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by ·Dexter H. Faulkner
If
you feel like you are not accomplishing enough, if you're pressed for
time and can't seem to catch up- read this article.
T
ime is money, the old
saying goes. And if you
go by the effort and ex–
pense corporations are ex–
pending to train executives
and management personnel
in time management, it cer–
tainly must be true.
In today's bus iness world,
each minute is thought of in
terms of its dollar and pound
value. Time management is an
indispensable skill.
Lesson number one in many
time-management cou rses is how
to overcome procrastination.
If
you
feel like you are not accomplishing
enough, if you're pressed for time
and can't seem to catch up, you are
probably being victimized by that
old thief of time-procrastination.
But to be sure, see if sorne of
these points apply to you.
Do you find yourself
• Putting off today much more
than you will ever be able to ac–
complish tomorrow?
• Deliberately working slowly at
something, planning to speed up
later to fin ish it?
• Delaying to put a great idea or
important plan into action, telling
yourself that you will start tomor–
row?
• Running needless errands to
avoid getting down to the task at
hand?
Sorne people are hindered by
January
1986
procrastination more than others,
but everyone is guilty of it sorne–
times. In stealing our time, how–
ever, procrastination deprives us
of the fullest realization of our
ambitions, hopes and dreams. Be–
cause procrastination keeps us
from achieving our goals, it de–
prives us of satisfaction and hap–
piness.
Why
Procrastination?
We are al! inclined to postpone
doing something distasteful or dif–
ficult. We fill our time with rela–
tively unimportant tasks to avoid
the unpleasant jobs. T hat's human
nature.
Sometimes we shroud procrasti–
nation in a maze of red tape,
protesting that we must first con–
sider the problem from every angle
before taking action. Al! the possi–
bilities must be explored and ana–
lyzed.
From childhood, sorne of us have
acquired the habit of putting off
doing things until someone else fi–
nally does them for us.
Writers, composers, artists claim
they are waiting for inspiration.
Overcoming Procrastination
How do we overcome procrastina–
tion? Determine immediately what
you want to achieve today or, if it's
too late for today, tomorrow. Write
it down. Now analyze your list,
estímate how long you will need to
perform each of those tasks and
number them in order of impor–
tance.
If
a responsibil ity is especially
difficult, place it at the top of your
list. Do it first and enjoy the re–
mainder of your day without the
burden of that unpleasant duty
hanging over your head. At the end
of each day you will be able to look
back at a number of accomplish–
ments. This will give you a sense of
satisfaction and raise your self-es–
teem. It will also push you to do
even greater things tomorrow.
Once you get today and tomor–
row organized, plan your goals for
next week.
Another way to avoid procrasti–
nation is after you have made a
decision, act at once to carry it out.
There is no better method for get–
ting things done than to just start.
Putting off doing what you know
you should causes discouragement.
Don't defend or find excuses for
procrastination in any facet of your
life-in your responsibilities to
your family, your job or especially
in your responsibilities to God.
God expects us to act on what
we know.
If
you have been putting
off fulfilling your responsibilities to
him, you could be a victim of the
most dangerous kind of procrasti–
nation- spiritual procrastination.
Write for our free booklet
Why
Were You Born?
to find the help
you need to put things in the
proper perspective. Do it now!
Don't put it off. o
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