To Procrastinate or NOT to Procrastinate???

If your like me, and in most cases people are, then you will admit that you procrastinate quite often. Procrastination does not have to be done on something really important like filing your taxes, or getting your car fixed, but it can also be done on small things like; sending out an e-mail, or buying a gallon of milk. Its amazing what I can come up with to do, rather than what I "have to do!" For example; I might clean my whole apartment from top to bottom, before actually getting started on a college paper, and my excuse is that "I can't possibly think in all this clutter, I need to clean it!" And so apparently, there are more people out there in the world just like me, who would put off tomorrow, what they can actually do today. According to Piers Steel, a business professor at the University of Calgary, "the percentage of people who admitted to difficulties with procrastination quadrupled between 1978 and 2002. In that light, it’s possible to see procrastination as the quintessential modern problem." Quadrupled....mmmmm, very interesting indeed. So you see, I am not the only one, and you were probably shaking your head in agreement with this thing called "procrastination." So I decided to post up 7 helpful steps to combating procrastination (taken from the Huff Post).

1. Don't be shy. Look at what you actually have to do: Usually once you're willing to take a look, what you initially thought was insurmountable turns out to be surprisingly simple and manageable.

2. Break it down into small steps: Be a good project manager: Break down the goal, name the steps and rather than feel like you need to juggle everything at once, get your eagle eye focused on one thing at a time.

3. Fire the perfectionist: Good enough is great (and it's done): Strive to do excellent work, not perfect work. It's not about lowering your standards, it's about lowering the very unrealistic stakes that you've constructed in your mind of what it means to fall short of the non-existent construct of perfection.

4. Set up your launching pad, then walk away: Don't get cozy on the couch until you've done your setup first. Open up your briefcase or backpack, arrange your work station with all the necessary supplies, open the books to the right page, find and open computer files whatever you need and then... leave. Leave? Yes, for a short period of time, and then when you come back, voila! Everything's there waiting for your arrival.

5. Start in the middle. Or, skip the hard parts: Some projects have to be done in a certain order, but most times there are no rules. Getting started is the hardest part. Rather than sit in a staring contest with the proverbial blank page, waiting for inspiration to hit, skip it.

6. Be willing to end just short of finishing something: X marks the spot. That will provide a quick and easy transition or on-ramp when you return to the project later. Immediately knowing where you were headed and what you need to do short-circuits fear and doubt.

7. Follow Grandma's rule -- or, dinner first, then dessert: Do a good chunk of work and then reward yourself with that break. We enjoy breaks more when they're earned, not sneaked. Go into your project knowing your exit strategy. Designate a schedule: work for 45, break for 15.

Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/10/11/101011crbo_books_surowiecki

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tamar-chansky/procrastination-tips_b_1411001.html?ref=mindful-living&ir=Mindful%20Living

Vocabulary:

procrastinate: to defer action; delay: to procrastinate until an opportunity is lost.

amazing: causing great surprise or sudden wonder.

apparently: readily seen; exposed to sight; open to view; visible.

quintessential: of the pure and essential essence of something.

combating: to fight or contend against; oppose vigorously.

insurmountable: incapable of being surmounted, passed over, or overcome;insuperable.

strive: to exert oneself vigorously; try hard.

Vocabulary Exercise:

Circle the word that does not belong.

wait defer now delay

usual great surprise wonder

not seen visible exposed seen

pure essential essence duplicate

fight contend oppose no struggle

passed over overcome surmounted insuperable

exert lazy try attempt

Grammar Point:

COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES:

>> When we use an adjective to compare two things, we add "er" to the

end of the adjective if it is short, and we say "more" or "less" before the

adjective if it is long.

Comparative Vocabulary:

as, bad, best, better, between, difference, favorite, good, least, less, more,

most, than, what, which, worse, worst

-The planet Earth is big. Saturn is bigger. Jupiter is the biggest.

>> In the above sentence

the word "big" is an ADJECTIVE

the word "bigger" is a COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVE

Grammar Exercise:

Write the correct form of the adverb for each sentence.

1. We travel to the beach _______________________ during the summer months.

(often)

2. Emily usually arrives _____________________ than everyone else in the morning.

(early)

3. This chemical reacts ________________ than the others do.

(quick)

4. The singer on the left sang __________________ than the others.

(loud)

5. Olivia cared __________________ about swimming with friends than doing homework.

(deep)

6. Ethan understood the concepts of algebra _________________________ than his classmates did. (easy)

7. A hybrid car drives _____________________ than a similar gasoline-powered car. (efficient)