The Best Planning Systems For The Lazy Procrastinator.
Do you call yourself a lazy procrastinator? Then this is the article you have been waiting for. These planning systems are what you need to get your life back on top.
Is there such a thing as a ‘Lazy Procrastinator’?
There are a lot of names for not doing what we ‘should’ be doing. Some would say they procrastinate, some would say they are generally lazy. Some feel that they are ‘lacking motivation’. I say something a bit different.
In my time of working with different people, I have noticed some patterns of what we would consider – negative traits.
One of those patterns is that when met with something that is unpleasant or requiring effort, some have the inclination towards avoiding that effort or unpleasantness.
I don’t really put a name on that myself, it’s just an inclination as far as I am concerned. We all have an inclination toward some imperfection.
The reason I don’t love the name ‘Lazy’ is that is suggests judgement.
My hope here is to avoid any judgement, and say that anyone who calls themselves a lazy procrastinator can observe their inclination and do something about it.
Just like someone who has a ‘sweet tooth’ doesn’t necessarily gorge themselves on a whole cake everytime they come across one, a person who is ‘lazy’ doesn’t have to be a constant couch potato.
I also fall into this category of inclination so I am right along with you on the need for good planning systems that work. So let’s dive in.
The best planning systems
Make It Easy!
- WHAT IS IT? This is a system where you set your goal as something ridiculously easy. Therefore the process of starting becomes the goal. For example, imagine you want to run a marathon, you could set yourself a daily goal of running for 1 minute. That’s it.
- WHY IT WORKS? It works because it is less daunting. The focus is just on getting started and there isn’t a big focus on where that ends up.
Eat That Frog
- WHAT IS IT? This is a planning system where the most dreaded task is listed first, you don’t do anything else until that one dreaded thing is done. Afterwards other things are much easier to do. If you want to learn more about it read here.
- WHY IT WORKS? It gets us to face up to the things that are unpleasant, rather than avoid them we have to face them head on and do them first thing. We don’t give ourselves the option of avoidance.
Meal Plan Printable Set
This meal plan printable set includes:
3 pages = A weekly meal plan; A meal index; A grocery list.
Set includes both A4 and Letter sizes [6 pages in set]
PDF printable [not a physical product]
Reward Systems
- WHAT IS IT? This is one of the best planning systems in general I think. It means you get something good for doing the thing that you don’t want to do. It is a means for creating motivation to get it done. The thing is though…for this to work for us in the ‘lazy procrastinator’ group, we need the reward to be immediate. Long term rewards aren’t going to cut it for us.
- WHY IT WORKS? It helps us to take the focus off the unpleasant and give us a positive exciting focus. This gets us moving pretty fast.
Habit Stacking
- WHAT IS IT? This is true lazy planning. It means you take something you already have as a habit, let’s say your bowl of cereals for breakfast, then you add something to it. So you put the apple beside your cereal bowl, and now you know when you get up in the morning, you are suppose to eat the apple before you have your cereals.
- WHY IT WORKS? It uses the patterns we have already made to help us with new patterns or habits.
An Accountability Buddy
- WHAT IS IT? This is where we call on someone else to help us. If we can’t get ourselves to the gym, we arrange for someone else to pick us up and bring us to the gym.
- WHY IT WORKS? It might be that we have deep struggles with self worth. We just can’t find the strength to do something by ourself. This is a great opportunity to accept the love and help of a trusted friend.
Rotating Schedules
- WHAT IS IT? It means that you don’t set due dates, rather you just rotate through a list of tasks. I personally use this one a lot, for cleaning and lots of things. I wrote a whole article about it here.
- WHY IT WORKS? It means we don’t get stressed about being behind. Often a trigger for procrastination is overwhelm. This takes away that trigger.
Other Tips and Tricks
If you call yourself a lazy procrastinator there are a couple more things that you can do..
Stop judging! It will make you less inclined to do anything if you judge yourself.
Stop comparing! If you go slow and another person goes fast – that is absolutely ok.
Your best planning system is the one that works. It can be unique to you and that is fantastic.
Keep things simple. Don’t dive in the deep end, it won’t work for you.
Embrace boredom. Don’t stop when it stops being exciting.
Know yourself. Make sure what you do are things that truly are important for you and you are not doing them just to please someone else.
SUMMARY.
You can achieve the things that you want to. Believe me! I have this inclination too, yet I call myself a time management expert. If you call yourself a lazy procrastinator you have just as much of a chance at productivity as anyone. It’s all about working with yourself rather than being against yourself.
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