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Fighting Procrastination
March 7, 2012
The greatest test of courage on the earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.
-R. G. Ingersoll
-R. G. Ingersoll
- Confront Yourself. Much procrastination is unintentional: you allow yourself to be sidetracked without thinking about it. Often such mindless diversions can be avoided by asking yourself, "What's the best use of my time and energy right now?" If the answer is not what you are doing at the moment, stop that and put your time and energy to work on a more important task.
- Attack Ugly Tasks First. When you start the day, it may be most effective to dispense with the most unpleasant task on your priority list first. If you postpone working on this task, you will most likely fret about it all day, thus preventing yourself from concentrating your full attention on other tasks you attempt.
- Create Instant Tasks. Sometimes it helps to take a major task you're avoiding and break out some easy sub-tasks, which you can readily start. For example, if the major task is filling out income tax reports, instant tasks could include pulling together all the necessary income and expense documents, filling out the identifying information on the forms, or reading the instructions on filling out the forms. Once you get rolling on these "instant tasks," you might establish some momentum that will carry you well into the major task.
- Establish Familiarity. It may help to get started on an intimidating task by establishing some familiarity with it. If the task is developing the budget, you might reduce your resistance to starting by reading articles on preparing budgets.
- Offer Yourself A Reward. Try to give yourself some incentives for completing major tasks. Promise yourself, for example, that when you complete a difficult task at hand you can go out and have a lobster salad sandwich or call up a fellow director you enjoy chatting with.
- Complete What You Start. Once you've overcome the inertia of getting started and are rolling on a difficult task, it is a mistake to stop. Try to finish a task or a complete unit of a task in one setting. If you stop, you may well waste additional time getting organized and getting rolling again.
Inspiring Spaces not only talks about how to create inspiring classroom spaces, but also is highly inspirational through its generous display of creative classroom spaces. The book is built around seven principles of design:
- Nature inspires beauty
- Color generates interest
- Furnishing defines space
- Texture adds depth
- Displays enhance the environment
- Elements enhance ambiance
- Focal points attract attention
An inspiring environment is essential for helping young children learn. The Rating Observation Scale for Inspiring Environments challenges teachers to examine classrooms in a totally new way — with an eye for what is aesthetically beautiful and inspiring.
This groundbreaking tool assesses classrooms in a whole new way!
This book is a companion observation guide for Inspiring Spaces for Young Children.
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Comments (1)
Displaying 1 CommentUnited States
I love how you are supporting people to break things down into steps.
I want to encourage all of us to consider rewards that don't involve food. With all of the health challenges related to obesity, we all need to think beyond a food reward to something else that would be equally fulfilling. Perhaps a walk outside, a massage, a magazine or time to call up a friend to just talk and reconnect might options to consider.
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