Time Strategies

I think Caroline Web's article on How to Beat Procrastination is a good article for those who struggle with procrastination. I know that I am one of them. I love how she explains that it is not a fault in character that causes procrastination, rather it is a in the overall physiological program of our brains thorough out  history. It is important to keep that in mind when tackling the problem of procrastination. These are some important tip that Web outlined in her article.

• Commit Publicly- peoples expectations of you will cause you to take action sooner-probably because you do not want to disappoint those that hold you in regard
• Think about consequences of inaction- the longer you wait the less time is left to fix a problem that may show up
• Tie first actions to a reward-no matter how you go about it people will always want immediate reward, promise something immediate then immediate action gets done

Pavlov's dog: source

Jory Mackay's article The Important Habit of Just Starting follows up on the importance of starting a task. Mackay's main point is that the most difficult thing about doing anything is starting. It is the work itself that is daunting but rather the trial of first singing. The hardest thing to do is not write a story, its knowing where to begin. These are the most important points I got out of Mackay's article

• delayed gratification is very difficult to follow
• importance of environment- a clean an organized environment and a clear idea of actions improves working ability 
• do not worry about perfection or the end goal- just 

The one one thing I noticed when reading these articles was that I already did most of what they recommended. There are several other strategies I use that I have found useful.

• Give yourself time to relax- if you feel wound up do not do something that might stress you out more, do something that relaxes you then work on the stressful stuff
• If you can double up on tasks do so- that is not saying do two assignments at once, rather if you have to do laundry do that at the same time as reading a book for class, or get an audio-book and listen to it as you go shopping/work out
• Get started early-you will be surprised how fun it can be to do a project if you give yourself room to breath and explore, rather then waiting until the last moment and freaking out. This tactic also gives you time to go get help if you are stuck and to fix any mistakes you might find as you look over your project at a later date
• Take breaks every once in a while-even if it is just getting up to stretch for a bit or go to the restroom, getting better circulation through moving will make you feel more alert and prepared then sitting and trying to cram all the work in at once