Time management: How to improve your time behavior
Procrastination occurs when you are extremely reluctant to tackle upcoming tasks because they are either boring, do not promise quick success, or you assume that you cannot achieve the result perfectly. The result: They search desperately for other things that need to be done or they jump at any distraction that comes their way: First of all, a cup of coffee with a colleague, surfing the Internet or an important private phone call has priority.
Researchers have found that about 20 percent of professionals spend up to two hours a day procrastinating. And what can you do to improve your timing? Above all, set your priorities. Of these unwelcome things, what absolutely needs to be done first? If you can’t bring yourself to do it because you’re KO’d or you’re stuck in your head, then choose a good time to do it and stick to it consistently.
On the other hand, if you need some pressure to trick procrastination, set short deadlines.
Strengthen your self-discipline
It doesn’t take much effort to put off unpleasant tasks. As already described, a coffee is quickly fetched, a chat is had or just a phone call is made. Now, if you find that such distractions are fueling your procrastination, just say to yourself, “Stop.” Practice self-discipline for a little while and stand firm.
It may take 30 seconds at the beginning, but with increasing practice it will become less and less. The background: Your decision to postpone things and devote yourself to other activities arises in fractions of a second. Once you have bridged this and continue with your original plan, you can improve your timing and push procrastination more and more into the background.
Become immune to distractions
Distractions of any kind are readily used whenever something is not fun or when you are being forced to complete certain tasks. Then even the smallest interruption is a welcome change. But that doesn’t help you in the end, because your unpleasant tasks continue.
So it makes more sense if you force yourself to focus and see through the task at hand. In this case, being concentrated means concentrating only on the task ahead of you and not looking left or right. Going through means not looking at other tasks on the side or even starting to work on them.
Note: The more unpleasant the task, the easier it is to get distracted. Therefore, encourage yourself to resist any distractions that may arise. And that includes being distracted by other employees. Tell the truth: “I’m sorry, but I really need to finish this thing. After that, I’ll take my time for you.”