To Be More Disciplined, Stop These 4 Bad Habits
A lot of people think discipline is about what you do:
·
Stay focused
·
Tough it out
·
Boost your willpower
·
Be strong
I’d like to suggest an alternative:
The best way to be more
disciplined is to do less, not more.
If you’re
doing something hard, trying to apply even more effort is likely to fail
because you’re already tired and spent. What if you took a totally different
approach…
What if you
looked for things that were interfering with your ability to be more
disciplined and focused on removing those?
If you’ve
struggled for a long time to be more disciplined without much success, working
to identify and eliminate these four habits that interfere with discipline
might be a much more helpful strategy.
Procrastination
As we shall see in this article,
this is not a coincidence. Almost everyone is guilty of it at some point in
their lives. So we ask ourselves this question - why do people procrastinate or
are so busy all the time?
We live in the 21st century when
time is of the essence. However, we are wasting our precious resources by
wasting our time.
Saint Kabir had advised: what you
have to do tomorrow, do today; what you have to do today, do it now.
Procrastination is the habit of delaying a task or an activity until a later
date. The habit of procrastinating the doing things is one of the worst habits
of a person. People tend to be slothful to put off the finishing of a piece of
work, implementation of a plan till another time. Life is not certain and it is
possible that circumstances may change and one may not be able to do the work
at all. It is good to procrastinate on things that are bad, but we are right
and what we have decided to do, we must do in time.
Reasons
for Procrastinating
One of the major reasons for procrastinating on a task is
slothfulness. When a person is indulged in luxuries and slothfulness, it will
blunt his edge of urge for action. When a person starts fearing the outcome of
the task, he tends to procrastinate the task for a later date. Other factors
for procrastinating work for a later date are low self-esteem, weak
determination, less focus and distraction and also high impulsiveness.
Procrastination
is Harmful
Procrastination is harmful in various ways. It maintains
tension in mind. It will relieve you of this tension if you do the work right
now. Putting off work till another time more often may keep us deprived of the
benefits, which might have accrued to us from its having been done. Opportunity
knocks at the door once. Opportunity lost once is lost forever. There is no
guarantee that the circumstances will remain the same. They may change and you
may have to repent later on over the fact that you missed the opportunity.
Sometimes it may prove tragic and change the good side of your career to a bad
one.
A successful man is one who strikes the iron while it is
hot. When procrastination becomes a habit, all cheerfulness and carefree living
go out of life and we live a life of perpetual tension, which indeed is not a
life worth living at all. While procrastination is harmful to individuals, it
may be more harmful to groups, communities and nations.
We must ask ourselves whether we do actually realise the
dangers emanating from procrastination and, therefore, shun it. We will perhaps
find the answer in the affirmative as well as in the negative. We are still
procrastinating steps for development in certain sectors of our life. For
example, we have been sadly procrastinating in the educational sector. Even
after more than five decades of economic planning, we find half of our
population illiterate. We have taken steps to eradicate illiteracy, but our
steps are not fast enough.
We have been procrastinating developing certain
geographical regions of the country with the result that there are evident
regional imbalances in terms of development. We have not yet been able to
connect every village of India with a link road. This was the task of utmost
importance, a task that ought to have been given priority in any scheme of
development. Our pace of development could have been faster if proper planning
and implementation had been done at the right time.
While procrastination is regarded as a bad habit, undue
hurry or haste is equally a bad tendency. Promptness of action is advisable,
but an impulsive decision is fraught with undesirable consequences. One must
not delay or procrastinate in arriving at a decision in crucial matters, but
unless a well-thought-out decision has been taken, it is more often than not
risky to convert into action. Decisions taken in a hurry or haste without cool
and calculated deliberation are likely to lead one into blind alleys or
unfathomed troughs which it is difficult to get out from. The golden rule is
first to get satisfied with the correct decision. Action should immediately
follow the correct decision. Action should immediately follow the correct
decision. Evil actions contemplated as a consequence of anger, revenge, greed,
larceny, lust should be put off as indefinitely as possible till they die their
natural death.
How to
Avoid Procrastinating?
There are a few tips to curb the
habit of procrastination.
