Procrastination. New challenges. Part 2

Today we will continue the fight against procrastination.

Let's talk about new tasks, find out what REPT is and why we need a plan, is there cooperative work, and when will it all end?

Interesting?

If you have not read the previous article, then please take a few minutes Procrastination. Symbolic reward system. Part 1

This is a must if you want to start a “treatment”.

New challenges

We agreed on the fact that for some time we will do small, simple tasks, for this period they should enter the comfort zone. Now you have to add one new task, it should be a little more complicated, but aimed at development. That is, you choose the business that you want to perform and find it useful. This can be both the implementation of physical exercises, and the study of a programming language. It is clear that if you are studying, it is advisable to develop it in your specialty, to raise the skill. But only if you are interested and it should be one thing, so choose carefully.

I hope you have decided, now we will discuss some points, if this is physical exercise, then everything is simple and there should not be any difficulties, problems begin when the brain needs to be turned on to complete the task. The fact is that we procrastinate due to lack of information, from the fact that it is not entirely clear how to do it. You may have had little or no experience at all, but it is the fear of the unknown that makes us put off things until later, that’s how our brains work.

Plan

But this problem can be dealt with easily, it is enough to draw up a detailed plan. Thus, each relatively difficult business will begin from point zero - with the preparation of a plan for its implementation. It seems to many that additional actions will complicate the work. In fact, writing yourself an instruction and proceeding to the first point is much easier than proceeding to an obscure case without preparation. In order to write instructions for ourselves, we have all the possibilities: the Internet, books, more experienced people. But there is one point, always try to get the necessary information yourself, collect and organize it as much as possible, do not forget to write down, this will help to keep the information in your head for a certain time. Do not contact specialists if you have not searched for information yourself.

Do not forget to mark the completion of each step in the CER form, the completion of most of these small steps should also be noted with a more significant symbol.

Internal resistance

This phenomenon haunts us all along our path, but here she gets up more acutely. When a person meets the first obstacles, his motivation abruptly disappears and he quits his job. To get around it at this stage, it is worth considering the following points about which I already wrote.

• Do not choose a very difficult thing
• Choose what you really want

It is worth mentioning a certain approach, Rational-emotional-behavioral therapy, abbreviated to REP. According to her, the main cause of mental disorders is erroneous, irrational mental attitudes, and not the past experience of the individual. It is worthwhile to read foreign literature on this topic for self-development, there are names below, because in the Russian-language segment of the network information is incorrect and some are missing at all. The fact is that the loss of motivation is associated with irrational beliefs, which we have a lot. In this case, it is: “I have to do perfectly”, “Everything should work out for me ”, “I have todeal". And when a person does not succeed, it causes a storm of negative emotions. In truth, negative emotions will always be there, but when they interfere with something in a rep, they are called irrational. To negative emotions were less pronounced, in the REPT change their beliefs. Instead of “should” - “I would like to”, that is, requirements for oneself are reduced and failure will cause less emotions. As a result, your message should be something like this: “I would like to do something perfectly, but if it doesn’t work out, then everything is fine, this is normal”, this is an adequate conviction that stress from failure will be expected and less painful. You will have to write out all your irrational beliefs and change them to rational ones.

Partner

Returning to the topic, I would like to say about such a thing that can bring additional motivation. The point is that you are looking for someone to whom you can tell about your goals and achievements. But, finding a person who will really be interested in your achievements and who will occasionally be interested in them is very difficult. Of course, you can cooperate with someone who develops a certain skill or get together in a group, but this can lead to a breakdown, now I will explain. The fact is that if such a person starts procrastinating, stops communicating, then you may experience a program failure. If all the same it happened, then immediately change the partner. Another point, you may have the belief that you should be accountable, and if you have to - it means it's bad. Try to exclude and not allow this.

So, you are doing one thing for about 2-3 weeks, it should already be in the comfort zone, the time to choose a second not very difficult lesson, according to the above principle. All that you did before, you do not stop doing.

Yes, if the first lesson does not want to enter the comfort zone, then for this if the following reasons, it may not be interesting to you in fact or you will not achieve those successes that you would be happy with. If so, then you should not quit, do it for some time, a week, for example, but don’t quit, combine with the second thing, but spend less time. Remember, if the first lesson is difficult for you, then reduce the pressure and expectations, revise the instructions, if you are frustrated because of it, then you should not do it at all. There is a danger in throwing, you will give up all your undertakings and will not advance in anything.

Disruptions

And again about them, at this stage, the chance to break even higher. To prevent them from happening, it is important to do everything that I wrote. But if you could not stand it, then the return tactics should not be much different. If the breakdown affected all the actions, even the simplest ones, then you need to start all over again, however, you need to wait a while with the activities of the second stage. Wait a few days, and then add one lesson at a time. It is important to understand what caused the breakdown and not to allow it anymore.

You should feel the expansion of the comfort zone, for you, all added matters should become the norm, and internal resistance should be significantly reduced. Only then are you on the right track. Do not forget, you are not abandoning old habits, you just have to have less time for them, but it was they that brought you pleasure and therefore now they will delight you even more.

Most importantly, do not rush , do the daily amount of work, enjoy your work, everything should be measured and accurate, without rush. Do not forget about the CER form!

Postscript: Since many complained about the volume of the first article, I decided to add another part in which there will be the last stage and answers to questions. Separately, I will write a manual on team work to combat procrastination and possibly about REP. If it will be interesting to anyone here.

If you have questions regarding the methodology described in the article, something doesn’t work out for you, you don’t understand some things or you broke, write me in personal messages or google plus account. May the force come with you.

Literature

Rational-Emotional Behavioral Therapy Practice - Albert Ellis and Windy Dryden.