“I’ll do that later.” “…when I find the time,” “it depends on my mood,” “when I feel like doing it,” “perhaps, in time, we’ll see.” Do these phrases sound familiar? There is actually nothing wrong with these words; but when saying these becomes too comfortable too regularly, it has already become an implication of a behavioral pattern. You have snuggled lovingly into the procrastination habit.

Good news is, you can still take better control of your life if you break this procrastination habit. You will discover that when you take the action, the necessary motivation will follow.
Here are some suggested techniques for breaking the procrastination habit:
1. Make a list.
Definitely there are things needed to be done. Sort out the tasks by making a list of what you “should” do. Do the distasteful and unrewarding tasks first and check them off as you do them. You will notice a psychological lift as you accomplish each task.
2. Weigh your reasons.
On one side of the paper, list the reasons why you are procrastinating or delaying the fulfillment of the particular task. On the other half of the paper, list the benefits for taking action right away.
3. Bite-size it.
Do the “divide-and-conquer” approach to manage your tasks especially the big and daunting ones. Break the task down to smaller, manageable steps.
4. Keep a journal.
Record the “shoulds,” have to’s,” “musts,” “ought to’s” and other negative motivation techniques you may have been using on yourself. Make a point to challenge these, and substitute “I choose to do” thus and so. Examine each situation, each task, each problem or situation objectively, in light of your own best interest. Keeping a daily journal will help make you aware of how you may be sabotaging your own efforts and thus encourage you to “want” to change.
5. Set up your own rewards system.
When you set up rewards for yourself, make sure they are highly satisfying. Reward yourself immediately each time you choose actions instead of procrastinations. The most effective reinforcement in developing new habits is positive reinforcement.
William James in his essay on habit has some suggestions on self motivation and new habits:
• Decide to start making the change immediately while you are motivated.
• Don’t try to do too much too quickly. Just force yourself to do one thing that you’ve been putting off.
• During the period when your new habit is taking root, do not permit any exceptions. William James compared it to a rolling ball of string: a single clip can undo more than many turns can wind up. He said success or failure, during the retraining period, hinges largely on you making a commitment and closely following the schedule you set up yourself.

Copyright © 2011 Athena Goodlight





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The first five minutes of your day is very important. How you begin your work day often determines if you’re satisfied when it’s through.

You can improve the quality of your workday by deciding what it is you want to accomplish. You’ve got to specifically identify the self-defeating behavior in your early morning routine and set about to change it. Let us take a look at the common scenarios and identify some problems.

The distractions

• Small talks and social conversations in the lobby, in the elevator, at the coffee pot, in the ladies’ or men’s room, etc.

Although socializing is an undeniable part of work life, if it automatically and regularly occurs at the beginning of the day, chances are the socializing will get in the way of work that needs to be done.

• The mail

Even though you spam filter has done its job, it’s not likely to contain the most urgent and the most pressing items of the day, more so with snail mail letters. The habit of checking your mails first more often than not comes from a combination of childish curiosity and a desire to slide into the work routine in the least demanding way possible.

• Interrupting phone calls and text messages

Even more so than mail, unnecessary phone calls and text messaging distracts and steals time away from work.

• Chitchat with colleagues

This, most common interruption combines all of the problems of the above items with a double dose effect done by two or more people resulting to detriment of the task ahead. They come in the form of “important” dissemination of facts (office gossip) or “brightening up” someone else’s day (flirting).

• Coffee breaks

Coffee breaks are intended as a break from working productively. This is the appropriate time for socializing. However, if the worker hasn’t really begun working yet, it’s a different story.

Generally, the worker who is most productive can take full charge of his or her day. This is true because active, decisive responsibility is likely to be more productive than passive habitual response. Because of the nature and variety of work situations, every worker’s appropriation of these truths will be particular and personal. But general guidelines can be applied.

What do you have to do?

• Save the socializing for later.

Keep your greetings at the lobby, elevator, or washroom short and courteous. Your mind should be on your work and not to become involved in extended conversations at the beginning of the day.

• Start the day with a plan.

Before going at the end of the day’s work, the last task you should do is to arrange the next day’s schedule. Of course, there will be occasional emergency interruptions, but they will only be occasional, not daily.

• Spend the first hour on the most important task.

Devote the first hour of the workday to the accomplishment of an important task that needs to be done. Have your secretary or an assistant take all phone calls and handle other interruptions.

• Establish a phone policy.

We could work more efficiently if we devise and adhere to a “phone philosophy.” It would probably increase the productivity of workers in some specific company set-ups if this would even be a company-wide policy. You may also apply this as a single employee or in your own business set up. For example, you may inform your secretary or specify to your clients that you only accept calls at a specific time period, say 10 am – 5pm only. You may also use a different cell phone number for business and another one for family to separate the available calling hours.