Slothfulness:
We must shake off slothfulness altogether. One must be up
and doing. Avoid indulgence in luxuries because this makes one blunt.
Value of Time:
Understanding the value of time is very important. Nothing
great can be expected from one who does not understand the value of a minute,
for seconds and minutes make an hour, a day, a month, a year and the whole life
itself. If the value of a minute is descended deep into our mind and heart,
sloth will disappear.
Idleness:
Idleness is fatiguing. One must, therefore oneself engage
in some useful work like some household chores other than one's main
occupation.
Planning:
To ward off procrastination, one must plan one's work.
Detailed planning is necessary. The entire gamut of work may be divided into
fragments and time fixed for completing each fragment will facilitate
satisfaction and invigorating. What we must have to do right from the time we
get up from bed down to the time we go to bed must be clear to us and we must stick
to it religiously.
Prioritization:
One may arrange the array of work in order of priorities.
How many things are to be done and in what order of priority they must be taken
— once this is planned in advance, then most of the battle is won and we can get
out of the habit of procrastinating tasks.
Why Do We Procrastinate?
Reasons for postponing a person
may vary. It depends on the individual and the situation-to-situation. However,
there are international reasons why people delay their activities and actions.
One of the most important things
is the fear of failure. When a person is slow to perform an important task or
is not interested in completing it, the cause may be a deep fear of failure. It
is human nature to avoid and fear failure. So by choosing not to complete the
task, we can also avoid the consequences.
Another reason is a lack of focus
and determination. Feelings of indifference and insecurity can often cause
people to lose their will to do their jobs.
This leads to self-control. Sometimes
a lack of goals and objectives is also a reason for a person to lose focus.
With no goal in mind, they end up wasting energy on other useless activities.
There are other reasons a person
may tolerate it. At times, a person may be a perfectionist. This distracts them
from other activities. And then there are other reasons like laziness, low
energy levels, easy distractions, etc.
How Can You Stop
Procrastination?
Although procrastination is a normal part of life for us,
it can be extremely difficult to do so. Procrastination can ruin your life and
cause you to lose control of your schedules and deadlines. So when
procrastination fades, you need to be in control and in control.
One way to stop procrastinating is to turn a dreadful task
into smaller steps. If a task or task is too difficult, we often put it off.
But if the work is depleted, then we can deal with it one step at a time
without frustration. You can also create a detailed timetable or timeline of
some sort to help you with the steps.
Sometimes a change in the work environment can be
beneficial. It can give you the energy you need to stop procrastinating and
complete the task. If possible, get a friend or parent to check your progress.
It helps keep motivation levels up and encourages you to complete the task on
time.
The key is not to become too preoccupied with the mundane
things of life. We are all victims of procrastination. As long as it doesn't
interfere with your entire system, take a break and go back to work!
Short Essay on Procrastination
Procrastination is not a rare thing; nine out of ten
people, mostly students, nowadays procrastinate their work until the very last
moment and it is also realized that they often feel guilty due to continuous
postposing of their important work. The reasons for procrastination vary from
person to person and situation to situation.
However, some causes are universal and some may have a
particular reason to delay their important actions or tasks. The fear of
failure stands on the top and another reason why most people procrastinate is
lack of motivation.
Everyone needs motivation while starting a new task or
action, but due to lack of motivation most, people procrastinate due to the
hesitation of performing a new activity plus lack of motivation, while some
procrastinate due to laziness, lack of interest and unwillingness to perform
any work.
However, the end product of procrastination is always
negative, like people start feeling much guilty, less focused, worried about
upcoming projects or actions etc.
Distractions
1. How to
Avoid Distractions from Technology
Our smartphones – and now
smartwatches – have blurred the line between personal and professional
communication. We can now receive work emails and phone calls on the same
device as private Facebook comments, Instagram photos, and an array of other
personal information.
Given such technology's
addictive nature, policies to control their use at work are rarely effective,
as it's hard to enforce rules about what people can look at on their own
devices.
It's usually more helpful
if individuals understand and manage the challenge themselves. For example, you
and your colleagues could agree to put away your phones for a certain time
during the day, to help you to focus on a particular piece of work.
2.
