7 Distracting Habits That Keep You from Meeting Deadlines ...

NEVER EVER do this if you want to finish that essay or term paper. The moment the notification sound pings, it will be very hard to resist the temptation of checking out who among your friends wrote a comment about your latest status update. Meeting deadlines means sacrificing some of the things that you do on a regular basis. This includes temporarily logging off from the social media world.

It doesn’t work! Trust me – unless you’re superhuman with a brain that can absorb all types of data and information in a blink of an eye. Your brain can multitask, yes! But you won’t be able to absorb what you’re studying or reading if your ears are locked in to something else.

You may be able to finish the task BUT is it a well-polished report? How about typos and fragmented sentences? Submitting a report on time is not all that matters. You are expected to submit a well-done report; one that contains few errors and is written with thorough analysis and in-depth treatment.

I really am guilty of this aspect and I have worked on a strategy to avoid any of this nosy news when I am working on something. The strategy? Only open those sites that you need for research. Resist – and this require strongest self-control – the temptation to open any of those gossip sites. There is a time for everything. Certainly, the time for reading about the lives of celebrities should come after you finish your task.

Almost everybody has some form of sophisticated phone that allows us to store our calendar of activities. However, I'm a traditional rebel so for me, there is no substitute to “penciling in” your activities on a daily planner or journal. Writing words makes your brain remember more because the act of writing exerts more focused effort in scribbling words on a sheet of paper.

In tasks that requires teamwork, be part of a group. Work with your teammates! We all know you’re great and mighty but even Superman needs a hand. You can’t do it alone. Delegate tasks and you’ll realize that meeting deadlines is not that hard. Trust in your people and they will deliver.

Don’t be afraid to say “No” to people when you can’t go with them or when you can’t do what they want you to do. Stop being too nice because it will only make you suffer. Chances are some of these people don’t even know that you are missing your deadlines because you want to please them by granting their requests so… tell them when you can’t do it. Please, don’t even feel guilty about saying “no”.

Did you have any distracting habits which prevent you from completing a task? How do you overcome them?