Most people have multiple reasons for taking rightful action. They have excuses and explanations to justify. This slide is based on a thought provoking article by HEIDI GRANT HALVORSON on Harvard Business Review (http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/02/how-to-make-yourself-work-when-you-just-dont-want-to/)
Beginners Guide to TikTok for Search - Rachel Pearson - We are Tilt __ Bright...
Moving from Procrastination to Taking Action
1. How to Make Yourself Work
When You Just Don’t Want To
Heidi Grant Halvorson | Harvard Business Review
Feb14, 2014
GIRISH CHANDRA ANANTHANARAYANA
CDPRESOURCES.COM
| 25TH FEB 2014
2. Plans. Plans. Plans!
Many of us have many ideas and multiple plans, but
no actions to implement those plans
Procrastination is a disease that infects the majority
Most postpone their plans to their deathbed and
repent after their have missed the train!
3. Frustration of Failed Planning
There is a gap between planning and taking
action, so most people fail to achieve what they
aspire fore
Guilt, stress, and frustration - just a few of the emotions
people experience as a result of failed planning
They beat themselves up or engage in self-pity
“I
wish I had done it”; “I had the same great idea”; “I wish to
go to gym but somehow cannot push myself to it” etc etc
4. There is Good News
You can make yourself do the things you don’t want
to, not just because you are actually supposed to!
You could be much happier and more effective
Right strategy can help you stop putting off
5. Why Do You Procrastinate?
This is MY opinion on the matter ….
Mind is one’s best friend and worst enemy
Procrastination depends on how one perceives TOSS
Self – EI, beliefs, values, strengths, weaknesses, qualifications
Situations – past experiences, current situations, market conditions
Others – perceptions of others, social status, fear of being judged
Task – perceived difficulty of the task; this involves 3 factors:
TASK TYPE, OUTCOMES, PROCESS
6. Why Do You Procrastinate?
Heidi Grant Halvorson proposes the following
Figuring out which strategy to use depends on why you
are procrastinating in the first place:
Reason
#1 - You are putting something off because you are
afraid you will screw it up
Reason
#2 - You are putting something off because you
don’t “feel” like doing it
Reason
#3 - You are putting something off because it’s
hard, boring, or otherwise unpleasant
7. Reason #1: Afraid of “screwing it up”
Solution: Adopt a “prevention focus”
Research shows that by adopting a promotion focus
one is motivated by the thought of making gains, and
works best by feeling eager and optimistic
Anxiety and doubt undermine promotion
motivation, making one less likely to take any action
at all
Instead of being bogged down by doubt, thrive on it
8. Reason #1: Afraid of “screwing it up”
Prevention focus - instead of thinking about how you can
end up better off, you see the task as a way to hang on to
what you’ve already got – to avoid loss
prevention
motivation is actually enhanced by anxiety about what
might go wrong
When
focused on avoiding loss, it becomes clear that the only
way to get out of danger is to take immediate action
More worried you are faster you are out of the gate
9. Reason #1: Afraid of “screwing it up”
“There is probably no better way to get over your anxiety about
screwing up than to give some serious thought to all the dire
consequences of doing nothing at all”
“Go on, scare the pants off yourself. It feels awful, but it works”
10. Reason #2 - you don’t “feel” like
doing it
Solution: Make like Spock and ignore your feelings.
They’re getting in your way
“Who says you need to wait until you ‘feel like’ doing
something in order to start doing it?” - Oliver Burkeman
You don’t need to feel like doing it – throw that idea
to the garbage and take necessary action
Most great people pursued what they did even when
they did not feel like doing it, or were uninspired
11. Reason #2 - you don’t “feel” like
doing it
“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and
get to work.” - Chuck Close
Take right action whether you got the feeling for it or not
“So if you are sitting there, putting something off because
you don’t feel like it, remember that you don’t actually
need to feel like it. There is nothing stopping you”
12. Reason #3 - it’s hard, boring, or
otherwise unpleasant.
Solution: Use if-then planning
Studies show that people routinely overestimate their
capacity for self-control, and rely on it too often to
keep them out of hot water.
If-then plan - more than just deciding what specific
steps are needed to complete a project. It’s also
deciding where and when you will take them.
13. Reason #3 - it’s hard, boring, or
otherwise unpleasant.
If it is 2pm, then I will stop what I’m doing and start work on the
report I need to work on
If Karen does not bring up the issue of salary, then I will bring it
up again before the meeting ends
By deciding in advance exactly what you’re going to do, and
when and where you’re going to do it, there’s no deliberating
when the time comes.
If-then plans dramatically reduce the demands placed on
your willpower by ensuring that you’ve made the right
decision way ahead of the critical moment
14. Going beyond…
Realize your TOSS and the consequence to it if action is
not taken
Task – Assess the task and its importance
Task
Type – how important and urgent is the task – prioritize
Outcome
–not taking action will anyway result in negative
outcome. Taking action may even have a positive possibility
Process
–HOW TO DO IT, is often the challenge. We can know the
HOW by doing it; without venturing we would never know
15. Concluding
Heidi’s suggestions are extremely interesting, and different. I
took some time to comprehend – particularly the Solution
#1, but they are valuable and unique
Most of us have STOPPERS and need to identify and overcome
those stoppers – I recommend that you read my blog
http://www.girishchandra.com/?p=300
- what is stopping you?
Create the Momentum you want, because we are
Momentum Beings – we are what we set out ….
http://www.girishchandra.com/?p=269