One of the benefits that might result from this practice is that your business associates will respect you more. If they discover that you value your time enough to protect it, chances are they’ll begin to value it more highly, too.

Remember, also that answering the phone is a passive reaction, and not as productive as an intentional action.

• Make your coffee break an actual break.

This is your time for socializing. Even the most dedicated and disciplined worker’s attention span has limits. In the long run, it is just as counterproductive to attempt to conduct business nonstop for eight hours as it is to mix your professional and social life.

• Finish your day with a plan.

A productive worker always knows how to plan the next morning’s activity. At bare minimum, the next day’s most important item should be isolated and prepared.

Of course, no recipe, not even a general one, is suitable for each specific situation. Different individuals have different warm-up rates, and different jobs require different strategies.

For all of us, how we begin the day gives a significant impact on how we feel when the day is through.

Copyright © 2011 Athena Goodlight




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People have constantly prized the essence of time. Still, only quite a few people have mastered the skill of properly apportioning their time for their work. We see several books in book shops laying claim they have the secret to effective time management. But do we truly have to pay just to realize the secret of proper time management?

You actually don’t have to purchase time management books just to learn the secret of proper time management. All you require is common sense and discipline. Nonetheless, there are more dependable ways to accomplish your goal. The following are a few tips to aid you in managing your time.

Prior to making a list of things you have to do, you’ve got to realize that the list would never work if you will not couple it with discipline. When discussing discipline here, it means you have to recognize your own priorities likewise to guide you in putting up with the rules that you have laid out for yourself.

1. Write down a set of things to do during the day – This is the old school way to proper time management. Create a list of things you have to accomplish for the day to keep you informed on what to do for the day. The list will aid you to avoid distractions of whatever should arise within the day.

It is suggested to make an adaptable “to do list”; having an adaptable list allows for you to fit unforeseen events and social occasions (just the important ones) without ruining the whole list.

2. Modify bad time management habits – It generally helps for beginners to change their bad time management habits. If you ponder on your everyday activities, you would perhaps recognize that you spend a huge some of time watching a bit much TV or different forms of leisure. It’s okay to allot some time on leisure, but never when it surpasses the prescribed time for it. Modifying these habits would gain you time to do more meaningful activities.

3. Set a few things to do during the day as top priority. – The idea of determining hierarchies on your listed set of priorities is the ones on top of the list are what you must attend to first. It also serves you to finish on the dot when you utilize it in alignment with your “to-do” list and everyday timetable.

4. Learn how to say “NO” – When offered up to do something, A lot of people have problem refusing. Therefore, they’re faced up with a lot of tasks than they can handle. This is more crucial when it bears on the tasks that are more insignificant, like watching a movie or attending a football game. You have to keep in mind that once you have accomplished your pending tasks, you’ll have time to enjoy yourself.

If you are preparing to go out, you must plan this a couple of days ahead. Hence, you can end up your task in advance and save ample time for these long breaks.

5. Splitting up your workload – This is particularly helpful when working with others as a team. You do not have to do everything by yourself. When you split up your workload, people tend to end up faster since they can center on doing a particular task.

6. Maintaining your workplace clean and organized – When your workplace is great deal of a mess, it is generally difficult to search things underneath the pile. Occasionally it takes hours for you to search a lost paper on a cluttered up pile. Hence keeping things organized betters your total efficiency.

7. Setting up goals for yourself – Having practical and doable goals for yourself is a crucial step in proper time management. Setting goals gets you motivated to do your job easily. Keep in mind that you require efficiency to get things done the correct way.

Copyright © 2011 Athena Goodlight



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Many of us can remember situations when we spent so much energy preparing for an event or presentation that when the great day finally arrived, we were so exhausted we just wished it would end quickly.

This area confuses us sometimes that if we do not know which is important and which is urgent, people will frequently drag us around urging us to do what they think is urgent.


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Each of us wastes a lot of time. In one year, for example, you can waste a hundred hours – the equivalent of four full days – merely by not using the last five minutes of each working hour.

You can use your minutes more wisely by resolving to use those few minutes in a productive way. Here are some suggestions:



Full Article: Don’t Waste Your Minutes

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According to chronobiologists, it’s not just how you get things done that really matters– it’s when. Whether you’re pitching a new project or asking for a raise, there’s a perfect time of day to do it, says Timothy monk, Ph. D., director of human chronobiology at the University Of Pittsburg School Of Medicine.

Here’s the basic schedule that chronobiology experts recommend we follow:

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