We’ve all done it: put off what we know we should do, waiting until a later time. While many of us are professional procrastinators, the truth is very few people always do everything on time. Sometimes a “wait-and-see” approach pays off, but that process requires thoughtful judgment, and really isn’t the same as procrastination.

Forms of procrastination:

• Classic Procrastination – where someone delays getting started on a task
• Contract Procrastination – where someone doesn’t do what they’ve previously agreed to do
• Completion Procrastination – where someone just cannot seem to finish a task they’ve started
• Contra Procrastination – where someone doesn’t STOP doing something they should

The reasons we all procrastinate are many. And yes, we all procrastinate, don’t try to fool yourself.

Ninety percent of all people procrastinate at some point … the other ten percent are liars. — Author Unknown

1. Procrastinators may have poor time estimation skills and grossly underestimate the length of time required to complete a task.

2. Procrastinators may delay action because they’re really comfortable where they are at the time … literally or figuratively.

3. Procrastinators may have falsely convinced themselves that they work better under pressure when they really just crave the adrenaline rush of an approaching deadline.

4. Procrastinators may have convinced themselves that they will be more motivated tomorrow, or next week, or next month, and motivation is what they need to get started.

Procrastination is like a credit card: it’s a lot of fun until you get the bill. —Christopher Parker

5. Procrastinators commonly say, “I’m too tired right now,” failing to realize the rush of energy they’ll receive when they get going on a task and get it completed.

6. Procrastinators believe their “feelings” should determine whether they work on a task or not. “I don’t feel like it,” isn’t a valid reason.

7. Procrastinators may actually fear the responsibilities that come with success.

8. Procrastinators may alternately fear failure with it’s responsibilities and consequences. They put off a task so they don’t have to face that fear.

Procrastination is the bad habit of putting of until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday. – Napoleon Hill

9. Procrastinators may delay getting started or completing a task because they worry that they can never achieve perfection.

10. Procrastinators may take on too many projects at once and subsequently feel they are overwhelmed.

11. Procrastinators may have poor time management skills and not realize who quickly time can get away from them.

12. Procrastinators may just be lazy.

How soon “not now” becomes “never.” — Martin Luther

The reasons are many but the solutions are the same: break your task into small, easily achievable victories and get started right away. Reward yourself when you’ve completed a project and remind yourself constantly of the benefits you’ll receive when the task is 100 percent complete.

In delay, there lies no plenty. — Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, Act 2 Scene 3

So go ahead, get started on that project or task you’ve been putting off. You know you’ll feel great when it’s finished!

What steps or tips do YOU have to avoid procrastination?

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Its getting to be about that time … time to get your new calendar set up. If you use a day planner, here is an 8.5×11 inch model that costs you nothing but some paper, printer ink, and a three ring binder. And it’s pretty functional too with a heavy emphasis on goal setting and achievement.

The calendar is in pdf format. I use FoxIt as my pdf reader. You can download it here or just stick with the old standby – Adobe.

Free 2011 Calendar and Day Planner Download (pdf)

If you have trouble with the download (Internet Explorer users probably will), send me a message by my contact form and I’ll email one to you directly. Alternately, try using Firefox or Chrome (I use Chrome exclusively). Those two seem to handle the download just fine, but IE always seems to have its nighty in a knot.

Feel free to share it, email it, or give it as a gift if you’re really cheap!

What you will get in your free download

There are 5 types of pages in this calendar:

1. A Monthly Page with your mission statement, your 3 to 5 year plan, a six month plan, a plan for the current month, and a monthly calendar.

2. The first page of your Weekly/Daily Plan with an outline of your weekly plan and “Square 2” activities that are Important but not Urgent. Notice that the first column has Daily Disciplines for the week. Always check your Daily Disciplines before you fill up the rest of your day with other “stuff.” What are those Daily Disciplines? They could range from meditation, to exercise, to reading your devotional.

3. The second page of your Weekly/Daily Plan with the remaining days of the week, urgent things to take care of, and money activities.

