How to Use Mini Vacations to compel Yourself to Get Things Done
Have you ever had the joy of procrastinating on a really boring task?
….How did it feel?
Well, you may have enjoyed not having to do the task but chances are….that procrastination took up a bit of your sleep, took you on guilt trips and stressed you out a little…
Isn’t that what procrastination is like? Kind of like Caffeine..you feel slightly good when you do it and then you sit back and have to deal with all the “after effects”..
And when it comes to procrastination there are tons and tons of reasons why we procrastinate…today’s topic is procrastination caused by boring tasks…And let’s face it…boredom is probably one of the biggest causes of procrastination (and it’s the one that’s most often ignored too!)
So..you have a task, that is slightly (or immensely) boring and you need to get it done …you’ve got it in your agenda and planned everything but when it comes to execution…something’s not working around there…
What do you do?
Freak out? (..maybe just a little 
)
How about using this little tip?
Mini Vacations
I don’t know about you but I love mini vacations. It feels incredibly good to be able to declare a day a “holiday”…
I hear ya….Saturdays and Sundays are technically “holidays”..but let me ask you something…how many of your weekends have been a true holiday?
It just seems weekends mean more stress, more stuff to get done, more bills to pay, more laundry to do..doesn’t it?
Would you like weekends where you get to simply relax and do nothing?!?
I sure do! And I call those weekends my “mini vacations”
Here’s what I do during my “mini vacations”
- I stay away from work 100%…I don’t even think about my projects, my emails or the people I’m waiting on or the people who’ve annoyed me
- I don’t do laundry, bills or anything that sounds “boring” or like a chore
- I sit back and watch movies or read books (fiction)
- I do what I’d like to be doing not what I *should* be doing…
And that’s what makes the mini vacations good…getting rid of the *shoulds* and the pressure to produce results..
Sound like a good idea?
If you like the idea of a mini vacation…just hang tight, that’s our topic for this week…but for today if you think the whole thing sounds like rubbish…here’s another attempt at getting you to try the concept..
It’s one of those things like a clear and empty head, you don’t get to see how good it feels until you experience it once…
So, try it out…just once and I’ll guarantee you..you’ll love it!
How many mini vacations
Ok…this depends on your schedule..If you’re too busy with things falling out of place everywhere let me be honest and say you might be able to squeeze in one every two or three months..
If you have things under control (at least on the weekends) you maybe able to squeeze in a couple each month..
How taking Mini Vacations can make you more productive
There is one condition to taking mini vacations…are you ready?
You get to take mini vacations only when you’ve been good all week…i.e. when you’ve been productive all week and got your most important tasks done…
Why?
Because frankly, even if you do take a mini vacations when you have tons of things that are behind schedule or when things aren’t working..you’re just not going to enjoy it!
And when it comes to dealing with boring tasks that make you want to procrastinate…enjoyment is the most important thing!
You need to be able to look at the boring task and say…”Yeah, I’ll hate this BUT when I get it done…I get to take a mini vacation which is going to be a ton of fun”
So..there you have it…
If you’re sick and tired of boring tasks…pump in some excitement with mini vacations..
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Top 3 Barriers to Personal Growth and What to do about them…
So you’ve decided you like this ‘personal growth and development thing’ and want to get started with it? Well, as exciting as personal development — being your best and enjoying each day is….it doesn’t come without a price!
And it does take time to apply personal development strategies and get results from them!
Here’s how personal development ‘works out’ for most people (Hey, I did this for a long time too!) …they come across a book, pick out a technique or two and then one of these 3 barriers to personal growth kicks in..
1. Skeptical Family and Friends…
Alright this isn’t something a lot of people want to talk about…definitely not a topic for a polite conversation on achieving your goals…
But here’s the reality…when you get started with personal development there is a change (a big chance if your family and friends aren’t involved in personal growth) that you will encounter some resistance from them.
They might call you a maniac or label you a ‘crazy dreamer’…that’s OK
You can get support from others who are into personal development and understand where you are coming from..
This doesn’t mean start hating your family… I’ve seen too many people do that. Just talk to them and see if you can find ‘common grounds’.
2. Lack of results
There are no magic pills out there when it comes to improving your abilities and finding the success you’re looking for…
Way too many people give up because they don’t see the results they’re looking for when they’re looking for it…
The solution here is to have patience..
Now, when I say “have patience”…please understand that I don’t mean keep doing the thing that isn’t working — instead, figure out what’s not working and figure out if you can fix it…
3. Lack of systems
When I started out trying various strategies to improve my skills, cultivate new habits etc…this is the one I struggled with the most!
You get excited about something say improving how you spend your time…you read up a few cool tips and want to implement them into your life..
That’s all sweet and amazing isn’t it?
Well, here’s the problem…
There is a difference between tips and systems.. A lot of times small tips will help you make massive changes but if you want the changes to stick around or if you want something that’s consistent and delivers you results day in and day out….you’ll want to look out for (or create) systems that will help you get the results you want..
Technorati Tags: time management, personal development, barriers to personal growth, self growth
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EFT Procrastination: Does it really work?
If you’ve never heard of EFT before..here’s a quick summary:
EFT stands for emotional freedom technique and basically it works like Chinese acupressure and acupuncture..except it’s much easier and can be done at home.
The basic assumption is that there are some meridian points in your body where a lot of stress and a lot of energy sit around or circle around… And the idea is to get rid of stress and negative habits by relieving these points in the body.
With EFT, you don’t put needles in your body…all you do is tap a few points..
Interesting? Unbelievable perhaps?
There’s a lot of talk about whether or not EFT actually works and whether or not EFT procrastination techniques work…
Here’s the deal..
I’ve tried EFT in the past and it has worked for me! I got rid of a chronic headache in 5 minutes (and the headache hasn’t come back in 2 years!)..
Will it work for you?
That’s the most important question..isn’t it?
And the answer is…it may and it may not…
With anything like EFT (or any other ‘healing or medication system’…some people get healed by it..others don’t)
The most important thing is you’ll have to try it for yourself and see..
And here’s the good news about EFT
1. You don’t have to use needles on your body (I have nothing against acupuncture and I know a lot of people who’ve seen great results from it)
2. It’s fairly easy to use and you can try it at home without spending too much money
3. With eft it’s fairly easy and quick to see results (or the lack thereof) helping you make your decisions easily..
So..that’s my thoughts…eft can work great but it’s one of those things that differs from individual to individual..
Try it yourself, if it works — great..if not, let’s move on!
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