Event Planning and Organization Basics – Dealing with Procrastination (Pt. 2)

Tip #2 – Break the task into smaller parts and Tip #3 – Complete the toughest parts first.

“How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time!”  This should be your mantra if you are an habitual procrastinator.  The best way to solve a problem or complete a project is to unravel it bit by bit. You will typically save the most unpleasant tasks for last, but all that does is add to the level of pressure and stress as deadlines approach and the biggest ‘bite’ is still staring you in the face. You will increase your stress-free and anxiety-free time if you get rid of the elephant in the room!   Write down the list of tasks that will need to be completed before your project can be considered complete and put a star next to the items that are causing you the most stress when you think about them.  The quicker you can cross those starred items off your list, the better you’re going to feel.  The rest of the plan will be a breeze once you have the toughest jobs out of the way.

Tip #4 – Eliminate distractions

Some believe that procrastination worsens when a person is unable to filter out distractions, which decreases the ability to organize thoughts and keep their attention on the task.  This is a common malady among those that work from home.  “I’ll start calling those sponsors for the golf outing right after I take a shower, do a load of laundry, take the cat to the vet, and download that recipe I saw…” All of a sudden you find you’ve spent an hour on Pinterest, it’s lunchtime and the day is half gone!

Sound familiar?  It is crucial that you schedule time in your day to work exclusively on your project and stick to it!  If you have too many distractions where you are, grab your project binder or laptop, get away from the television and your other to-do lists and get out – go to the library, the bookstore, the coffee shop, a bench in the park – anywhere you can reduce the number of distractions and focus on the task at hand.

Next – Dealing with Procrastination, Part 3

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