Procrastination is My Enemy

In Nine Reasons Why Done is Better Than Perfect from Planning Mindfully, Rachel shares,

“Do you find that perfectionism holds you back from being successful in life? You get that done is better than perfect. But despite your desire to do the very best work on anything you complete, trying to make it perfect actually ends up backfiring majority of the time.”

I really fight Procrastination!

I really want to keep doing this blog and I only post on Monday through Friday, but I tend to put the writing off. I have some great ideas, but I need to get the ideas written down and posted.

I even thought if I knew why I procrastinate, it would make it easier to fight it. I can list the reasons why but that only gives me more reason to procrastinate. Knowing the reasons doesn’t seem to help me.

I want it to be perfect. Many times, this would be the reason if I had gotten my rough draft done first.

I feel I should be doing other things instead of writing. I need to set my priorities.

I’m not in the mood. This is a common emotion when I really want to avoid any task.

I feel guilty. This is a vicious cycle. I feel guilty, so I don’t write and I don’t do the other things I should be doing because I feel guilty that I should be writing.

I don’t have a good topic that I think others might be interested in. This is just an excuse. I have many topics come up in my head when I’m not ready to write.

More importantly, despite the reasons, how do I fight the urge to procrastinate?

·      I think about what the main reason for why I don’t want to do a task. Then I try to overcome that obstacle. Once it is out of the way, I should be able to finish the task.

·      I make a list of all the things I need to do for the day. I love checking each thing off as it gets done.

·      I try to do the things on the list in order of the least desirable first. Once I get them out of the way, the easier the rest of the list gets done.

·      Sometimes, I will give myself a fun break for 10 minutes in between the things on my list. I don’t do this too often because they I find it harder to get back to the things on my list.

·      I try to come up with a reward for accomplishing all of the things on my list.

·      Sometimes I just have to bite the bullet and get started. Getting started is one of the hardest things for me to do.

How do you fight procrastination? Please share.

No Excuses

In Get Rid of Excuses and Get Ahead from Cool Cat Teacher Blog by coolcatteacher@gmail.com, Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher, asks,

“Are you making excuses for yourself? Are you blaming others? If others are truly at fault, how will you respond?”

I tend to make excuses when I’m trying not to do what I know needs to be done. To avoid what I should be doing, I do all the other things that I normally avoid. This way, I feel like I’m doing things I don’t like, so I don’t feel so bad. I rationalize that I’m doing things that had to be done. When in reality, if I put them off for longer, it wouldn’t really matter. I’m only making an excuse not to do what I need to do.

I really don’t blame others but I do put a lot of blame on myself. Sometimes I blame myself so much that I feel bad and don’t want to try. Then I think that this is just an excuse to avoid failure. I guess it is just a vicious cycle and I have to really work hard to break out of it.

I’ve started a new routing where I list all the things I have to do. I am making myself do them in the order of the worst is the first. Once I get the worse thing out of the way, it actually makes the others easier to do. I’m learning that I can get a lot more done this way and still have time to do the things that I want to do.

In fact, since I’m not finding excuses not to do things, I’m getting more things done. I’m happier with my productivity.

Of course, realistically, there are some things that have to be done first, even if it isn’t the worst. But if I move things like that off the list and only list things that I have flexibility with, it makes things less overwhelming. It is like taking one step at a time rather than being overwhelmed by the big picture.

Others might not find the list of things I do as horrible as I do but each individual may see things differently.

I think if I had my students do this, it would help them be more productive also. I think my students would be more successful in their daily living.

How do you get around your own excuses? Please share.

Photo: 20110120-dont-make-excuses by Chris Piascik

Day 8 Professional Impact

On the Free Technology for Teachers Facebook, the twenty day blogging challenge created by Kelly Hines was mentioned and I decided to give it a shot. So here is the challenge for today:

“Tell about a professional read (book, article, blog post) that has had an impact on you. Why/How?”

Recently I read Practice productive procrastination from Blue Skunk Blog by Doug Johnson. He asks,

“Should we be encouraging student to practice productive procrastination as well? Should kids be working on math in our English class when they get tired of reading their novel? Could they read that novel during social studies? Are we allowing kids to choose better options than Twitter?”

I commented on this post the following:

This is exactly why I loved teaching a special ed self-contained class. I taught 4 subjects to my students over 4 periods a day. I would have a weekly assignment sheet with all of their assignments for each subject and each day. This allowed me to individualize the lessons and sometimes students with the same assignment could work as a group. It also allowed students the flexibility to work on the assignment that they wanted to do first. I was able to help students who needed help and those waiting could start on an assignment that didn't require my help. Students remain engaged instead of bored waiting for help. Some students liked to start on the hardest subject for them and get it out of the way. Others liked to do the easiest and leave the hardest for last. Sometimes I could let students who already completed an assignment help others who were working on it. I love having many options throughout the day for myself so why wouldn't I allow my students to have the same flexibility?

