Better You Blog

Posts Tagged ‘professional skills’

Procrastinators put off all the hard jobs. But they get stuck in a vicious circle of postponing the easy jobs, too. And the longer they put them off, the harder the jobs are when they finally get around to them. Successful people fight the same war against procrastination that we all face, but they have learned not to give in. They know that procrastination is the cause of many of the problems we face in our daily lives.

Procrastination creates a never-ending cycle of frustration, stress, and defeat. When people learn how to take charge of their lives, their self-esteem improves and their confidence grows. No matter how long you’ve been struggling with the demon of procrastination, you can start to take control of your life today by tackling a job or responsibility you’ve been putting off.

There are many books, online courses, and methods for changing your life and developing your personal and professional skills. I believe that procrastination is the root cause of the majority of problems that people face. Best-selling author Wayne Dyer said: “Procrastination is one of the most common and deadliest of diseases, and its toll on success and happiness is heavy.”

Take the first step toward a richer life by getting serious about overcoming procrastination. The following quiz will help you identify areas where you can take action today.

1. I have written a list of my life-time goals.
2. I have written a list of my short-term goals (6 months or less).
3. I keep these lists where I can see them; they help me stay focused.
4. I establish priorities; some things that seem urgent are not important when I focus on the big picture. Yes ( ) No ( )
5. Once I’ve made a decision, I don’t worry about whether I made the right decision or not-I just
concentrate on getting the job done.
6. I know when to say “no” to avoid taking on too many jobs at once. 
7. I live in the present; I focus on what I’m doing now instead of dwelling on what I should have done in the past.
8. When I’ve done the best I can, I know when to wind up a job-spending more time on the same job only keeps me from starting something new.

If you answered “no” to any of the above statements, make a commitment to take corrective action today. Choose one item and do something about it. Don’t move on to the next item until you can truthfully answer “yes” to the previous one. You’ve taken the first step by reading this far; now take the next step and do something you’ve been putting off. If you want to change, you can-the best time is now.

• Get Over Depression:Facing Depression Head On Always feeling under the weather? Always not in the mood to be around others and have agood time? If you’re suffering from prolonged sadness for quite some time now, you should facethese bouts of depression and get yourself diagnosed by a psychiatrist, they’re doctors who canactually help you out with......
• Unlock Your SELF IMPROVEMENT POWER When we look at a certain object, a painting for example – we won’t be able to appreciate what’s in it, what is painted and what else goes with it  if the painting is just an inch away from our face. But if we try to take it a little......
• Crash Course 7-Day Program to Self-Improvement I seem to lost count on how many times I've read and heard of celebrity marriages failing almost left and right. Not that I care (and personally I don't), it seems strange that we often see movie and TV stars as flawless people, living the fairytale life of riches and......
• The Best Cure For Procrastination: Your Vision Have you discovered your purpose in life? Do you have long-term goals? Finding and focusing on your long-term goals is a powerful cure for procrastination. A vision is simply a statement of what you want to achieve in life, and how you plan to achieve it. Without a vision, it's......
• Unlocking Your Self Improvement Power When we look at a certain object, a painting for example – we won’t be able to appreciate what’s in it, what is painted and what else goes with it if the painting is just an inch away from our face. But if we try to take it a little......

• Some Thoughts on Work and People Tomorrow, I'm going to be starting a new job.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that it's not in my chosen field of biochemistry, or even a related physical science position.  No, I'm going to be working part time at Wal-Mart for the foreseeable future. Don't get me......
• Don't Bother Setting Goals Don't bother setting goals. It's a waste of time. Let me explain why I feel this way about goals and then offer a better alternative. See if this scenario sounds familiar. You decide to work towards some new level of accomplishment. So you set a goal for yourself. Actually, you......
• Diseases that sound fun -- but really are not [/caption] Doctors don't much like telling patients that they're ill. In reality you can't break news about terminal illnesses with a cheeky grin and a playful punch to the arm, despite what The Simpsons' Doctor Hibbert would have you believe. That said, there are certain illnesses/diseases/viruses that don't sound as......
• I Got My First Paycheck Now What? You finished up college. You're now a college graduate (congrats!). You applied to about 75 thousand jobs, had 2,000 interviews, 1,999 rejection letters, and now you finally landed that job. You went to payroll and setup your direct deposit with your bank to receive your very first paycheck. You're......
• Focus on Best Self, then Best Life It is always interesting to me how a pattern develops with my clients. Lately, I've been having a lot of conversions about Best Self vs Best Life. While I always talk about Wholeness as the ability to be your best self and live your best life (and still feel strongly......