Email-Management Strategies to Keep You Focused
Many of the emails in our
inboxes are not particularly important. However, we often feel the need to look
at them as soon as they arrive. So, here are five ways to manage those messages
so that they don't take you away from important tasks.
Schedule checking time –
Turn off the alert that appears on your computer screen when you receive an
email, and check and respond to messages at set times of the day. Give yourself
a maximum of 30 minutes for each session. Manage your co-workers', manager's
and customers' expectations about how and when you will reply to them.
Choose "low
productivity" times – There are likely certain times of day when you do
your best work, maybe in the morning or maybe late at night. Schedule an email
check-in for your less productive times, and save your peak hours for
high-value work.
Use the trash – Don't
keep emails forever. If you do, you run the risk of losing sight of the
important ones as your inbox grows, and of your inbox becoming harder and
harder to manage. Once you've replied to them, put the ones that you don't need
in the trash, and archive or file the ones that you want to keep.
Smartphone syncing – Try
redirecting your email to your smartphone, to help you to free up your computer
from distractions. Then apply the advice we've given above to your personal
device.
3. How to
Stay in Control of Social Media
Social media offers us
new ways of communicating with unprecedented numbers of people. It can also be
a productivity killer, taking our attention away from work tasks and breaking
our concentration.
Organizations can no
longer just block people's access to websites that aren't work-related –
smartphones can get around this, as they operate on cellular networks
independent of any work-based internet access. So, people must be gently
encouraged to use social media responsibly, so that their productivity and
focus aren't affected.
4. Managing
Instant Messaging (IM)
Many workplaces use an IM
platform to keep team members in touch with one another. However, it can also
be a source of distraction, thanks to non-essential notifications and emoji’s.
Get into the habit of Using
IM for small, quick queries only, not for conversations. Resist the pressure to
reply instantly, and consider setting specific times during the day when your
status is "online."
5. Limiting
Online Distractions
Reading the latest
headlines, checking sports scores, and ordering new clothes online (even for
the office) can easily steal 30 minutes of our time, as well as often being a
breach of workplace rules.
Turning off access to the
internet isn't normally an option, as organizations are increasingly using
cloud-based software that requires an internet connection to work fully. But,
you can install blocking software, such as Freedom, to help you to decide which
websites or content you want to block for yourself.
If it's acceptable within
your organization, use a brief personal browsing session as a reward for an
hour or two of high-quality, focused work. The Pomodoro Technique could help
you with this approach.
6. Limiting
Distractions on the Phone
The ring of a phone often
prompts an intense need to answer, even if we're deep in concentration. To
minimize this source of distraction for you and your team, consider arranging a
rota so that team members can take calls for one another. They can use IM to
check if people are able to deal with the call.
If you don't want to turn
off your personal phone because of family concerns, pre-program some quick text
replies, such as "In a meeting – will return your call ASAP." You can
also explain to friends and family that you will only be available for calls at
lunchtime or in the evening.
7. Staying
Focused in the Office
Rather than trying to
ignore such distractions as strong cooking smells or loud colleagues, get away
from the problem. Set yourself up in an empty meeting room to regain your
focus. Wear noise-canceling headphones, or play "white noise," to
blank out anything that would otherwise grab your attention.
8. Staying Organized and Keeping on Task
Always try to have a
manageable To-Do List. Having one that's too long can lead to procrastination,
as you wonder which task to tackle next. Commit to accomplishing the two most
important tasks on your list today, and put the rest on hold until tomorrow.
If you discover that you
are frequently dealing with urgent but unplanned enquiries, try to dig deeper
into these issues and use problem solving techniques to uncover their underlying
cause. Addressing this should help you to minimize the disruption, or even
eliminate it altogether.
Remember, you're part of
a team, so ask your co-workers to share the load in busy periods. If you're a
manager, learn to delegate effectively.
9. How to
Stop Other People from Distracting You
Unless you're part of a
virtual team, colleagues visiting your desk could be a big source of
distraction. But, you're also a manager who wants to be available for your team
members.
So, if you don't want to
be disturbed at times when you need to focus on a task, consider working at
home, or in a conference room, as a way to avoid inadvertently inviting
interruptions. If you have your own office, close the door and tell your team
that you need to be left alone to concentrate for a while.
