We often tend to delay our tasks or activities and never realize its long term effect it has on our personality and behaviour. This act of delaying or postponing tasks is known as Procrastination. Procrastination is very common and in normal scenarios it’s almost harmless in nature. But chronic or long term procrastination is a serious issue. It can hamper an individual’s personal and professional life. Procrastination in general affects a person’s productivity and work. But long term procrastination can even hamper your skills, will and drive which will eventually make your life very difficult. If you feel you are developing a constant habit of procrastination then work on it before it becomes a serious issue. So, here are 15 effective ways to beat procrastination.
15 Effective Ways to Beat Procrastination
Try following a proper daily routine or time table
Following a daily routine or time table is very important for any person, especially for a procrastinator. One of the major reasons for procrastinating is not having any pepper schedule. Once you start following a daily routine, your chances of procrastinating will drop drastically. So, make sure to make and follow a daily time table or schedule. But make sure when you prepare your routine be realistic and make a schedule that can be followed by you.
Organize your room
Next step is organizing your room. Once you are done with the daily routine, you need to organize your room and stuff. Generally procrastinators are cluttered with thoughts and a cluttered & unorganized room can create mayhem in their minds. Which will eventually lead to the endless cycle of procrastination. So, if you want to avoid the mental mess just clear the mess around you and organize everything.
Give your passion or hobby time
When you are done with basics like creating a schedule for yourself and organizing your place, you need to relax a bit and devote some time to your hobbies or passion. In the journey of avoiding procrastination you need to feel good. Many times just jumping from one thing to another makes us feel low and which eventually leads to procrastination. Giving time to your hobby or passion can be a big boost to your mood and the feel good factor will help you in being focused on other works or tasks.
Say no to multitasking
When your mind is cluttered and you have a habit of postponing things. It would be a very bad idea to even try multitasking. Many studies have shown how multitasking hampers productivity and decreases quality of work too. But in the case of procrastinators the risk factor reaches extreme levels (lack of productivity and decline in quality). The best and most suited option for you would be doing one task at a time.
Take small breaks
It’s very essential for you to take small breaks while working on a task or while performing an activity. Our concentration or focus span is very low. Performing long tasks may result in creating disinterest even in your favourite activities. To avoid this you need to take small breaks which will keep your mind fresh. Taking small breaks helps you to focus better on work and even enhances an individual’s productivity.
Set daily goals and objectives
Setting a daily goal or objective can be very beneficial for a procrastinator. A daily to do list or task (goals or objectives) gives a person clarity. It also saves you from the panic of planning and deciding the task at the last moment. Consider making a daily to do list, it is a simple yet effective way to deal with procrastination.
Avoid unwanted stress
Stress is a big reason for procrastination. Stressful situations make a person less productive. When the brain is occupied with a strong emotion like stress it becomes very difficult for the mind to focus on other tasks. Stress also affects a person’s decision making skills. Avoiding stress is very important to overcome any negative or bad habit.
Prioritize
You need to set your priorities before stepping in the arena. Too many choices can confuse an individual and even create panic in some situations. Or at times not having priority, people start working on different things simultaneously. You can achieve and fix everything but not at once. You need to be very clear in your head and set your priorities.
Live in the present
We often tend to live in the past or think about the future. Living in the past will only bring back regrets and cause emotional & mental damage. While thinking about the future is fine, always thinking about the future and giving it more importance than the present is foolishness. Thinking too much about the future and acting too little in the present is one of the major causes of procrastination.
Eliminate triggers and distraction
Many times we plan and even start a task but it is delayed by some random distraction. Once we get distracted it becomes very difficult to get back on track. One of the most common examples of this could be the use of social media during work. A single text on IG or a snap can destroy your focus and become a barrier in work. And once you start scrolling the algorithm never lets you escape. An individual can turn off the notifications of all the social media apps which may cause distraction or are a trigger for distraction. You just need to eliminate or minimize the distractions or triggers.Â
Refresh yourself
Refreshments are very necessary to maintain a work life balance. A refreshment is different for every individual. For some it may be going on track and few it can be a relaxing spa experience. Whatever is your kind or choice of refreshment, go for it. Refreshing your mind and body is very important to avoid unwanted stress and things like procrastination.
Never compromise your sleep
Don’t ever take your sleep lightly. A bad sleep cycle can destroy your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing in the long run. Many people commit the mistake of compromising their sleep cycle for work, entertainment, etc. But never compromise your sleep, rest is as important as work. A good sleep keeps you productive and full of energy all day.
Engage in some physical activity
At times, being at the same place on your screens without any physical movement can create a low state of mind which will eventually result in procrastination. To avoid this you should engage in some physical activity like playing some sports or doing exercise. If you have a tight schedule, even a 5 to 10 minutes walk will do wonders.
Reward yourself
When you are working so hard in your life. You need to reward yourself. By rewarding you make your brain aware about the efforts you have made. Reward gives your brain a sense of achievement and also provides motivation for the next task. From a fancy lunch at a restaurant to a nice pair of sneakers, anything can be a reward (depending upon your choices and preference). Just remember don’t be too harsh on yourself in the whole process.
Avoid Overthinking
Overthinking is the root cause of many things, most of them aren’t pleasant in nature. Thinking is great but overthinking isn’t. There have been many creative people and geniuses who were overthinkers but you need to understand that most of the time overthinking has a negative impact on our mental & physical well being. Overthinking and procrastination go hand in hand. So by stopping overthinking you can stop procrastinating and vice versa. Remember just thinking & planning won’t serve the purpose, you need to act.
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