I was once told that you need to be prepared for opportunity when it comes because you may never see it again. That is a true statement that I have tried to keep in the for front of my mind since that day.
Like many of you procrastination is a problem that I have suffered from for many years. It has many different faces. For me it came in a few different forms. One was I had to make everything perfect. The other was frustration or victimization if you will.
It seemed that I never had the right connections, equipment to do what I wanted or education. These ideas where not excuses for not doing things in my mind, they where real issues that never seemed to have a resolution.
As a music teacher I have talked to or taught many self-proclaimed procrastinators. Many of their issues concerned the pressure that they feel from others, stubbornness, perfectionism, frustration and worst of all is low self esteem.
The reality of our situation is that we feel like we are lacking something.
Sometimes it’s our lack of education on a subject of interest that drives us further away form doing. For others it’s the fact that our passion is time consuming and we don’t have that much time to spend on our project.
Still others it’s the fact that what we want to do is difficult and we don’t want to make mistakes that others will see. The fear of making mistakes is natural one and for many it is the most difficult to overcome.
I have personally been guilty of falling to the overwhelming size of a project. To think about the entire project became stressful and that was when my perfectionist “getting it done right” attitude kicked in.
Others have had a lack of tolerance for others that they had to work with. This drove them away from making time for the project. You should never put other people’s lack of ability or drive in charge of your life. This is where you stubbornness might be pushing you in a bad direction.
Self-doubt is a major reason for many of us procrastinators to continue doing nothing. Minimizing your own skills in order to create doubt is not only a problem that you create; it is one that only you can stop!
Your own ideas of limitation can cause you to put off what you want and exchange it for more of what you have. If you don’t like what you have than this can be quite a problem for you!
To be honest In retrospect I was not following through and I have consequently missed many good opportunities. But that was the past. Now that I have learned to recognize my procrastination I have learned to take action.
How do we solve our procrastination problem?
The good news is that you can end our problem today. Right now you can turn the corner and head in the right direction. You are in charge if you allow yourself the power to take control.
Here are some tips to help you get started:
- Set small goals that break your project up into smaller pieces
- Reward yourself for meeting those small goals
- Develop your patience by understanding your expectations
- Find a good role model who you can ask questions when you are feeling overwhelmed
- Surround yourself with “do’ers”. Peer pressure will help push you alone if you surround yourself with positive people.
- Find a good work/practice environment. If you can’t work at home find a place that you can concentrate in.
- Expect days when you won’t get things done. Backsliding is a fact of life and a temporary failure. It is an unfortunate fact that success is made by stepping on and over failure.
- Relax; it’s okay if you don’t get it all done in your first deadline. Just get it done! Be sure to finish.
- Be honest with yourself and recognize when you are procrastinating. Then take the steps you need to reach your goals!
For more information about how to build your confidence, improve your creativity and make better music visit http://www.bebop2pop.com and get your copy of 9 secrets to better music.
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