While procrastination is thought to be a prominent barrier to growth and long-term development, it can also have a debilitating impact on our everyday lives. After all, procrastination prevents individuals from completing tasks that must be done, whether they are important in their nature or regular, household chores such as ironing.
To understand the impact of procrastination further, let’s consider how such an outlook may be detrimental to your long-term finances. If you delay the repayment of monthly or ad-hoc bills, for example, you can quickly accumulate debts and create a scenarios where you are unable to claim credit in the future.
How to Fine Tune Your Mindset and Avoid Procrastination
While the potential impact of procrastination is clear, the question that remains is how can such a mindset be avoided? The key to overcoming procrastination lies with initially understanding its triggers, before creating a solution that tackles this issue directly.
In many instances, procrastination is caused by the complexities of long-term planning and the way in which this can overwhelm the human mind. So even if you have clearly-defined goals, attempting to plot a long-term growth course and achieve your objectives over time can be extremely challenging.
The obvious solution to this is to compartmentalize tasks and larger-scale projects into manageable portions, but your execution is key to ensuring that this is successful. You therefore need to chose a strategy that is easy to implement and capable of delivering measurable returns.
Why You Should Think Only in the Frame of 24 Hours
One strategy that should be recommended is to think only in the frame of 24 hours, as this is an excellent way of compartmentalizing goals and the individuals that are required to realize them. This not only negates the stress, anxiety and confusion that long-term planning can cause, but it also improves your daily productivity and ensures that objectives are easier to achieve.
This strategy could not be easier to implement, either, regardless of the long-term goals that you are trying to achieve. Let’s say that you looking to lose a predetermined amount of weight in two months, for example, and want to create a plan that can drive success. Starting with the first 24 hours, you set the manageable goal of eating as healthily as possible and enjoying as much exercise as your schedules allows during this time.
You then repeat this process every day, adhering to the same basic objectives for the duration of the two months. At the end of each day you spend 10 minutes considering your priorities for tomorrow, while at no point do you think about the following day or the weeks ahead. In terms of measuring your progress, simply weigh yourself and mark down any losses that you have achieved each day in a journal.
How to Implement This Strategy
When used correctly, this strategy can be extremely successful and enable you to create a wealth of positive habits. Its most important advantage is that it negates the often overwhelming nation of longer-term planning, helping you to maintain clearer thought processes and enhance your daily productivity. Above all else, it eradicates much of the pressure associated with goal setting and accomplishment, which can cause widespread procrastination and doubt.
In terms of implementing this strategy, you should remain true to its structure and maintain a rigid focus on each, 24-hour period. If you find that you are not achieving initial success, you should look to set more specific goals within each time period and create actionable steps rather than generic ones. This could enhance your daily productivity further, while also making it easier to complete everyday objectives.
