If the R&R and lazy days of summer have made you less than enthusiastic about work, and you feel your level of productivity slowing to a halt, it’s the perfect time to take advantage of all the “back to school” energy out there and turn your procrastinating into proactive, fulfilling, stuff-you-can-be-proud-of, work.

Here are Jody Gilbert’s Five Tips for Controlling Procrastination:

1. Figure out why you’re procrastinating – maybe you don’t have clear instructions, or you don’t have all the resources or even skills to complete your project. Figuring out exactly why you’re procrastinating can help you put a plan in place. If you’re just stalling on a task you don’t want to do, Jody Gilbert suggests bribing yourself with a reward!
 

2. Decide what has to get done first – Small or big tasks? Which come first? It depends on the situation. If you can knock out your small tasks to make way for your more involved projects, great. But don’t pick tasks that will pull you in various directions. And certainly, if you have a big project which involves various levels of dependencies, tackle that first. You want to think about making the biggest impact.
 

3. Break the work into manageable pieces – Take that daunting task and break it up into smaller tasks. If you cannot break up the task, set a time goal for yourself (e.g. work 1.5 hours, then take a break, or work on a different task) and subdivide the work that way.
 

4. Don’t get paralyzed by the need to be perfect – This is the step I always get stuck on; maybe you do too. I can critique my work to the point of doing just about, nothing. But it’s true when I dial down the voice of judgment and take the first pass at something, I usually surprise myself and start enjoying the iterative, refining process, rather than only fretting over the final product. 
 

5. Make a deal with yourself: Five minutes and out – But perhaps your biggest challenge is just getting started. If that’s the case, Jody Gilbert suggests dipping your toe in the water. Just tell yourself you’ll work five minutes on it, and then you’ll stop. Chances are, once you get started, your task will probably not seem that bad.
 

To read Jody Gilbert’s complete article on procrastination go to: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-tips/five-tips-for-controlling-procrastination/962?tag=nl.e101