4. A Most Important Tasks page. This page is designed to help you identify what really is important, why, your next steps, what you’ll need to accomplish them, and who’s help you’ll need along the way.

5. And finally, a Quarterly Accountability Page. The page helps keep you on track and helps you see the big picture.

How I assembled my calendar

Of course you’re free to assemble it any way you wish, but I put mine together like this:

1. Opening page is the December 2010 Monthly Page.
2. On the back of that page is page one of my Weekly/Daily Plan.
3. The facing page is the second page of the Weekly/Daily Plan and on the back  is page one (again) of the Weekly/Daily Plan. These pages continue like this for the course of a month. The last week of the month has page two of the Weekly/Daily Plan on one side and the Most Important Tasks (page 4) on the back.  It faces the next month’s Monthly Page and it starts over again.
4. Every three months, instead of the Most Important Tasks page, I have the Quarterly Accountability page and it then faces the Monthly Page for the next month.

It will make sense once you start putting it together, but if you have any questions, just ask me via my contact page. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

I’ve added some reminders along the way:

• Set up your online bank account.
• Update your will.
• Review your car insurance needs.
• Buy your tax preparation software.
• Get your first, second, and third credit reports from www.annualcreditreport.com.
• Deadlines for establishing a Simple IRA for the self-employed.
• Reminders to read great articles from The Wisdom Journal archives.
• And many more.

I hope you enjoy using this frugal alternative to an expensive day planner! Let me know how it works for you.

Links to products or services may be affiliate links. See my disclosure policy on the site or on my About page.

This is a guest post by Vicki Thompson.

Teaching time management skills when life is relatively simple will make it naturally easier for your child when life gets a little more complicated. So how can you effectively teach your child the skill of managing his or her time?

By teaching your child how to tell time

Teach your child early on to tell time. If you want your child to learn how to manage time, then this is an obvious first step. Other than the advantage of being introduced early to numbers, your child will become more responsible and disciplined when he knows how to tell time and why it’s important. Use a clock with the hands rather than a digital clock. Choose a large one with attractive designs to make it more fun. For example, when your child asks for an ice cream cone or snack, tell him he can have one at four o’clock. Then show him the numbers where the hands should point at this time (You’ll also be teaching him patience). As he asks for more things, he’ll have the idea that activities are done at different times during the day.

By teaching your child how to set priorities

There are always more things to do than there is enough time to do them, even for a child. By teaching your child how to set priorities, he’ll know how to divide his time among his different activities; he’ll learn where to spend more time, and where to spend less. Teach time management to your child by using the reward principle. If he finishes his home work first, he will have the remaining time before bedtime entirely for television. But if he wants television first, he would have to watch only until a certain time, regardless if he’s watching a favorite show. You might find your child having a dilemma between doing two school projects. Ask him which one he finds more difficult and advise him to do that one first. This way, he won’t dread doing the second project because he’ll know it’ll be easier. Always make your child see the advantages of wise choices; hopefully he’ll carry this skill until the time he starts making decisions for himself.

By showing your child that managing time means fun

You should never leave this part out. If you allow sufficient time for playing, entertainment, and doing the things your child enjoys, you will ensure he knows you mean well and that you’re not simply making his childhood miserable. This is true for all the other things you want to teach your child; if you want your child to really accept the lessons you’re teaching him, it is always imperative that you let him see the fun part of it. Also, this is important for your child to learn how to balance responsibility and relaxation, which will ultimately make him the well-rounded individual that you want him to be.

As a parent, consulting a time management e-book might help in further honing your kid’s time management skills.

Photo by kyz

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Can you imagine building a home without a set of blueprints? Sure, you’d get something done, but it wouldn’t be well planned. You would probably get some walls constructed and would put a roof on it. You would get some sort of house, but it might not look anything like what you really wanted.

Building a home without a blueprint is a great metaphor for managing your time. Without a well thought out plan for your time, you will get some things done, but you might not get exactly what you wanted.

So, how can we plan our week to accomplish what we want and need to accomplish. How can we manage our time to achieve its best use? How can we get things done so that we and our boss are happy with the results?

