We all have been willing victims of procrastination at one time or another and may still be from time to time.Virtual Assistants are no exceptions.
Procrastination: the act of putting off doing things
As one blogger puts it, procrastination is like dealing with a 7-headed dragon.
It's not enough that you cut off its head because it will just regrow and multiply.
Just like if you don't deal with problems or finish a task right away and keep putting it off for the next day and the next, your difficulties will regrow and multiply.
The only way to deal with it is to treat its neck with fire just like what they do in ancient times according to legends.
In real life, you have to look for the source or the reasons why you're procrastinating and start from there.
Here are the common causes of procrastination that I've come up with.
Feeling Overwhelmed - A virtual assistant may have miscalculated and taken on too many projects at once or she may have many things on her plate at the moment and will be swamped with work that he or she will feel overburdened.
She may feel frustrated and discouraged and will resort to delaying tactics.
Fear -We may feel that our skills and knowledge are not up to the task at hand and we're afraid to deliver a less than perfect output and embarrass ourselves and disappoint our client.
We may even fear success and think that if our client likes our work, we'll be handed more tasks and responsibilities.
Expecting Perfection - This is somehow connected to fear of failure. We set such high standards for ourselves and when we fail to meet those goals, we feel disheartened and it may dampen our enthusiasm.
Unpleasant task - We may feel uncomfortable doing a task and rather than tackle it or inform our client, we put it off for as long as possible and turn to more pleasant activities like updating our Facebook status or tweeting, turning on the TV, surfing the net, making personal phone calls, checking emails and hanging out with friends and family.
Overestimating the Time - Some of us have unrealistic expectations of how long it will take us to finish a task and we tend to leave it to the last minute not allowing for interruptions, unexpected snags and the degree of difficulty that it involves.
Before you know it, it's the end of the working week and you find yourself rushing to finish the job resulting in a sloppy job.
Lack of Energy - You may be feeling tired after a night out partying with friends or staying up late watching reruns of your favorite movies. Busy - It's great to be working at home and be with our loved ones but they can also be a source of distraction to us not to mention the basket of laundry or the piles of dirty dishes that we feel needs our immediate attention.
It really isn't a comfortable feeling when something is nagging at the back of our minds.
If you find yourself playing catch up all the time, then it's time to take action.
Being stressed out and pressured for time is not an ideal situation and can actually harm us in the long run.
What We Can Do
One common advice that I got from reading tips is to
1. Break down the task in smaller pieces.- With this method, the task won't seem like a huge undertaking anymore. Each accomplished step will slowly build your confidence and help you get the momentum that you need.
2. F.O.C.U.S. - I got this from Laughs Heal.com and it stands for:
Finalize - visualizing the finished product or end result
Objectives - micro planning or setting goals within a reasonable time frame
Write it down. Writing your goals on paper or on a notepad in you PC make them seem more real.
Make that smart phone work for you. There are apps that will remind you of tasks to be done.
Can't - eliminating this word from your vocabulary and replacing it with the word "can"
U or You - thinking of ways you can remove yourself from negative situations
Objectives - micro planning or setting goals within a reasonable time frame
Write it down. Writing your goals on paper or on a notepad in you PC make them seem more real.
Make that smart phone work for you. There are apps that will remind you of tasks to be done.
Can't - eliminating this word from your vocabulary and replacing it with the word "can"
U or You - thinking of ways you can remove yourself from negative situations
Self-talk - thinking positively and encouraging yourself
3. The Where - Try to work in a productive environment where there are no constant comings or goings, where there's some privacy, and there are no toys on the floor or clutter to distract you.
4. The When - Know the best time when you are feeling more alert and when you can be more focused and productive.
5. Just do it! - according to Nike.
Reward yourself
For every small success like finishing an article out of the 10 that you have to do, you can have that scoop of ice cream or that bar of chocolate that you've been craving for since last week.
Just don't overdo it or you'll gain weight or have diabetes.
Do not expect a quick fix. Procrastination is a habit formed over time and it also takes time to break a habit.
Here's a video from YouTube that I found funny and illustrates some examples of procrastination.
