Beat Job-Search Procrastination

Procrastination -- to one degree or another, I think we all struggle to overcome procrastinating tendencies. And our computers definitely lend themselves to procrastination! After all, right there at our fingertips are not only all of our friends but also just about any form of entertainment the human mind can conceive of.

We asked Monster.com visitors what the biggest "procrastination causers" on their computers were. Here's what they had to say:

> Playing games 31%

> Chatting with friends on IM 7%

> Surfing the Web 43%

> Goofing off on social sites 14%

> Shopping 5%

I've found that when I'm procrastinating, it's often because the task I'm avoiding is outside my comfort zone -- maybe it requires doing something I don't know how to do, or maybe it's something that'll be very high profile. In other words, for me, procrastination is caused by fear. One way I've learned to beat procrastination is to do just a little bit of the fearful or dreaded activity.

Say I'm procrastinating writing a super-important 40-page presentation. I'll tell myself, "Today, all you have to do is finish the title page. That's it." Once I've actually started a project, it often seems a lot less scary -- and a project seems a lot less scary once it has begun.

Is procrastination derailing your job search?  Read "Five Steps to Beat Job Search Procrastination."

What are your tips for beating procrastination? Join the conversation in our Comments section.

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