had to twiddle my fingers for two hours before our appointment. “Why did this have to happen to me today?” I fumed silently. I was only a week away from getting my antivirus fixed. “What if they have to wipe my hard drive and I lose all my documents?” I had not backed up my hard drives in a while!There was no one to blame but myself. I had the chance to do the right thing for five months but did not. I procrastinated. I knew that getting the antivirus fixed was important but it was not urgent, so I let it drag until a force outside my control was forcing me to take action. I wondered how this story would end. Was this going to be a case of “too little, too late?”

    Procrastination is the act of deferring, putting off or delaying an action. It is derived from the Latin word “prôcrâstinâre” which means to postpone until tomorrow. I don’t think that procrastination in itself is a bad thing. After all, we have more demands on our time than we have time in one day to do them, so some things must necessarily be deferred to a later time. It is how we procrastinate and what we procrastinate about that often gives procrastination a bad name. Procrastination has huge hidden costs. I can’t tell you how many times I have had to pay more for goods and services simply because I delayed payment. The countless opportunities lost because I said “I will get back to it later” and forgot to. The impact on my health because I postponed a doctor’s appointment or delayed taking medication.

    Fortunately, my IT consultant was able to outwit and outmaneuver the crafty virus after forty five minutes of pecking at my keyboard. He fixed my defective antivirus and scanned my system just to make sure there were no other viruses lurking in the shadows. Phew! I had just had a brush with the work of an insidious mind and escaped with little to nothing lost except for six hours of my day and a little bit of my “swag”. I could not help by wonder how much more painful, frustrating and devastating the situation could have been. This time I was fortunate. But what about next time?

    What has procrastination cost youthis year– an education, a degree, a promotion, a business, a relationship, a vacation, wealth creation, happiness or your health?What will your continued delay cost you? It may not seem like much today, but… what will the cost be tomorrow? You may not be as lucky as I was with my unprotected PC. The best way to overcome procrastination is to take action on important things before they become urgent and establish a system that enables you to stay one step ahead of deferred activities. I leave you with the words of Charles Kingsley, “Every duty which is bidden to wait returns with seven fresh duties at its back.”

    Have An Amazing Week!