Sunday's Vitamin: Two more mistakes!

Last week, we have discussed 2 important time management mistakes, that can lead us to wasting our time … and life.

This week we would talk about another 2 mistakes. Please try to avoid them, to get the best out of your time … and life.

Mistake number 3: Always saying "Yes".

This problem occurs when you say "Yes" to almost any request, without considering first the importance of such task and how much work does it need.

Always saying "Yes" will lead you to a feeling of overload & stress, and to losing your most important tasks & priorities.

What is the solution?

1- Always be aware of your priorities; the things that should be done to reach your most important goals.

2- Before you accept any request, learn to think about its importance relative to the things you are planning to do on that day, and then decide if the task can be postponed to a more suitable time, delegated to other person, or cancelled for all.

Mistake number 4: Procrastination (بعدين، لما أفضى، لما أروق، ...).

Procrastination (التسويف) is the opposite of the previous mistake. It is to postpone an important heavy task, by making yourself busy with less important easy tasks.

For example: I have an important report that should be sent to my manager by the end of the week, but everyday, I postpone working on it, waiting for mind clarity or fearing from its difficulty, filling my time with trivial work, until the last day of the week comes, where I would be highly stressed to finish the needed report.

What is the solution?

1- Again, know your priorities and put in your mind the importance of the task and the bad consequences of not doing it on time.

2- Break down any large task into smaller steps that can be finished in 1 or 2 hours, so that you are more willing to start, and less fearful from the task complexity or difficulty.

3- Believe in the nice idea stated by Goethe (the German poet & writer):

“Just begin, and the mind grows heated; continue, and the task will be completed”.

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم

(احرص على ما ينفعك واستعن بالله ولا تعجز)

صدق عليه الصلاة و السلام