9 Tips for Overcoming Procrastination
*Repost: Originally posted 11/11/2014
Okay…I have a confession. I completely procrastinated writing this week’s post. Typically, that’s not a normal occurrence for me. Time management is usually a forte of mine, but I do tend to slip into bad habits and have a lapse of judgment from time to time. I know, shocking, right?!
Anyhow, I had good intentions of writing a little bit at a time and finishing up over the weekend. However, I did everything BUT that…graded papers and essays from my college classes, watched TV, went shopping with my mother-in-law for my birthday gifts (who could pass that up!), ran errands, and just really enjoyed not having to sit at football practice nearly every night (even though I usually did get a lot of work done AT practice).
When I finally decided to sit down and write, I prayed about what to write first (as I always do). I apologized and told God that I had been procrastinating and that I should’ve started sooner. I asked if He had any ideas for what He wanted me to write about. Guess what He said…Write about overcoming procrastination. Ha! He’s a funny guy. I love that God has a sense of humor. 🙂
Procrastination is a trap
Procrastination is such a trap because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. We may put something off until tomorrow, and then when tomorrow comes something unexpected may come up that prevents us from doing that thing we procrastinated.
“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” Proverbs 27:1 (NIV)
“Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen tomorrow. What is the nature of your life? You are [really] but a wisp of vapor (a puff of smoke, a mist) that is visible for a little while and then disappears [into thin air].” James 4:14 (AMP)
Overcoming procrastination is actually a topic we spend quite of bit of time on in the college classes that I teach. I love showing this comical video clip from Ellen DeGeneres because many can relate (maybe you can too):
I created a handout for my college students with some tips for overcoming procrastination since it was a problem that many of them said they were still dealing with. That’s what I’d like to share with you (and myself!) today. So here are some practical steps to overcoming procrastination… Continue reading