In an open plan office,
make your workspace less hospitable by removing extra chairs, or standing up
when a colleague arrives.
If you have a frequent
disrupter, talk to them about the problem, as they might not even realize that
they're distracting you.
10. Keeping
Your Mind and Body Focused
You're going to need a
lot of mental and physical energy to juggle your priorities, manage visitors,
and have the discipline to control your use of technology. So, it's vital that
you take care of yourself.
Many people don't get enough
sleep because of the distractions of technology at home, so employ best
practice there too.
Dehydration can make you
feel tired and impact your thinking, so try to drink plenty of water. Get some
fresh air and take a brisk walk during the day – both will energize you. Try to
avoid heavy lunches and sugar-laden snacks, as they can lead to a slump in
concentration later in the day.
Impulsive
decisions
What
Is Impulsive Behavior?
Impulsive behavior “describes a set of behaviors
characterized by relative dominance of spontaneity over consideration”
according to Risk Taking and Impulsivity: The Role of Mood States and
Interoception. These behaviors may include a proclivity toward instant
gratification over a delayed or more valuable outcome, making “snap decisions”
before considering all available information, having difficulty waiting one’s
turn or withholding a reaction.
Although this spontaneity can be helpful at times, or
may be an adaptive behavior, high levels of impulsivity can be linked to many
neuropsychiatric conditions, including addiction, bipolar disorder and attention-deficit
hyperactivity disorder.
Almost everyone acts impulsively once in a while,
which is nothing to be concerned about. In fact, “impulsivity is an element of
broader unconscious behavior that is a natural part of brain function,” says
Nick Norman, a clinical social worker based in Seattle and the business
relationship manager at Mindful Therapy Group.
However, problematic impulsive behaviors that are
extreme, chronic, defy attempts to manage them and/or result in undesirable
outcomes and negative consequences can also be signs of mental illness.
“Ultimately, it is the level of intensivity, frequency and life disruption or
harm that indicates there may be a mental health condition needing to be
addressed,” says Norman.
Examples
of Impulsive Behavior
While impulsive behavior is recognized as a diagnostic
criterion for several psychiatric disorders that involve risky behaviors, this
behavior can also correlate to unproblematic actions in everyday life.
Positive
Impulsive Behaviors
Often, we rely on impulsive, unconscious behaviors to
get us through each day, such as while driving, picking up the phone or moving
a hand away from a hot stove, explains Norman. “There are certainly positive
outcomes from impulsivity: Our fight or flight response—an impulsive reaction
to potential threats—has been one of the most effective survival tools in our
evolution as a species. Impulsivity, then, can be key to preventing harm.”
Negative
Impulsive Behaviors
While some impulsive behaviors may be sparked by
genuinely positive intentions, such as trying to stay safe and protect others,
there are clear boundaries between those and more harmful.
Lack
of organization
Responsibility
A lack of organizational structure means that project
and administrative responsibilities are often neglected. In a strong
organization, responsibility is not used as a vehicle for pointing fingers. It
is used to identify areas within the company that need improvement, whether it
be individuals that require further training or complete sections of the
company that need restructuring. Without a corporate structure, this important
element of accountability can lead to a complete breakdown in company
productivity.
Conflict
When there is a weak structure in an organization,
conflict can occur for several reasons. Job-duty responsibility is not clearly
defined, which can lead to conflicts over who will perform the task and when it
will get done. Conflict also arises in poor structures when people seek to
exert control within the organization when they may not have the authority.
Because the company lacks the strength of a well-defined hierarchy, managerial
duties suffer.
Low
Profitability
Whether you consider it inefficient operations or poor
productivity, the bottom line is that a weak corporate structure leads to low
profitability. Without clearly defined responsibilities among the management
team, each work group lacks the proper guidance to generate revenue.
Departments do not have a comprehensive understanding of their goals and are
left to figure out the most productive work methods on their own.
Employee
Development
A strong culture of employee development requires a
focused effort between the employees, management and human resources. A lack of
organization weakens the collaborative effort needed to have an efficient
employee development plan. The result is a company that is unable to maintain
essential employee job skills. There is also an inability to upgrade the staff's
skill set, which degrades the ability of the company to stay competitive in the
marketplace.
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