Eight Sure Fire Ways To Tell You’re A Top Level Procrastinator
So, all those things you do that you convince yourself are helping your cause, find out here if they are. Or are you just avoiding work?
You’ve taken the plunge. You’re working for yourself and no-one but NO-ONE is going to tell you what to do.
You are your own boss so watch out world.
That’s the theory anyway.
And for some that’s what happens, they go out and grab the world by the scruff of the neck and treat their self-employment like it should be treated, like a business.
Sadly, for a lot of us, that self-motivation is very hard to come by and sure, we can work in spurts and get things done but it’s just so much easier to NOT do it and put it off till tomorrow. After all, you’ve got all day tomorrow as well.
We all procrastinate, we all know what we SHOULD be doing. But for some of us procrastination becomes a way of life.
So, what are the tell-tale signs that you’re an out an out procrastinator?
1. You Make Lists
‘To do’ lists usually, so you know you’re onto it and you are organized. Or, maybe you’ll make a list of people you should phone or email; new clients, business leads.
Sometimes, you make lists of the telephone numbers or emails of the people you need to phone and you put these lists into a file on your PC, probably labelled ‘people to phone’ or ‘business contacts’
Or maybe you’ll do a business plan, after all if it’s written down then it’s almost bound to happen, right? And you methodically, note down, or better still, do it on a spreadsheet; ‘this is where I’ll be in 6 months’ or ‘Where I’ll be in 5 years’ and you’ll helpfully break down the plans into steps, so you know exactly how to achieve each one.
2. Your search history
This is always a big giveaway, because let’s face it, unless you’re doing something super-techie, what you’ve chosen to do has certainly been done before by hundreds of other people.
And guess what?
They are only too happy to share the secrets of their success with you. So, what’s the point in slogging away for months trying to make your business work when someone has helpfully written a course that’s available online?
And so, your search history and saved files are full of ‘How to…’ titles, maybe books or courses or guaranteed short cuts or ‘How I made it big in 1 week.’ ‘Let me show you how you can make 10,000 dollars in one month with no talent whatsoever.’ That sort of thing.
‘Let Me Show You How You Can Make 10,000 Dollars In One Month With No Talent Whatsoever.’
3. Your Workspace
Your workspace is immaculate. Nothing is out of place and your pencils are sharpened. Now, there’s nothing wrong with being tidy, don’t get me wring, but for the procrastinator being tidy is just another way to avoid actual work.
And you have an excessive amount of notebooks of varying sizes for jotting ideas down when they come to you throughout the day, because as we all know, you need to be on the ball throughout the day for whenever that idea hits you and you can’t write that idea down on your phone or record it. so, a notebook is the only answer.
4. Online Courses
You look at online courses endlessly and try to analyze whether the outlay would be worthwhile, because a course is the answer, it’s the only reason you’re not making $1000’s every month.
5. Games
You have games on your PC or phone. But the games you allow yourself to play aren’t ones that would take too long. The ones you have probably take about 10 or 15 minutes to complete because let’s face it, any more than that would be a waste of your valuable time.
6.Your Noticeboard
You have a noticeboard, either one that you can write on in felt tipped pen and erase, just so you can keep up with the fast-changing pace of doing nothing or a good old corkboard so you can pin up important messages and targets.
7. SMART targets
You know ALL about SMART targets and have probably even written some down, or better still you have a file on your PC labelled ‘SMART targets’ where you have listed them.
8. Motivational Sayings
You are an expert on motivational sayings and probably use your noticeboard to display a few;
“Success isn’t always about greatness, it’s about consistency. Consistent hard work gains success. Greatness will come.”
Wow, how about that? Isn’t it great and all you need to do is actually follow some of the advice they give!
It’s not easy working for yourself. You need that drive and determination and maybe a bit of luck, but what’s probably not going to happen is that you’re going to be a millionaire overnight. Accept that there aren’t any shortcuts and stop wasting time. If you have something worthwhile to offer just follow these simple rules;
- Come up with an idea.
- Understand that you’ll still be doing a 9–5 job, and probably more.
3. Find prospects.
4. Contact the prospects to sell yourself and what you can offer.
5. Make mistakes.
6. Learn from your mistakes
7. Repeat 3–6.
Procrastination affects all of us at some point or other.
How many of the above apply to you? And, are there others I haven’t considered? Just remember, starting out on your own is the hardest thing you can do, but it can also be the easiest if you follow that simple plan.
