Cures for Procrastination Fever

Having trouble getting motivated? You’re not alone. Research from psychologist William Knaus shows that it’s tougher to get chronic procrastinators to quit their habit than it is to wean alcoholics off of booze. Despite the obstacles, there is hope, home inspectors. Here are four scientifically proven ways to light that fire.

 

1. Think in the Concrete

Making more money and better home inspection business contacts may be the ultimate goal, but studies show that the key to accomplishing the abstract is to think concrete. According to a 2009 survey of students published in Psychological Science, those who thought about a series of questions concretely-that is, in terms of the who, what, where, when and why of each question-tackled assignments quicker and more completely than those who thought about the questions abstractly. For home inspectors, that means that breaking down larger goals into smaller, daily milestones can prevent procrastination and increase the likelihood of success.

2.  Eliminate Distractions 

Think you’re in the zone? Not until e-mail, Facebook and Angry Birds are turned off. According to the New York Times, the average employees wastes approximately two hours a day checking e-mail, getting coffee and doing other non-work related tasks. The good news is that eliminating distractions is fairly easy. To increase your chances of success, brainstorm distractions you may encounter and take measures to prevent them.

3. Tackle Hard Stuff First
Research shows that motivation comes in limited supply. According to the theory of “present bias,” people tend to choose the thing that’s most comfortable when immediately presented. That means that even though you know in the back of your head that coming up with a kick-butt long-term marketing strategy is the best thing you can do, instead you spend your time revamping your web site for the thousandth time or sending out more business brochures. To ensure that you’re tackling the most important tasks, frontload your day with the hardest, most pressing items first.

4. Create Periodic Deadlines 

The good news is that you run your own home inspection business; you get to set your own timeline for tasks! The bad news is that you get to set your own timeline for tasks. A 2002 study by researchers Klaus Wertenbroch and Dan Ariely shows that students who opted to tackle a project on one big deadline were less likely to finish than those who divided the task into three periodic deadlines. Regardless of your goal, breaking down major tasks into smaller, more manageable bites automatically increases your chance of success.

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