10 Tips to Curb Procrastination
Stop procrastination with these 10 tips. Actually 11 tips!
Why, oh why do we all procrastinate? It’s so stressful. Today I want to offer you 10 easy ways that you can stop procrastinating.
pro·cras·ti·na·tion: the action of delaying or postponing something. Click To TweetMaybe you fear failure – one of the most common causes of procrastination. Possibly excessive perfectionism stops you from completing tasks – another common cause. Or maybe you have a low energy level or a lack of focus. There are all legitimate reasons why people procrastinate.
Interrupt time suckers. TV, electronic games, and social media waste a crazy amount of time.
- Set a timer. It’s a lot easier to focus for a short time, so try 15 minutes.
- Turn off alerts. They halt your concentration.
- Identify your peak productivity hour. You’ll focus and get more done during this time.
- Create a routine. Doing several regular tasks together ensures that they will get done.
- Break down projects into tasks. This makes the large projects less overwhelming.
- Revive yourself with some deep breathing. It wakes up your brain.
- Reward the completion of goals. Small rewards for a job well done are good.
- Be accountable to someone. Let someone know what you need to do and ask them to check-in.
- Make a commitment to finish on time. Deadlines can be good.
A productivity expert, Julie Gray, of Profound Impact, has some great advice about How to Make a Decision, so I’d like to add #11 to the list. I have also written about Effective Decision Making.
Do you have any tricks that help you stop procrastinating? Tell us what works for you.
Subscribe by email
Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
[…] 10 Tips to Curb Procrastination (basicorganization.wordpress.com) […]
[…] 10 Tips to Curb Procrastination (basicorganization.wordpress.com) […]
Read my blog on managing procrastination. The ideas are taken from work by Dr Steve Peters, Betty Edwards and Guy Claxton and well as links from my own mind to the Pomodoro Technique, Heidegger, Art, Bertrand Russell’s ‘ In praise of Idleness’ and meditation.
Thanks Alan.
Procrastination, as you said, is a common occurrence that causes so much undue stress. So often, it’s the inability to get started that creates inaction. One of the reasons clients hire me is to get unstuck and feel less overwhelmed. When we’re in that state of overwhelm, it’s hard to move forward. Your suggestions are terrific! #6 about doing deep breathing to wake up your brain. The slow inhale through the nose, and big exhale through the mouth activates our parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for “rest and digest.” It shifts us away from our sympathetic nervous system, which produces the “fight or flight” response. So by being more relaxed, the stress response is eliminated, and our minds are relaxed and clear enough to find a way forward.
I just heard that it takes 6 deep in & out breaths to calm the mind and body. I started counting my deep breaths to see if it makes a difference for me.
I use a timer and find it’s very helpful! Also, I so wish someone had spoken to be about #5, break big projects down into smaller tasks, when I first entered the workforce. I should probably use that tip more at home!
Timers really do help Gina. I’m experimenting with one now, to see how it benefits me.
Great tips to stop procrastination! I found that some people overthink their projects. Taking steps, no matter how small, will spark the movement to complete it. For me, I like to assess a situation to determine the actions. The general steps help guide me through the process. Then, I begin, if I find that a level does not work the way it should, I then modify and use my creativity to do something different. Being too strict in a process will stop me from doing the project, so adding a little creativity gives me the motivation to complete it.
Sabrina, I do a little planning on Sunday and map out steps like you. It helps me to evaluate how much I can accomplish on projects in one week.
I call #3 the “hour of courage.” Only one hour in the day where you make yourself deal with the things that make you anxious. Or even one hour a week, if that is all you can take! Knowing you can stop and exit that uncomfortable space can really help you get started. We are sort of on the same page this week – must be in the air!
Seana, I’ll have to read your post.
I love the “hour of courage”, I agree with you, knowing that you only need to do something you don’t like for only one hour seems doable.
I sometimes procrastinate when I’m not confident about my ability to handle the task at hand. I’ve learned it’s best to give it a try, the sooner the better. I often find I’m totally up for it after all, but at least when I’m not, I can find someone else to do it sooner rather than later.
Is it ironic that I’m reading your post when I’m supposed to be proofreading something for one of my clients? 😉
Ha Ha! I guess we all procrastinate. I agree that when I don’t feel confident I’ll procrastinate on starting a project.
I’m quite a perfectionist… especially when it comes to my business. I’ve put launches off thinking “I need to do more research!” Sometimes (almost always) it’s better to just go for it and make mistakes.
I agree Melanie, Just go for it. No one is perfect.