Put off Procrastinating.

This week I prepared and gave a speech about procrastination. I had already written the speech and hade begun preparing to deliver it,  when I got this months email about the Toastmasters Magazine being available. I visited the website and started looking it over and I found an article entitled "Put off Procrastinating" by Caren S Neile PHD

It is a very good article and has some great thoughts about why we procrastinate and how it is tied to our emotional life.  To quote the author: " ...avoiding whatever it is that causes us short-term displeasure in favor of long-term guilt." 

 It goes on to delve further into this aspect of the psychology of procrastination and is very interesting. 

There is an entire section of the article that talks about how to deal with procrastination. Three of those ideas are : 

• Make the task as pleasant as possible. Do you prefer working in your pajamas? Would music help, or even something as simple as chewing gum or drinking a cup of coffee? Can you talk to a friend on speaker phone while you’re cleaning out the shed?
• Plan your reward. Sometimes, that slice of pizza waiting for you in the fridge can do the trick. Personally, I bring the chocolate right to my desk, so I can enjoy my reward in advance while I’m doing the unwanted task.
• Indulge in pride. Someone is counting on you to do a good job. By taking pride in yourself and in your work, you might find that extra motivation to get it done"

Part of the article talks about "Practicing not procrastinating" in Toastmasters:

"Practice in Toastmasters 

Toastmasters is a great place for you to practice not procrastinating. Here are a few strategies to try. 

1. Work through your speech ideas with a mentor or other club member. If you and that person get along well, the task can become automatically more pleasurable.
2. Reexamine your speech topic. If you’re feeling stuck and avoiding working on your speech, try tackling your chosen topic in a different way, using other examples or stories, or a completely new approach. 
3. Maybe it’s the targeted skill itself, such as storytelling or body language, that is causing you to procrastinate. Consider moving on to a different skill and circling back at a later time."

The article is very good and I would encourage you all to readout in it's entirety. The link to that article is here:https://www.toastmasters.org/magazine/magazine-issues/2025/march/put-off-procrastinating