This post is about tips to overcome procrastination.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read the site disclaimer for more info.
Procrastination, a typical human behavior, can be undeniably debilitating. It leads to feelings of despair, regret, and anxiety and impacts various aspects of our lives. The encouraging news, however, is that it is something that we have the power to control. Whether your procrastination is caused by the fear of failure, fear of success, lack of motivation, or self-doubt, you can arm yourself with strategies to conquer it. Combined with practice and patience, these procrastination tips will put you in the driver's seat of your productivity and development. You will reduce anxiety, find peace, and successfully achieve your goals. So, let’s explore the tips to overcome procrastination now!
“You may delay, but time will not, and lost time is never found again.” ~Benjamin Franklin
TIPS TO OVERCOME PROCRASTINATION
1. Begin with Self-Reflection
To overcome procrastination, start by exploring why you procrastinate. Engage in self-reflection and listen to any needs or desires that are not being met. Are you procrastinating because you are tired, overwhelmed, or feeling unmotivated? If not, why else may you be avoiding the task? Examine your peak productivity time: when you are the most productive during the day. Are you more engaged and productive in the mornings, afternoons, or evenings? Do you lose motivation and feel more fatigued after going through email, for example? Whatever your behaviors, note them and use this as a guide when scheduling essential tasks and priorities. This will allow you to address the underlying reasons that you procrastinate, as well as allow you to make the most of your peak productivity time.
(RELATED POST: Top 11 Reasons to Make a Career Change at 40)
2. Prioritize Your Responsibilities
After determining the leading cause of your procrastination, it's crucial to prioritize tasks and responsibilities. This requires some thought to determine what tasks can be left for another day and which are essential. A widely used tool or method for prioritizing tasks is the Pareto Method, also known as the 80/20 Rule. This method aims to identify what tasks and initiatives to prioritize while recognizing that 80% of the outcome is based on 20% of the work input. The key to this method is the understanding that the effort put into something and the output are not distributed equally. It’s essential to identify what tasks and initiatives will allow you to be the most productive and to focus your time and attention on those. By focusing on priorities, you will see more output and will be less likely to engage in procrastination.
(RELATED POST: How to Create a Mind Set for Success in 9 Steps)
3. Set SMART Goals Early
Once priorities have been established, it's important to break them down into smaller tasks that can be easily managed. A helpful tool is the SMART Goals Framework, which recommends that goals be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. This framework provides a pathway forward by outlining how to achieve your goals and requiring deadlines. Creating SMART Goals early is essential as they will guide you through each task and help keep you on track, making you less likely to procrastinate.
4. Use A Calendar and Daily To-Do List
In addition to having SMART Goals, utilize a calendar or planner to keep yourself organized. A shared whiteboard calendar will help you break down your day, week, and month and help you appropriately distribute tasks and initiatives. Using these tools and referencing them often makes you less likely to procrastinate. The key is to be realistic and to avoid overscheduling yourself, which will have the opposite effect. Instead, distribute the work overtime if possible, and don’t commit to more than you can reasonably accomplish.
A helpful daily tool is Google Tasks, a to-do list app that allows you to add tasks quickly from anywhere and on any device. You can add details and subtasks, and it integrates with other Google products like Gmail and Google Calendar. You can also set due dates and notifications. If a to-do list app isn’t for you, a weekly planner can be just as effective in helping you overcome procrastination.
5. Ask a Friend for Support
When starting a project or goal, a way to help keep you focused and avoid procrastination is to find a friend or accountability partner. This friend, partner, or colleague should be someone you trust who is willing to support you as you work towards a goal. They should motivate and encourage you to take responsibility for each task and deadline. Further, you can ask your accountability partner to set appropriate deadlines. If a deadline is provided to you, you are much less likely to delay or procrastinate. To set yourself up for success and to reduce the likelihood that you engage in procrastination, having the support of a friend or partner is beneficial.
6. Remove All Distractions
Another way to avoid procrastination is to create a clean, clutter-free workspace and eliminate distractions. First, set expectations with your family, friends, and colleagues that you need time to focus and will be unavailable. Be specific and provide an alternative time to connect with you. Also, consider investing in a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones. The Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra headphones are excellent at blocking out distractions. Apple AirPods are another great option at a lower price point. Lastly, email and social media are some of the most common distractions, so removing them from your view and turning off any push notifications will go a long way toward helping you avoid procrastination.
7. Try Not to Multitask
Some people swear by multitasking. However, it's best to focus on one task at a time to complete each more efficiently and effectively and reduce the chance of being distracted. While there are certainly times when multi-tasking is beneficial, it undoubtedly uses energy more quickly and results in less productivity. If you struggle to focus and engage in multi-tasking, try to remove everything from your desk and try again. Also, if you are using Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel, take advantage of the “focus” feature that limits what you see on your screen to just the document. This way, you are less likely to multi-task and procrastinate.
