Beating Procrastination
Procrastination is the root of unachieved dreams and success. It's the most important factor between you and experiencing the fulfilling and productive life that you deserve. But somehow it's difficult for many people to eliminate, especially when living with narcolepsy or other sleep disorders.
It is a habit that kills your productivity and robs you of the success you were born to experience. When you put off until later what you can quickly handle now, you multiply your stress. One of the many impacts of poor quality sleep is an increase in physical, mental and emotional stress, so the last thing you want to do is add to this. The things you put off rarely take care of themselves by the time you get to them, and the molehills of your life become mountains as a result.
It is easy to become magnetised by delaying the tasks at hand. The sense that there's enough time or energy to get things done can be misleading. When living with any sleep disorder, it is is important to acknowledge that you may often experience less energy and even reduced time to do things (if scheduled naps are part of your lifestyle management strategy), however, this doesn’t mean that you can’t get things done. What it does mean is that you need to become more efficient and effective with the time that you have available. Investing energy and increasing stress by procrastinating is certainly something that doesn’t serve your unique needs. It can be the difference between living a life that you love and shattered dreams.
Instead, you can experience a life of abundant joy and peace simply by making the decision to take action on a consistent basis. You'll feel more decisive and confident, and you'll more efficiently and effectively move through your schedule.
Try these tips to banish procrastination and take action in the direction of your dreams:
1. Prioritize opportunities
If something isn't important to you, you'll probably spend very little time trying to achieve it. That reality is the basis of your priority list. The achievements that really matter most belong at the top. Focus on the things that give you the most inner joy and happiness.
Once your list is in place, start at the very top. The most important thing deserves the most attention. You're guaranteed satisfaction once you achieve it!
2. Discover why you're procrastinating
Ask yourself questions to determine the reason for your indecision. Every form of procrastination is simply a delayed decision.
Is there a fear that you're avoiding or is the task unpleasant? Is it that you are really that you are too tired?
Once you find out what's truly in the way, you can get past it and get to work.
3. Break down tasks into achievable bits
It's easy to put things off because they seem too overwhelming. You can fix this by breaking down your tasks. This makes them seem more attainable.
Set very small tasks. Setting daily tasks allows time each day to work towards something. Once you've checked something off your list, you'll be one step closer to the prize. The feeling of progress is incomparable!
4. Renew your commitment each day
In order to stay on track, it's important to maintain commitment to the goal. That can be easily achieved by renewing your commitment each day.
When you wake up, remind yourself of your purpose. Take a look at what you're motivated to achieve. The feeling of excitement about achieving a desired goal is constantly alive. You just need to reengage it regularly. Daily renewal helps you to zone in on what means the most to you.
5. Reward yourself for each achievement
It's important to keep yourself engaged and focused on each goal A great way to do this is to reward yourself. To maintain commitment, you have to reward yourself and celebrate every step of the way. Treat yourself to something you've always wanted.
Being kind to yourself is the best way to motivate continued focus on goals and is so important with narcolepsy.
6. Employ the one-minute rule
Throughout your day, your mind will constantly bring to your attention things that you need to accomplish. As you think of these things, write them down. If the task would take less than a minute to complete, why not just do it now and get it over with? This helps avoid increasing mental stress and cognitive overload by having too many things on your list. This step alone will help you feel more productive.
7. Get rid of clutter
Clutter is a drain on your mental energy. A clutter free environment promotes action, while cluttered space fuels procrastination. Commit to spending 10 minutes per day straightening up your home or office and throw away as many things as you can that you don’t need.
Remember that the things that clutter your space are robbing you of your peace. Reclaim that peace by reclaiming your space.
There are more than enough reasons for you to go after meaningful goals. If you're honest with yourself, you can easily list them all on a piece of paper. Focus on doing something to move toward you goal today. Leave tomorrow for celebration of today's success!
By using these simple tools, you can banish procrastination from your life forever. Learn from your feelings of hesitation, but don't let those feelings stop you from experiencing the success you deserve in life. Instead, put these tips into practice today to experience a greater sense of peace, self-confidence, and control over your life with narcolepsy.