When I was in college I
learned a hard lesson. I was required to take a course in advance
composition. (a writing course) I loved the class. I worked hard to
complete each writing assignment. But I kept postponing the required
reading assignments.
A few weeks before exam
week I panic. I tried to cram all the assigned readings into two
days. This turn out to be an impossible task. There was no way I
could finish the readings, and be ready for all of my other exams.
My strong B quickly
turned into a mediocre D. I felt embarrassed before one of my
favorite professors. But I also learned a valuable, and a very hard
lesson. Procrastination can kill your grade point average, or even
your career.
There are many reasons
why we procrastinate. But it all comes down to motivation. We
procrastinate because something has stolen our motivation. And
sometimes it is our physical condition that robs our motivation.
In this high performance
world we often go too hard, too long, and too fast. We suffer from
fatigue. We feel drained. We find it hard to concentrate. We just
can't seemed to get enough energy to do the next task. If you find
yourself procrastinating because of fatigue, let me make four
suggestions.
First, check your
weekly rhythm.
God never created you to
work seven days a week; fourteen hours a day. Everyone needs a weekly
sabbatical. God has given us six days a week to do our work, and one
day for rest. This is what I call “the weekly rhythm.”
I learned the hard way
that I needed a day off. When I was a young man I experienced burn
out. It was not a fun time. But today I faithfully take Mondays off.
I have learned if I take one day off a week then I will have the
energy needed to work the entire next week.
Second, check your
daily schedule.
Determine
your most productive time of day. Then schedule your most important
and difficult tasks during that time. My most productive time is noon
to 6 pm. I work in the mornings. But I schedule my most important and
difficult task during the afternoon.
Perhaps
your most productive time is in the morning. I have an associate who
works best from 5 am to 3 pm. He schedules the easy stuff during the
late afternoon. I tried to start work at 5 am. It simply did not work
for me.
Third, check your
exercise chart.
When
I feel sluggish that's the time for physical exercise. For me that
means taking a twenty minute walk down the street. We live in an area
of wet lands. Exercising my body and enjoying God's creation gives me
the energy needed to go back to work.
Let
me encourage you to do some type of physical exercise that you enjoy.
If you do not enjoy your physical exercise you will probably become
discouraged and give up. That's why I take walks rather than run.
Fourth, check your “to
do” list.
Sometimes
we lose motivation because we are trying to do too much in one day. I
have a friend who is seldom gets uptight about the use of his time.
He does his “to do” list. He then schedules his work. But this is
his secret. He always leaves an hour of unscheduled time at the end
of the day.
Now
this is the reason why he leaves an hour of unscheduled time at the
end of the day. By leaving an hour of unscheduled time at the end of
the day, he guards himself from doing too many things in one day. And
if he gets behind in his schedule he has at lest one hour to catch up
at the end of the day.
In
the next few weeks we will look at other causes of procrastination
and their cure.