8. Make Use of Time Management Strategies
Many time management strategies help overcome procrastination. Most approaches not only help you manage your time but can also be used in combination with each other. Determine what strategies work best for you and use them often to combat procrastination. A tool that utilizes time management strategies is a time management worksheet. It guides you in using each technique and results in tangible results that you can use to avoid procrastination and make the most of your time.
(RELATED POST: 7 Practical Time Management Strategies that You Need in Your Life)
9. Complete the Hardest Task First
The Eat the Frog Method is a time management strategy that has proven effective at increasing productivity and reducing procrastination. This method recommends that you complete the most unpleasant or difficult task first. Getting started is the most challenging part of reaching our goals, so by facing the most complicated task first, you overcome the biggest challenge, and then the more minor challenges feel less overwhelming. Additionally, when the most complex challenge is in the rear-view mirror, you will feel a sense of satisfaction, get a boost of motivation, and are much less likely to procrastinate.
10. Take Breaks Frequently
While it may seem counterintuitive, taking breaks frequently is essential to overcoming procrastination. The Pomodoro Technique is an excellent time management method and suggests a 5-minute break for every 25 minutes of work. After four Pomodoro’s (or four 25-minute working sessions), take a longer 15-minute break. If you struggle to remember to take breaks, try using a timer. Regardless of whether you work for 25 or 10 minutes at a time, you must take a break and disconnect frequently. As you complete each time block of work, give yourself time to disconnect and recharge, and tasks will begin to feel more manageable. This will result in more output, increased motivation, and decreased procrastination, and the cycle will continue.
11. Visualize Meeting Your Goals
The power of our minds is astounding, and often, visualizing what we want to achieve can motivate us to accomplish it. When working toward a goal, visualize the steps you will take to reach it and how it will feel to achieve it. If you procrastinate, force other thoughts out of your mind and begin to visualize it again. The key to using our mind as an ally when approaching tasks is to keep them practical. Generally, a daily list with more than seven items is too challenging and will result in failure. Instead, focus on only the most urgent tasks, with a maximum of 3-4. By focusing on realistic, urgent goals and using visualization to your advantage, you are less likely to procrastinate and more likely to succeed.
12. Be Aware of Perfectionist Tendencies
One of the most common causes of procrastination is the result of perfectionist tendencies. Perfectionist-based procrastination is quite common, so it’s important to acknowledge it as a driver for the behavior. A couple of ways to approach this type of procrastination is to challenge all-or-nothing thinking and give yourself some compassion. Instead of desiring perfection in every task, ask yourself if less effort can achieve a similar result. If the answer is yes, then recognize that perfection is not necessary and instead focus on completing each task the best you can to reduce the likelihood of procrastination.
13. Be Kind to Yourself
Of all the procrastination tips explored, the one that you have the greatest control over is your mindset. Embracing a positive mindset is essential to overcoming procrastination. It’s crucial to be kind to yourself and avoid negative self-talk, but also recognize that change takes time. Focus on changing one negative thought pattern at a time and embrace optimism that your efforts to reduce procrastination will pay off with practice and persistence.
(RELATED POST: Empower Yourself: How to Build Confidence and Self Esteem)
14. Remember to Reward Yourself
Rewarding yourself is an effective way to motivate yourself and reduce the chance of procrastination. As you work through challenging tasks and goals, reward yourself for the hard work you complete. This will help motivate you to persevere and conquer your goals. Balancing hard work and any resulting rewards is critical to your overall well-being, maintaining motivation, and avoiding procrastination.
15. Be Patient with Yourself
The last tip to overcome procrastination, and an essential one, is to give yourself the patience and time necessary to change your behavior. It takes effort and persistence for new behavioral patterns to change, and mistakes are to be expected. It's important not to overload yourself and use the available resources and tools to continue working toward your goals. With effort and patience, you will eliminate procrastination and set yourself up for success.
With these 15 tips to overcome procrastination, you are fully equipped to conquer it, no matter how ingrained it may be. It's important to understand the causes of procrastination, reflect on why you engage in it, and then act by using these methods and strategies to avoid it and reach your goals.
MINDSET | ACTION:
Consider a task, project, or initiative you procrastinate on. Reflect on why you are delaying. What tips to overcome procrastination will most effectively address your procrastination behavior? How can you incorporate these tips into your daily life and schedule?
This post was about tips to overcome procrastination.
OTHER POSTS YOU MAY LIKE:
The Perfectionists Guide to Work Life Balance
7 Key Self Discovery Pursuits to Explore This Summer
13 Simple Summer Schedule Ideas for Busy Moms
A Guide to Summer Activities for Kids in Coastal New England
