That one thing that always holding you back is procrastination, which has nothing to do with your work ethic, character, efforts, purpose, and goal. Procrastination is a feeling aspect, it’s a fear of getting started with something and ending up putting it off for another time.
It’s life’s biggest irony that we procrastinate the emotions like stress & anxiety and then ends up feeling worst like regret and shame because we procrastinated.
How did procrastination help then? Noways!
How to deal with procrastination?
Here is the one thing that you can do to deal with your emotional monster, which has been sabotaging you by holding you back, and leading you on the wrong path.
However, keeping you busy but keeping you away from the hard work, the real work you need to do, to be there, to achieve something someday.
Take a deep breath and say: I am going to take one bite, that first bite.
Why start small when you can go big? One of the most controversial perceptions about achieving what we want in life is to think big and to live big. While there is nothing wrong with thinking big, when it comes taking action and making progress, starting small is the key. Most people have the idea of doing big and bold. They read books and they were told to do big things, to be bold, and to make take the leap of faith. You either go big, or you go home. Sounds familiar? https://stunningmotivation.com/why-start-small/
THE ELEPHANT TECHNIQUE
The elephant technique is a concept that is undertaken to plan very large tasks. As the name depicts the elephant tasks.
HOW DO YOU EAT AN ELEPHANT?
What tasks could be categorized as the Elephant Task?
– Huge tasks demanding patience, a long-time action plan, immense stages, and phases.
– When the goal is visible but not the path.
– When there is an immense number of hurdles to cross before you reach the finish line.
The straightforward answer is ‘one bite at a time.’
When you are attacking a big goal or something long term like :
▪ Writing a book
▪ Losing weight
▪ Learning a new language
How do you know it’s an elephant task?
You would certainly feel the pressure of the huge task you are up to, which is called to be like eating an elephant. And, you would even feel that it’s impossible to get to the end of the task somewhere in near future.
The secret of eating the elephant
▶ After taking a bite, applaud the action being least bothered about the outcome.
▶ After taking every bite celebrate your effort of making the move.
Why take one bite at a time?
After all, if you wait to celebrate the whole eating up of the elephant; just imagine the level of:
– Missing out on small achievements
– Disappointment with yourself
– Self-doubt towards oneself
– Thought of ‘something is wrong with you’
Why practice eating an elephant technique?
▪ Overcoming the feelings of being overwhelmed and disappointed is a challenge in itself.
▪ Focusing attention on the same activities that you do every day, successfully.
▪ More than accomplishing a goal taking action is the key to success.
▪ It is a way to support yourself and the people in your life to keep going no matter what shape, size, or circumstances of the elephant is in your life.
Bottom line:
One bite at a time to celebrate the activity not the outcome.
To complement the elephant technique here is one incredible time management strategy.
#1 Time Management Strategy
POMODORO TECHNIQUE
Pomodoro is a technique of setting a timer for 25 minutes to coordinate your work routine, which is the same as your brain is in the most productive phase which helps reduce burnout and distractions.
What do you need to do?
– Choose a task you need to do by listing it in the planner, bullet journal, to-do list.
– Set an alarm of 25 minutes.
– During this period you need to be focused and able to remove any kind of distraction.
– Remember your goal is not to complete the task but try to get the most of the task in the time available, as fast as possible.
– Believe, that you are going to focus, manage and complete the task, efficiently.
How to practice the Pomodoro technique?
▪ Practice your task for 25 minutes with intense focus.
▪ Take a break of 5 minutes before you start another Pomodoro.
▪ Repeat until you complete Pomodoro for 4 times consecutively with a 5-minute break.
▪ Take a longer break say, 20- 30 minutes.
Benefits of practicing these techniques
▶ Get an insight of less is more with focus building.
▶ It shows you that you can get a lot done in 25 minutes without feeling the need to commit yourself to strategies that last for hours.
▶ Small-time commitments would help you procrastinate less.
Both of these ‘one bite at a time’, or ‘start small, start today ‘ techniques would lead you to a longer period of productive work.
The harder part of accomplishing any project is starting. It’s the first step that is the hardest. Breaking that stagnation you eventually cones into the mode of motion. And, when you are in motion, motion tends to continue.
Motivation and momentum follow the action.
Literally You 