Episode #39 - The Procrastinator's Handbook, Mastering The Art Of Doing It Now By Rita Emmett

Hello, Self Developers and welcome to The Patrick Kelly Podcast for Self-Development, where I will be reviewing  audible books on Self-Development that can change your life for the better this year, and years to come. It is said that if we keep on doing what we always did, we will keep on getting what we always got. In other words, to change our output, we first have to change our input.

Today is October 10, 2021, and This is Episode 39, and today, we will be reviewing the Audible Book, “The Procrastinator’s Handbook, Mastering The Art Of Doing It Now” By Rita Emmett. This audible book will teach You how to stop procrastinating and do what You need to do, when You need to do it, whether You like it or not.

Instructions on how to stop being a Procrastinator:

Lesson 1: We procrastinate for one of two reasons. One – because We are overwhelmed. Two – because the project is unpleasant. Once You begin to conquer procrastination, the sky is the limit. The dread. The dread of doing a task, takes up more energy than doing the task itself. Dreaders have absolutely no clue, of how long it will take that which they dread to do, to be completed. Dreaders always think that they do not have enough time to do that which they are dreading to do. If there is a task to be done, and it really needs to be completed. Time yourself and dedicate yourself to complete the task in one hour, without being distracted to do something else. If perhaps the task is not completed in the span of one hour on that day. The next day, dedicate another hour to complete the task.

Lesson 2: You will find that what You dread most, is not spending time and energy on the whole job, but simply getting started. No one has a Life full of pleasantness, totally devoid of unpleasantness. Life will always be difficult. The day You say to Yourself “I hate doing this, but I have to, so I may as well do it now, and get it over with.” You will free Yourself from the guilt and stress caused by putting it off.  When you  have recreation, You are recreating Yourself. You are recreating Yourself physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Time wasted is existence. Time used is Life.

Lesson 3: The word” procrastination” comes from the Latin word “crastinus” which means of tomorrow. Procrastinators are in favor of crastinating or putting things off, until tomorrow. People who do not procrastinate can be called “anti-crastinators” because they do not put things off until tomorrow, they do things, now. Strive for excellence, but not perfection. Not making a decision, is a decision in itself. The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Try taking the first step to complete a task that needs to be done, so that You do not procrastinate.

Lesson 4: 12 Tips for working effectively at Your desk:

1. Write down Your ideas. Do not trust your memory. The dullest pencil will always be sharper, than the sharpest mind.
2. Set down a to do list of your priorities, before the start of each day’s work.
3. Use your high productivity hours for all of your top priority projects.
4. Tackle time consuming projects in stages.
5. Do not over schedule. Leave some time each day free from appointments.
6. Concentrate on one item at a time.
7. Remember to take breaks. Get up and stretch and move around.
8. Establish a place for everything. Store needed items that need to be filed away nearby.
9. Keep paperwork moving.
10. Put limits on visits to your place of work. Don’t let others distract you.
11. Remove from your desk all papers and other projects, that you are not currently working on.
12. Handle or touch each piece of paper only once.

Lesson 5: Embrace Deadlines. Deadlines stop our procrastination. Deadlines motivate us to take action, now. Plan out the task in step-by-step details. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Plan your work and work your plan. Every moment spent planning, saves 3 or 4 in execution. Time to think, write in ink. Don’t just think it, ink it. Conversation, imagination. In order to want to avoid procrastination, remove the visual clutter that will cause you to dread doing a task that needs to be done. If the back seat of your car looks like a war zone, because you let your kids drop food and wrappers all over it, then you will less likely, to be wanting to clean the back of your car any time soon.  

Lesson 6: Every to do list you make helps you to plan your actions, which in turn helps you use your time wisely. Which in the end, determines the path, your life will follow. The items on your to do list tend to fall in one of two categories. Maintenance or enrichment. Maintenance keeps your Life running smoothly. Enrichment activities are those things you do by choice, not because you should do them. Enrichment helps you enjoy your Life more. Learn to sandwich the joyful things you want to do, in between the important things you have to do.

Lesson 7: Enthusiasm creates energy. Write down on your to do list joyful things that are important to you. When you connect with your priorities and act on them, you will be adding joy to a day previously filled with boring task and, you will feel energized. It is the moment of decision, that your destiny is shaped. Goals are dreams with a deadline. Strive for excellence, not perfection and last of all, always remember Parkinson’s Law which states: “Work expands to fill the period of time, allotted for its completion”.

Closing Thoughts: On scale of 1 to 5, I would give this audible book, a 4 for providing detailed instructions on how to stop procrastination.  

*To find out more about this audible book, Go To: www.audible.com and download this audible book, or google Rita Emmett to find out more information about the Author.

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