Toastmasters Speech – Overcoming Procrastination (8/18/10, 6 minutes)

Toastmasters Speech – Overcoming Procrastination (8/18/10, 6 minutes)

Good morning/afternoon fellow Toastmasters and guests. We have all heard the Thomas Jefferson quote, “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” I believe that we all sometimes struggle to follow this advice, so I’m here to share some tips for overcoming procrastination.

Procrastination is - Putting off things that you should be doing right now -- usually in favor of doing something that you like better or feel more comfortable doing. An example is putting off writing this speech in favor of reading a book.

The key to controlling procrastination is to 1) recognize when you start, 2) understand why it happens, and 3) take action to manage your time and outcomes better.

Step 1: Recognize That You're Procrastinating – here are some examples:

o If your day is filled with low priority tasks, you might be procrastinating.
o If you read e-mails several times without starting work on them or deciding what you’re going to do with them, you might be procrastinating.
o If you gear up to start a high-priority task, and almost immediately stop to make a cup of coffee/tea, you might be procrastinating.
o If the same task appears on your To Do list day after day, you might be procrastinating.
o If you are waiting for the “right mood” or the “right time” to tackle an important task, you might be procrastinating.

Do you recognize yourself in any of these statements? The next step is to understand why we are behaving this way.

Step 2: Work Out WHY You're Procrastinating
o The task is unpleasant. My youngest daughter once described doing laundry as “the most horrible chore in the world”. She dreads it and puts off doing her laundry as long as possible. Most of us have a task or two in our jobs that is unpleasant or boring, but the fact is – the job still needs to get done.
o Maybe you are disorganized and have trouble prioritizing.
o Sometimes we just feel overwhelmed by the size of the task. Like that mountain of laundry, we just need to sort it out and take it one pile at a time.
o Perfectionists also often procrastinate. They may feel that if it can’t be done perfectly, they won’t do it at all.

Once you recognize procrastination and understand why you do it, you can try some of these strategies to overcome it.

Step 3: Adopt Anti-Procrastination Strategies

If the task is unpleasant:
o Think about the unpleasant consequences of not doing the work – it often outweighs the unpleasantness of the task itself. In the laundry example, the unpleasant consequences may include having stains set in, running out of clean clothes, or forfeiting allowance.
o Try to do one of the “unpleasant tasks” first thing each day.
o Reward yourself.

If you're disorganized:
o Keep a To-Do list so that you can’t “conveniently” forget about unpleasant or overwhelming tasks.
o Find someone who seems organized and ask them to help prioritize your to-do list
o Set due dates.
o Focus on one task at a time.
o Reward yourself.

If the task is overwhelming:
o Break the project into a set of smaller, more manageable tasks.
o Start with some quick, small tasks to gain momentum.
o Organize the remaining tasks in a logical order to create an action plan.
o Reward yourself.

If you are thinking, "I don't have the right skills or resources to do this perfectly now, so I won't do it at all."
o Find training resources
o Apply what you learn to your daily tasks.
o If someone else has the skills you lack, team up with them and ask them to check back with you on your progress.
o Reward yourself.

Now that we all know how to recognize, understand, and overcome procrastination, next time you find yourself making a cup of coffee instead of tackling that mountain of laundry, I encourage you to try some of these ideas – in the words of Larry the Cable Guy “Git ‘er Done!”

And reward yourself [hold up chocolate bar].