How would you answer Doug’s questions? Please share.

Image: 'Flexibility' 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16462767@N00/3983734887
Found on flickrcc.net

Wasting Time

In 5 Ways You Waste Time and How to Stop by Laurie Gerber, she talks about different ways people waste time and I found it interesting that I don’t do too many of them. I do have trouble asking for help though.

This made me think about my students and how they waste time. I have been known to tell them to stop wasting time. But do they understand what they are doing and why they should stop? Even if they know what they are doing wrong, do they know how to change their behavior? Too many times I have told them to stop their current behavior but I don’t give them ways to change what they are doing.

I have had students who are quite creative and find ways to avoid doing their work. If they took all that time and energy they use in avoidance and applied it to actually working, they would get more things done.

For 2 days, I observed one of my students and wrote down all of the things he did to avoid completing his assignment. On the third day, I had him sit near me to do his assignment and he wasn’t allowed to do anything else until it was done. I kept track of the time it took to do the work which usually is about 30-40 minutes. On the fourth day, I met with him and showed him the things he did the first 2 days and then compared it to actually getting the work done. No one had every showed him this before and I could see the “light bulb” come on. I explained to him that the key word was “Procrastination.”

Now that we could identify his behavior, when I saw it begin, I would pull him aside. Then we would talk about the assignment and what troubled him. Talking about his concerns helped bring them out so we could get them out of the way. When he felt better about dealing with his concerns, he was able to start and complete his assignment.

Sometimes I waste time because I am just not in the mood to do a particular thing. In the morning, I jot down some things that need to be done and then I do them in certain order. Some days I do the most important first. But if there is no set priority, I try to do the thing I dread first and get it out of the way.

I try to get my students to make a list of the assignments that they need to do. Then I help them choose the order. By giving them some control over their actions, students seem to respond more positively to the assignments and complete them faster.

I take a break between assignments. By planning a set break (5 or 10 minutes); this keeps me from getting sidetracked from what I need to do. Once my break is over, I continue on with the list. I try to encourage my students to do the same. When they turn in one thing, I give them a 5 minute break. When it is over, I let them know it is time to get back to work.

I also like to reward myself with something when I accomplish my list. I love knitting and spinning so I use them as a reward. I try to give my students encouragement when they are able to cross off everything from their list. This might be a library pass or computer time.

How do you waste time and how do you overcome this behavior? Please share.

Image: 'Me In Time'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25704219@N04/3821120232

8 Ways to Avoid Procrastination

In Maybe I'll Stop Procrastinating...Tomorrow from Sioux's Page, Sioux shares some practical advice for procrastinators and then asks,

“What advice do you have for procrastinators?”

I grew up hearing that saying, “Don’t put off until tomorrow, what you can do today!” In fact I’m betting that most people have heard this saying in one form or another.

I have to admit that I am probably the Queen of Procrastination.

I hate doing the things that I really hate doing. (That makes sense, doesn’t it?) I think most people feel the same way. But feeling the same way as most people doesn’t help me get things done.

Admitting I have a problem doesn’t really help me much either.

Yet, I am amazed at how many people see me differently. I have heard people tell me that I’m very organized and dependable because I always meet my deadlines.

Reading this post from Sioux made me think of the things that I do so that people don’t see me as the Queen of Procrastination but rather the Queen of Getting Things Done on Time. (Boy do I have them fooled!). I realized that this does not come naturally and I have to struggle to make this happen. Here are some of the things that I do to succeed in this way.

1. Make a list of the things that need to be done and list the dates they are due.

2. Put the list of things in order according to order in which they are due.

3. Look at the items and see which ones can be done easily and quickly. If possible, do these and get them out of the way immediately.

4. Look at the items that are left. On another sheet of paper, list the next item that is due. Write down what is needed to accomplish this task and prioritize these items. Start doing the things on the list in the order they are now listed.

5. Mark things off the list as they get done.

6. Take one step at a time and work on each task in #4. Since these tasks are broken down, they are not so overwhelming.

7. Give myself small rewards for getting a specific task done before starting on the next task.

8. Know what things distract me and make a conscious effort not to allow myself to do these things. (Or use this as one of my rewards with a time limit)

I realized that following these steps were important because I was a role model for my students. My students were experts at procrastination and I needed to teach them my “secret” for getting things done. They were always amazed when I told them that I felt exactly the way they did about certain tasks. By telling them this was my “secret,” made them feel like we shared something special. I’m hoping that my “secret” helped many of them be more successful in the classroom.

What do you do to avoid procrastination? Please share!

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'seal'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98288842@N00/231319498 by: Alex Shultz