I found a fantastic quote recently about procrastination – you know, when you defer something until later, like making a decision..
In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.
Theodore Roosevelt
Why is this important for internet or small business marketers? Because it emphasises the importance of taking action. Marketing requires a continuous drip feed approach to develop momentum, therefore making decisions and taking action regularly is very important.
The next time you put off a decision until tomorrow, just remember those wise words from Teddy.
That is a great quote from a great man, and remembering that will help me with my transformation from uber procrastinator to hopefully at least just-enough-to-get-by achiever.
Well, it looks like you made a good first step by deciding to comment on this post.. : – )
An inspirational thought, not only for a blogger or an Internet marketer, but for anyone from any sphere of life.
Thanks for that…I should print it and paste it on my wall because I KNOW I am a huge procrastinator. Anything that will help push me in the right direction is welcomed.
thanks for info regarding procastinator. may be helpful.
Yeah, that’s a great technique when it works!
But sometimes, getting rid of procrastination isn’t that easy. You know, when you know you really should be doing something, but you can’t bring yourself to do it
I find there’s a bunch of different causes of procrastination, and the solution depends on the cause.
For example, if a task is boring, the best solution is to put a unique twist on how you’re doing it so it become fun.
Another interesting cause is when someone SETS you a task. We humans hate being forced to do anything. But there’s a fun way to use this to get your tasks done – by setting yourself a fake task, and focusing on that so much you start procrastinating against that and get your original task done
Or when your logical mind doesn’t align with your emotion. But that one’s a bit too complex to explain in this comment.
I’ve even written a free course about getting rid of procrastination on my blog. You might wanna check that out.
That’s an incredible quote applicable to all areas of life. How many times we lost opportunities due our doubts and fears!. On the internet marketing you have to do some very very wrong to not to achieve some results, so the phrase about procrastination is a special gift to us.
Excellent post and I too and a huge procrastinator…I will print this quote out and tape to the wall to remind me each day to get on with big decisions…thanks!
words to live by for sure. I will now not put something off (at least til next week)
those are some very wise words… you need to be decisive in making decisions, think about it but not for too long and stick with your decision
Very interesting article about Procrastination, interesting things are written there, really. Once again, Andy and Your article realy help me.
Marketing and procrastination don’t get along, because if you don’t do something at the right time, then it will be useless, because someone else already would have done it. So, I trust that timing in marketing is crucial for a business.
I like this quote: “If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin.” – Ivan Turgenev
it is my first to hear procrastination?thanks for sharing your idea.
In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.
A very motivational quote.
8 Steps to defeat procrastination:
1. Pick one area in which you find procrastination most annoying (homework, studying for tests)
2. Begin small and progress as you experience success. Be patient. Establish your own deadlines. Be realistic in setting a timetable.
3. Break the project into smaller parts. Chip away at it in small bites. Don’t wait for that “big chunk” of time.
4. Set a definite beginning time. Yuu must break the inertia of inactivity. If getting started is especially troublesome, set a time for 10 or 15 minutes. Commit yourself to doing something on the project until the timer rings. Then you can decide whether to stop or continue. Chances are you will gain momentum and continue after the timer stops. If not, try another 10 minutes later in the day.
5. Do the most important things first. Avoid the distractions of the trivial and routine tasks when a higher priority job is waiting in the wings. Examining each task in light of your goals will help you set priorities.
6. Reward yourself for completing parts of a major task. It may be something as a 10-minute walk, a Coke, or a call. Contract with yourself for a big reward for completion of important tasks. A pizza, sleeping extra late on a weekend, or shopping for something may help motivate you to complete the job. Be nice to yourself.
7. Avoid perfectionism. Excellence is a sufficient level of performance for most things in life, and for many tasks (a new hobby, cleaning your room) adequacy is all that is necessary. Give yourself permission to be less than perfect. A good garden may have some weeds. You might double the amount of time spent typing a paper, attempting to get the spelling perfect. Could that extra time be better spent in another activity which will better help your grades? Probably so.
8. Procrastination is a learned habit, and can supplanted with a more constructive habit, giving your greater control over your life. If procrastination has limited your achievements, do something about it now!
Josefina Argüello – Go Chiapas
Always do the first step never mind plan B as long as you have done it right.
Captivating quote that is. The problem of most procrastinators is not just not doing the first and second things thus ending up doing the third thing, excusing the action as ‘thinking between what is right and wrong.’
Do the right thing. Interesting, I’ve never heard that applied to procrastination before but I can see how that would work well for scenarios in which a decision has to be made that has social consequences. On a day to day basis one thing that could help would be to buy the right product. I bought the wrong lawnmower last week and it wasted a lot of my time because I then had to take it back to the store. You can really waste a lot of time by buying the wrong products, I’ve found out lately. Pay more and buy the right items that you need too because it can really save you time and frustration in the long run.
I just hope I’d be able to remember it when the time comes.lol Kidding aside, the quote was so true. I remembered my teacher saying that there is no such thing as “no choice” because doing nothing is still a choice.
Great quote, and its very true. Especially in connection with marketing, ‘drip feed’ is a perfect way to describe it. Never put off tomorrow what you can do today
A great quote for a strong and common situation. Even if we wind up making the wrong decisions, we can learn from them and use them to better ourselves and expand our horizons.
I agree that doing nothing is a choice but so much more can be done with a little more effort!
I very impressive with the quote. yes! “the worst thing you can do is nothing.” . when you can do nothing..it means that you are nothing…you are no longer last in your life.
Well, I don’t know if I will be able to apply this quote, for when I’m procrastinating, instead of doing what I have to, I always find something else (that is not that important) to do… just to say to myself that I’m not doing “nothing”…