Caramel Contemplation

In today's society things get done at a rapid pace. Technological advancements have made things much easier for us and as a result we have become somewhat lazy and far less motivated to do things. Why do Maths when you can just use a calculator? Why was your car when you can take it to the car wash? Why clean the house when you can just get a maid? These are the starting points of procrastination, a condition which I know all too well!

While technology is great is some regards, it has allowed society to have low attention spans and a dependency on things that make our lives much easier than they have ever been before. This then results in procrastination. 

Many people find in near impossible to beat procrastination but there are actually several methods out there that one can try in order to beat this terrible problem. Here is just one of them. This is call the "Instant Gratification" method and if used correctly, it can be extremely effective so why not try it out?

Here are steps that you need to take in order to motivate yourself and beat that procrastination.

Step 1: Write it Down
The aim of this exercise is to write down as many things as possible that need to be done. Writing things down help them to become visual and more concrete and thus they seem more achievable. 
Be as specific as you can when doing this so that you are aware of exactly what you need to do. 
Go on, pick up the pen, don't procrastinate partner, DO IT NOW!

Step 2: Categorize and Prioritize
place your tasks into categories based on difficulty and the amount of time it takes to complete that specific task. An example of categories would be simple, medium and large tasks.

e.g. Simple tasks- putting something away or wiping the counter top

       Medium tasks- doing the dishes or vacuuming (unless your house is an        absolute mess!) 

       Large tasks- washing the car or mowing the lawn

Step 3: Assign Points
The idea behind this is to give yourself "imaginary points" when you complete a task. Kind of like a "salary" for "work performed".

e.g. 5 points for simple tasks, 10 points for medium tasks and 20 points for large tasks.

Step 4: Choose Rewards
This is the fun part! Choose rewards that can be "purchased" with your points. Some ideas:

Time- every point you make is worth one minute of relaxation time.

Food- every ten points you make are worth a block of chocolate.

Shopping- every fifty points you make are worth one trip to the mall and one small item (don't try this if you know you already overspend, please!)

Step 5: Get to Work
Now that you've worked out a points system and rewards, go on and get that "money"! This should give you the motivation to do something that you may not like very much knowing that there will be a pay-off in the end. 

If done right, this system could work extremely well. This is due to the fact that humans have a competitive nature and we love seeing the fruits of our efforts. This is also the reason why a lot of video and computer games use a points system- to reward you for the effort you put in and spark your competitive nature!

Happy Non-Procrastination Everyone!