Ask 5 quick questions:

1. What are your goals for the week (what is important)? 4 minutes
2. What opportunities are available to achieve those goals (are these goals even achievable this week)? 3 minutes
3. What actions will you need to take to achieve these goals? 6 minutes
4. What amount of time will you need to get these things done? 4 minutes
5. Does your day planner schedule have enough room in it? 3 minutes

Does this work? You bet! I use this little system often and when I do, it makes for a week full of achievement and accomplishment. If I get too “busy” to plan my week, when Friday rolls around I usually wonder what I accomplished that week … and I usually can’t remember!

Caution: don’t overload your schedule. Make certain to leave some time for unexpected events and “emergency meetings.”

Don’t deviate from the time constraints

Usually your best answers to the 5 questions are the ones that first pop into your head. Go with your first hunch but don’t be concerned if you have to re-boot and start over by Wednesday. You probably got through your list!

Hint: start another one!

Photo by clairemontemmanuelbaptistchurch

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What can you do to accomplish more of what you really want to do within the time frame you want to do it?

1. Change the words in the title from “this weekend” to “TODAY.”
   Getting started at some imaginary point in the futureisn’t going to help. Whatever it is you know you need to do – do it now.

   Procrastination is opportunity’s assassin.  — Victor Kiam

2. Get rid of your calendar.
   If you’ve never used a calendar, despite buying a new one each year, don’t think that buying another one will somehow magically transform your habit of procrastination into a habit of getting things done. Work from a prioritized “To Do List” instead (I use a moleskine).

   Only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday. — Author Unknown

3. Pick the lowest hanging fruit first.
   You don’t always have to start at the beginning. If that first step seems the hardest, start with another part of the projectinstead. Give yourself a mental boost by getting something done, then move to the more difficult stages.

   Procrastination is like a credit card: it’s a lot of fun until you get the bill. — Christopher Parker

4. Set your workspace up YOUR way.
   If your set-up is simply not convenient, it will definitely hold you back. Don’t think you have to set up anything the way someone else does either. Experiment with what works for you and then tweak it to fit your style. Try using a time multiplier.

   There’s nothing to match curling up with a good book when there’s a repair job to be done around the house.. – Joe Ryan

5. Give yourself a reality check.
   Get real with what you actually CAN accomplish. Procrastinators often have an unrealistic sense of time. They may have the feeling that a project will take forever or that they have “plenty of time.” Neither of which may be true!The more realistic you become, the less likely you’ll be to procrastinate.

   Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week. – Spanish Proverb

6. Use what you have available right now.
   Use the minutes available to you. My wife has started making everyone clean up during a television commercial. You’d be amazed at what you can accomplish in just 2 minutes! Five minutes can seem like a lifetime after that drill but five minutes is enough time to get something done. One or two phone calls or more can be returned in that time. An email can be answered. A report can be printed. A memo can be written. A decision can be made.

   A year from now you may wish you had started today. – Karen Lamb

7. Give yourself a pat on the back.
   After you meet small deadlines, reward yourself with a small treat – a walk outside for some fresh air while listening to your iPod or a cup of coffee (you decide). When the entire project is completed, think on a little grander scale – maybe a night out on the town or a weekend away.

   Nothing is so fatiguing as the eternal hanging on of an uncompleted task. – William James

8. Find an extra hour each day.
   If it seems like there really is no time, carve out an hour or so from your existing schedule. You really CAN find an additional hour each day, trust me. If you really want to take up biking or walking or blogging, try getting up an hour earlier each day (or on weekends). If you want to do it, you’ll find the time … and that’s the key … desire.

   We shall never have more time. We have, and always had, all the time there is. – Arnold Bennett

9. Get started.
   That’s the hardest part – getting started. But it’s like pushing a car. A lot of energy has to be expended in the beginning, but once you’re going, keeping the car moving is a lot easier. Just make sure you don’t have the emergency brake set!

   How soon “not now” becomes “never.” – Martin Luther

Photo by florianbanzer

Links to products or services may be affiliate links. See my disclosure policy on the site or on my About page.