1 No effort
If you want to make a job harder and bigger than it need be, put it off for a bit. It’s easy to invent excuses as to why it would be better to leave a task you don’t enjoy until another day. Having done it successfully once, it’s even more effortless afterwards. The more you allow yourself to do this, the more difficult the original job becomes. It’s ironic that the effort required for procrastination is often greater than that needed to get the task done in the first place.
2 Sharp practice
Warning signs of procrastination include a desire to create a new filing system or to check the points on all your pencils. Fight such urges when they next occur, and ask yourself what it is that you are really avoiding. If it’s an unjustified fear of failure that’s holding you back, then the only way to conquer it is to plunge right in. Tame even the most daunting assignment by breaking it up into small sections. Intersperse the more challenging tasks with relatively easy ones.
3 Early finish
The sooner you start, the sooner you finish. Let yourself get immersed in what you’re doing without being too concerned about the end result. Fine tuning is relatively easy once the job is underway and a strong framework is emerging. The feeling that you’re in control and making headway will give you the confidence to see the task through. Create enough momentum to get things going and you can leave your ideas to mature while rewarding yourself with a bit of pencil sharpening.