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Using Time Limits To End Procrastination
What's the one thing that you'd like to have done if only you could get started?
What's the one thing that you'd like to have done if only you could get started? Whatever it is, you are probably using more energy worrying about it, delaying it, and putting it off than would be used in getting it done. One way to get you started and keep yourself going is by using time limits.
Let's say you have some housework to do. It's gotten to the point that even looking at it is becoming a chore, and yet you don't do it. Why you don't do it doesn't matter as much as how you can get yourself to take action and get it done.
Decide you are going to spend one full, uninterrupted hour doing housework. When that hour is over, you are done. It doesn't matter how much you accomplished. You've done it.
After that hour is over, you are going to feel great! Your self esteem will go up and you will be in a good mood. You may even want to continue working on your task. If you do, that's fine! Go for it!
What if you don't finish your task after that hour is up? Schedule the next hour. It can be tomorrow, it can be next week, or it can be later that same day. Your project may be so big that you need to schedule an hour a day to complete it. Don't have an hour a day? How about 15 minutes? If fifteen minutes of work daily will get you to the end of your task in a reasonable amount of time, then use it!
Just don't forget to be honest with yourself. If you said 15 minutes, allow yourself to stop after 15 minutes. Give yourself a pat on the back, maybe brag a little to your spouse. If you want to keep going, that's great! Keep going! But allow yourself to know that it's absolutely fine to stop when your time limit is up, no matter how long or short it is.
When setting time limits, I would recommend no longer than 1 hour and no less than 5 minutes. Any more than an hour and you are in danger of overwhelming yourself. Any less than 5 minutes and you don't have time to get up that momentum to propel you into doing more if you have the urge.
I used a 15 minute rule in the writing of this article. For the first draft, I promised myself that I wasn't going to write for more than 15 minutes today. If I wanted to write more I can, but if I get to the fifteen minute mark and I have no desire to write, then I'm done for the day, and I'll work on it for another 15 minutes tomorrow.
What do you think ended up happening? I stopped after 15 minutes, and patted myself on the back. I got up, got a cup of coffee, and played on the Internet for awhile. Then my mind drifted back to this article, and I started working on it again. Since I've already done my 15 minutes of work, there is no expectation of anything as I work now. I'm much freer to write.
Here is another example from my own experience. I've been using the hour time limit in doing housework. How shall I put this... neither my wife nor I are very talented in the domestic duties department! But for the past couple of days, I've devoted one hour a day to just cleaning, and our house has been looking better than it ever has before.
What could you get accomplished using the time limit rule to conquer procrastination? Can you get that report done your boss has been demanding? Can you finally not have that sink full of dishes that never seems to go away? Can you finally write that novel you've always wanted?
You are only limited by your own imagination!
About the Author
Lyman Reed is the webmaster of Inspiration, Motivation, and Wisdom for Living - http://www.motiration.com/, a website dedicated to providing informational tools which help individuals improve their lives. He can be contacted via email at lyman@motiration.com.
Written by: Lyman Reed
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