Wednesday, December 22, 2010

TIME MANAGEMENT: BE A SELF-STARTER

I believe we all know a certain category of people. Those that always have a great idea, always plan to do something good-or plan to start something big- but never ever really get around to doing it. We definitely all know such people. Indeed, some of us are such people. We have plans to start piano lessons but never get around to doing so- even with the availability of finance. Just few days ago a friend of mine was complaining me about how he would love to get better at the organ(piano/keyboard), but just couldn't get around to practising. And he has the organ constantly staring him in his face right there in his abode. But he just can't get himself to get up, walk over to it, turn it on and practice for a few minutes. In fact, he was the major inspiration for this piece. I just had to tackle this vicious beast of procrastination once more.We plan to personally engage in football training-or training in whatever sport we love every morning so as to be good enough to play professionally some day- but never ever get around to going to the football pitch , how much more kicking a ball. We know we have to study that hard subject, that hard course at least an hour a day but never even succeed in picking up the textbook and opening it, how much more reading it. We love to PROCRASTINATE. To put things off. For us, procrastination is both our best friend, and worst enemy.

Then on the other side of the divide there is a totally different class of people. They always seem to be on top of things. They always seem to be doing and achieving. They always seem to be busy doing the right thing, things that make one a success. In fact them seem absolutely superhuman. They need no one to motivate them, to push them into action- like some broken down car or something. This set of people are called the SELF-STARTERS. They need no one to galvanize them into action. They look inwardly for motivation to do the things that they know that they must. Most of the people in this category slayed- well maybe not slayed, but at least tamed- the beast of procrastination quite early in their lives. That is why they were able to achieve a substantial amount of success relatively early in life. Self-starters are always leaders because they always take the initiative. The rest cannot but follow.Some of the people that fall into this category are Bill Gates of Microsoft fame, Richard Branson the vibrant Virgin guy, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and yes, my humble self. I believe you also know a number of people-or at least one person- who belong to this class of people. Some will definitely be famous individuals and some will not.

So it beggars the question. Why are some people procrastinators and non self-starters and why are others the opposite? Why is it that some just cannot extricate themselves from the clutches of the monster known as Procrastination. The truth is that at some point in everyone's life, he or she has procrastinated or been a procrastinator. But how come some succeed in mastering the demon of procrastination while others do not? You see,I believe that any psychologist worth his salt should be able to give you an expansive catalogue of reasons as to why people procrastinate. Here, I will give you the major reasons- with the exception of obvious reasons like ill-health and lack of seed capital.

1. It is human nature to put-off doing tasks or engaging in projects that we deem difficult or unpalatable. It is natural to want to seek the easy way out, to not want to have anything to do with unpleasantness and what easier way out is there than procrastination.

2. Funny as it might sound, it is also human nature to put-off doing things that we deem easy. When we feel that a task, or a job is a walk in the park, we tend to procrastinate, to postpone doing it simply because we feel we can get it done in no time whenever we want to. We feel that we have mastered a skill so well that we don't need to practice frequently. This is the trap many star athletes fall into and it causes them to fall from the olympian heights the have attained and hurtle to the bottom of the totem pole or hierarchy of their sport. As strange as my assertion might seem, a good analysis of it will prove it sound.

3. We human beings love to be entertained, either by people , things, vocation we engage in, and even by ourselves. We also love to be stimulated- mentally please- by the things we do. So when we are faced with the doing of a task that is not interesting or mentally-engaging, we tend to shy away from it. We tend to postpone the doing of the said task to a further date.

4. We are just not motivated. Some of us are just not passionate about much or anything. A man that lacks passion is a perfect candidate for devouring by the beast of procrastination.

5. As much as we don't like to acknowledge this fact, we often procrastinate out of pure laziness. Mental or physical laziness. Sometimes, both. We just like to laze around.

Again it beggars the question. What, for the love of God, can one do to extricate oneself from the stranglehold of the beast called procrastination? What can one do to kill this vicious beast and earn one the victory. Well, I will shortly proffer methods one can use to kill this vicious beast in one's life and get off the road that leads to penury and unhappiness. It is very advisable to not employ just one of the methods, but all of them. Why have an arsenal of weapons if you won't use all? The methods are as follows.

1. Think of the major thing(s) or project(s) you would really love to accomplish in life. Then imagine the happiness, the peace of mind that you would derive from the accomplishment of these things.

2. Whenever you are faced with an unpalatable or stressful, yet necessary task, think of the feeling of guilt you will have if you do not do the task. Then imagine the feeling of happiness and accomplishment that will accrue to you when you do the task.

3. Write an anti-procrastination statement boldly on a piece of paper and post it somewhere where you will be able to see it as soon as you wake up and frequently. It can go something like: I WILL ENDEAVOUR TO NEVER PROCRASTINATE AND DOOM MYSELF TO A LIFE OF POVERTY AND UNHAPPINESS. I WILL ALWAYS TO WHATEVER I HAVE TO DO WITH A SENSE OF URGENCY AND PURPOSE SO THAT I MAY BE SUCCESSFUL AND HAPPY.

4. Read books on time management. You have to realize that I am typing from experience and as I receive inspiration. None of this is written down. So read books on the subject matter. But don't just stop there. Implement what you read.

Doing all this will go a long way in making you less of a procratinator and more of a self-starter. I guarantee you that. This last sentence will definitely be a huge source of shock and consternation to a good number of my readers, but in it can be found a universal truth. No matter how good you are at managing your time, no matter how much of a self-starter you are, you will definitely procrastinate once in a while- regardless of how infrequently you do so. As the saying goes, no one is perfect. The good thing is that as one learns to manage his time better, he procrastinates much less and hardly ever puts-off doing really important stuff. That is the hallmark of a self-starter and the major thing that separates him from the rest.

So I've have laid it all bare. I think I have demystified the phenomenon of the self-starter, that rare breed of humans who always seems to get things done and more efficiently. That one in a thousand men and women that dares to succeed where others fail. Now it's up to you to decide. Do you want to be like the old battered jalopy car that needs to be pushed by the owner's friends and strangers before it sputters into life or do you desire to be like the brand new tear-rubber car whose engine majestically revs into life just at the turn of the key in the ignition by the owner's hand? Like I said, it's up to you to decide. The ball is in your court.


P.S : Doing all I have suggested will go a long way in creating a better you.