Post by dirtypillows on Jul 24, 2018 3:09:12 GMT
Your first two methods of dealing with it I can relate to, especially the second one. If I have gone ahead and started to do some dreaded task, I soften the horrific sense of urgency that inevitably goes with it by giving myself mini-rewards and mini-breaks, like you said, before, during and after. Doing this manages to disarm how intimidating said task may be.
Another thing I do is I prioritize those dreaded tasks. I rate them and rank them, and say there are seven things that really need to get done in the next five days. Rather than attempting to take on the number one, most intimidating and dreaded task of responsibility, I will scroll down and take on something lesser, say the third or fifth most daunting task. Which, of course, makes me breathe a sigh of relief because, compared to number one, number four is practically a piece of cake, and I can get something important done without being bound up by nerves, and usually I can get that task done faster and better, simply by virtue of the fact that I wasn't nervous about doing it. In fact, I even play this mind game with myself and allow myself to think that I am getting away with procrastinating (because I'm NOT doing that scary thing at the top of my list of "scary things to do") when, in fact, I am actually being productive by doing something that is two or three places further down on my list, but still needs to get done.
btw, I LOVE writing cover letters. Thats so strange to hear someone would hate that. I mean I get it, I understand it exists, but for me thats the fun part. But then again, I love writing pls I always feel like there is many things I wanna tell the company about why they should hire me or why i want to work for them…
Anyway, it seems you have a quite methodical approach to dealing with procrastination. thats good. And it also seems that its mostly about how difficult a certain task is for you/in your eyes. My procrastination deals with that also sometimes, but much more often its pure laziness. Like I am not dreading doing the task and I know I can do it well/easily (like lets say wash the dishes) but I am just too lazy to do it so i postpone it and postpone it hoping the family of raccoons that by now lives in my kitchen will eventually lick the dishes dry.
any tips on how to deal with That kind of procrastination?
The cover letter I would LOVE to write would look something like this.
"Dear Hiring Manager: I can perform the job duties as listed just fine. I am a pleasant person and I'm sure I would get along well with most of my co-workers. I promise never to be late unless it's an emergency, and then I would always call ahead of time. Please hire me because I need to work so I can earn money and pay the bills and the job description sounds okay. I really think I would like the job pretty well. Thank you."
Now, that, to me, would be honest and forthright and genuine and sincere. (And if I were the one doing the hiring, THIS might just be the cover letter that would make me want to hire the person on the spot. It certainly would make a good impression on me.) I just can't think of any job where I could write the cover letter that would not be transparent and obvious. It's like you have to brag about yourself without sounding like you're bragging. Uggghhh.....
Just for the sake of having some perverse fun, sometime I think I might just want to enumerate - literally - all my life accomplishments, beginning at the age of twelve and have that be my cover letter. I just have zero wherewithal in this area, and thank God I know this about myself. For me, the cover letter is nothing less than a minefield of desperation. I could never presume to write or say during the interview "You should hire me because I am absolutely the most qualified person for the job." Huh? What? Because unless there's a job out there where the primary qualification is knowledge of Oscar winners, pre-1985, or reciting dialogue verbatim from every episode of "Charlie's Angels", I know without a doubt that I am nowhere near the most qualified person for the job. The whole time I feel like "Oh, why are you asking me to pretend about all this?" And it would be such a relief to be able to say these things. Obviously your take on the cover letter is much different than mine, and I am genuinely happy for you that you enjoy it, but for me, I think of the cover letter as sanctioned lying.
Like the question during the interview "Why should I hire you?" And I'm thinking to myself, "look, if you want to hire me, then hire me. That would be great and I'm sure I would do a satisfactory job. Just please don't ask me to try and compel you to hire me." I'd rather just go ahead and arm wrestle with the person and get it over with. The job interview - and by extension the cover letter - invokes a hostile environment from the very beginning. In every cover letter I write, it feels like every other word I put down a grenade might go off. It fills me with dread. It's a lucky thing that there are very, very few things in life that bother me as much.
Whew, I feel so much better about life now that I said all that!
