You’re not alone if you find yourself putting off important tasks time and time again. Quite a few people are guilty of procrastination to some extent. Identifying when you begin procrastinating, understanding why it occurs, and taking proactive steps to better manage your time are the keys to overcoming this habit. To put it simply, procrastination occurs when you put off tasks that you should be focusing on at the moment.
Procrastination: How to Get Things Done
You’re not alone if you find yourself repeatedly putting off necessary tasks. Quite a few people are guilty of procrastination to some extent. This destructive habit can be controlled if you can recognise when you begin procrastinating, understand why it occurs, and take active steps toward better time management.
If you procrastinate by delaying important tasks, you’re wasting your time and the time of those around you.
How to Get Things Done Regardless of my lack of motivation
Procrastination is a problem that can be overcome by following these steps:
Identifying your procrastination is the first step. Self-awareness is the best defence against procrastination. By looking out for these signs, you can tell if you’re procrastinating:
- Make the most of your time by completing low-priority tasks from your to-do list.
- Reading e-mails several times before deciding what to do with them or beginning work on them.
- After sitting down to begin a high-priority task, I rushed off to make a cup of coffee. Even though you know it’s important, you keep it on your to-do list for a long time.
- Filling your time with unimportant tasks assigned to you by others rather than focusing on the tasks on your to-do list.
- You wait until you’re in the “right frame of mind” to tackle the important task.
Follow a Plan to Manage Your Time Well
Procrastination is a behaviour that has become ingrained in our lives. That means you won’t be able to do it in a single day. If you want to beat procrastination, use as many methods as possible, because habits only become habits when you stop practising them. For some people and for some tasks, some tips are more effective than others. To overcome procrastination, you may just need a new strategy.
Here are some general pointers to get you started:
- Create your own reward. If you accomplish a certain goal, you can reward yourself with a piece of delicious flapjack at lunch. It’s also important that you take note of how great it feels to complete a task!
- Have someone look over your shoulder. Peer pressure is effective! Slimming and other self-help groups operate on this principle, which is widely acknowledged as an extremely effective strategy.
- Identify the negative consequences of not doing the task.
- Make sure your employer knows how much you are worth to them. To the extent that your employers are paying you to perform tasks they deem important, failing to do so is a waste of their money. Shame is a powerful motivator.
- In the mornings, make it a point to “eat an elephant beetle.”
If you can stop procrastinating for a longer time, your chances of permanently breaking this bad habit go up.
