Ten Highly Effective Techniques To Defeat Procastination

Procrastination is a plague that effects almost everyone at one time or another. Whether you put off taking out the trash (I hope not), gift shopping for the holidays, or working on personal projects, there are ways to deal with and/or cure yourself of this plague. As much as I love web development, getting into “the flow” can sometimes become a daunting task that’s usually caused by playing Counter-Strike Source, surfing Digg, or socializing (bleh). This list was compiled to provide a constant reminder for myself - hopefully fellow web developers will benefit from it as well.

Most of the methods are positive recommendations. Thinking negatively will only decrease your overall productivity, and here’s a real life example. About once a week I come across a site I’m really impressed with. The niche is unique, the design is perfect, marketing is well executed, yet I find myself overly jealous or envious. I’ll research every aspect of the site: back links, age, supplier, keywords, etc. Suddenly, I find myself thinking, “damn, why didn’t I think of that! I’m such an idiot! blah blah blah.” This is the exact type of behavior we’re aiming to avoid!

10. Avoid thinking negatively, period. Scientist have proven negative thoughts can and do cause physical harm to not only your body, but possibly those around you (emotions are contagious). Some examples include: stomach cramps, headaches, wrinkles, gray hair, bell’s palsy, and more. In addition to the physical effects, negative thoughts are simply counter productive, thus feeding your procrastination plague. This doesn’t mean become a flower sniffing hippy smoken’ dope all day, just avoid beating yourself up over your girlfriend/boyfriend, money, co-workers, parents, whatever.

9. Stop and ask yourself, “Is this productive?” Playing games might be good for hand/eye coordination, but is that going to help you obtain one of your goals? Unless you’re attempting to rank in a game tournament and make some cheese, forget about it. This applies to anything you do.

Check it out: Taking out the trash VS. Talking on the phone. Submitting your site to 50 directories VS. Browsing those 50 directories. Surfing Digg VS. Coming up with the next Digg. Watching lonlygrl15 on youtube VS. Developing Coldfusion methodologies for content management.

If any of these examples were confusing, or you were unable to identify which were productive, this article may not be for you…

8. Set realistic goals! This is so simple, but so many people fail to properly execute this easy solution. $10,000 per day in Adsense revenue sounds great, but don’t expect to earn that overnight, in one month, or even three months. This is an unrealistic goal - instead, aim for $100 per day. Once you’ve obtained that goal, move up! If you can earn $100 per day, what’s stopping you from earning $200? Setting a high goal for yourself will usually lead to disappointment, which is why so many people give up in the first place.

7. Aspire to be somewhere - and I don’t mean a place on earth. Aspire to a status, a name, an authority. Do you want to travel the world, care free? Or would you prefer speaking publicly as an expert on a particular topic? Everyone at some time in their life has a vision of how they’d like to live the rest of their life. Think about this when you find yourself procrastinating.

6. In addition to aspiring a status, get an idle or someone you aim to reach the same level of status. I won’t mention my personal motivator, but lets just say he’s very successful in the search engine optimization game. Find a picture, an article, something written by the individual you want to be. Let this serve as motivation, and anytime you’re doubting yourself or can’t seem to get in the flow, let your reminder guide you.

5. Regulate your break time. Breaks can stimulate the creative thought process, just make sure your breaks doesn’t turn into what feels like a session with that professor that’s been teaching for fifty years. Your breaks can even turn into something productive, like: a jog, a brain storming session over coffee, or even reading a good book that will aid you in achieving your goal(s).

4. Discussion forums are a great place to get ideas and exchange information, but sometimes I find myself spending a little *too* much time on them. Usually the information you obtain isn’t really going to help you anyway. If you have a question pertaining to your goal, ask it, or search for it, but don’t browse around. The time you waste looking for the answer or reading flames is procrastination, which is what we’re trying to avoid. Same thing applies for social networking sites like myspace, chat clients, instant messengers, newsgroups, and even emails. Allocate a portion of your time to these activities, and stick to it.

3. One of the main reasons my own mom is unable to start her own projects is time. Finding time to work on your projects is hard, but it has to be done. Coming home from work and going right back to work is difficult, but remember, we’re not thinking negatively. Continuously tell yourself your hard work is going to pay off, and it will. Watching the evening lineup of your favorite shows is not productive. If you must TV, rig up your computer as a Tivo and just record the shows you want to see. Not only will this free up time by skipping through the commercials, but you can incorporate your TV schedule into your own schedule instead of the networks deciding your schedule for you. I highly recommend avoiding all TV, period. There’s enough entertainment online, just make sure you allocate your time wisely!

2. Limit your social activity. Going out to the bars or attending dinner with your buddies can be fun, but once again, you’re procrastinating. Put your cell phone on silent, it’s ok, trust me. I’ll go weeks without answering my phone, and that’s the truth. Spending time listening to Billy go on and on about this hot chic he shacked up with is not going to help you. Talk to only those that are important to you. Family, wife/girlfriend, business manager, etc. Eventually, people will get the idea that you just don’t answer your phone, and the number of incoming calls will drop significantly. Just because you pay for 1,000 minutes doesn’t mean they need to be spent listening to Aunt Molly rant and rave about fluffy’s new hair cut. You don’t like that little ankle biter anyway..

1. Mind strength is your best weapon if you plan on defeating procrastination. Developing your ideas will exercise your mind - which is good. Make sure you give your body plenty of nutrients by eating a well rounded diet, taking supplements, and getting regular sleep to ensure your body is taking advantage of these positive elements. The Chinese have taken all kinds of herbs for thousands of years, and they very well may be the most accomplished and intelligent race on the planet as a result. Keep your mind strong - this is the key to your success.