It happens to the best of us. There’s a task or project looming that you just. don’t. want. to. do. Yup, been there. Avoided that. But one way or another, the task has to get done. So what do you do? How are you supposed to stop procrastinating? Well, I’ve gotcha covered. Let’s get to it, shall we?
Identify the pushback; why are you resisting?
First things first, you have to figure out why it is that you just can’t bring yourself to get this task done. Sometimes it’s just because you’ve labeled it something you should do when really, it’s not actually important. Or maybe you said yes to something to make someone else happy, and now you’re having a hard time getting it done because you don’t actually want to do it.
Identifying your common reasons for pushback can be a great place to start in order to make sure you don’t continue to end up in this cycle of procrastination and unproductivity. Maybe make a note for yourself that in the future you’ll outsource this particular task or, you know, avoid people pleasing in the future.
Estimate out how much time it’s going to take
This tip is two-fold. 1) When working with a deadline, this allows for you to realistically schedule out (and breakdown) the task by reverse engineering it. 2) Sometimes the amount of time we spend worrying/thinking/avoiding the task isn’t worth the time it would take to get the task done. A great example here would be how often I avoid emptying the dishwasher. I can literally unload that sucker in 3 minutes flat. But I can spend countless hours avoiding it/thinking about it/worrying about it. Not worth it.
And you all know what I’m going to say next I’m sure, unless you’re new here. And if so–hi. Schedule this task into your calendar with the appropriate allotted time.
Take your task appointments seriously
You wouldn’t let down a colleague or a good friend by not taking their calendar appointment seriously. So why would you consider letting yourself down in the same way? You’re only hurting yourself if you ignore the appointments that you carefully scheduled out for yourself to foster your productivity. Show up to the appointment like you would anything else. Be prepared and in the right mindset to work. If this is a task that you’ve allotted a specific amount of time for, respect the end time as well. If you end up needing more time later, schedule it.
Now, if this has to get rescheduled for any reason–treat it like you would any other appointment and reschedule it. But be mindful that every time this happens, you’re procrastinating on some level. It means you’re prioritizing something else over this task. So if the task is truly important, try to avoid this as much as possible.
Turn off distractions
Remember, you’re committed to getting this thing done. You’ve taken the time to plan it out, schedule it, and now it’s time to show up. Do yourself a favor and cut the noise. Put your phone on DND. Turn off your notifications on your computer (hey mac users–you can actually set your computer to DND for a period of time by selecting the little taskbar on the very top right, scrolling all the way up, and toggling DND to the on position. You’re welcome. :))
Set a timer to get started
This is my most favorite tried & true tip of all. Want to hear a little secret? Often times the reason we’re procrastinating is because we don’t know where to start. Well, if you set a timer (the amount of time is arbitrary, but I typically start with 15 minutes) and just get started, many times you’ll feel like you can keep going once the timer runs out.
Something else to be mindful of is that sometimes procrastination creeps in when you’re feeling run down, burnt out, and/or exhausted. Take a good hard look at your calendar and determine if instead of wasting the time procrastinating, you can afford to give yourself some intentional rest and get to the task at a future scheduled time.
What are some of your tricks to stop procrastinating
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