Graduate's Handbook: Your No-Nonsense Guide for What Comes Next - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Clark Gaither is a public speaker, podcast producer, and author of Powerful Words. After learning his own hardest easy lessons, Gaither penned his second book, The Graduate’s Handbook, to give insight and direction to new graduates. A well-respected family care physician in Goldsboro, North Carolina, Gaither runs a successful blog called Dr. Burnout, where he helps professionals reignite their lives with passion and purpose.

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Try these seven steps to help you stop procrastinating:

-Remember who you are. Knowing yourself and what you are likely to do when faced with a new project or task is insightful. Vigilance against old behaviors can serve to usher in needed change.

-Establish a routine. Generate a schedule, road map, outline, or strategy for handling a new task and try to stick to it. Practice will make it work.

-Be realistic. Know the limits to what you can do. Don’t try to complete everything at once. Set attainable goals. Don’t overpromise and under deliver. Do just the opposite.

-Scale down tasks. Break up large projects into more manageable portions or segments. Work through them one at a time. Avoid jumping around from piece to piece. Forget multitasking. There is no such thing. It is a myth.

-Ask for help. Good grief, nobody knows everything about everything and none of us is superhuman. If you get stumped or if there is too much for one person to handle, ask for help. It is not a sign of weakness or ineptitude. It means you’re human. All humans need help from time to time. If you uncover a weakness, work on it. That is how we grow, and how we grow is how we gain knowledge. You can also set a weakness aside if it is unnecessary to accomplish your goals. The time may be better spent working on your strengths instead.

-Deadline with a cushion. Build a pre-deadline cushion into your schedule that will offer some leeway for the unexpected. This margin of safety is not to be used up because of stalling. The actual deadline is the hard limit for project completion. A self-imposed pre-deadline cushion is set before the actual deadline and affords some usable margin if needed due to circumstances outside of your control.

-Auto reward. When the task is completed or the project is shipped on time, take time to rest, reflect, and reset for the next project. Oh, and have some fun. If you have worked this list to your advantage, then you’ve earned it.

These seven steps can also apply to the other realms of your life. People procrastinate all of the time on beginning a regular program of exercise. Physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual vitality depend on balanced efforts within each.

Procrastination can be a major negative force in your life if you choose to let it exert power over you. It is a roadblock for so many. You are the only one who can place it in front of you and you are the only one who can remove it.