Procrastination is something that affects us all, some more than others, and it’s one of the biggest strings that hold us back from living up to our potential. You’ll never see highly successful individuals in any field wasting time with meaningless tasks. They got there because they knew how to work hard and deal with procrastination. The good news is though anyone can learn how to effectively deal with it when it hits.
Firstly though I’d like to talk a little bit about what procrastination is and why we do it. There are a number of reasons but the major ones are as follows:
Large and Complex Tasks: One major reason we put off tasks is because they seem to big or complex, and you see it as being hard or taking up large portions of your time so you put it off. The thing you need to recognise here though is that with the time you waste you could have probably finished the required task.
Fear: Fear is the other major factor. Whether it’s fear of success, failure or anything else it can really restrict you and hold you back. This is where it is important to know why you’re doing what you’re doing and to be prepared for anything.
There are however a number of ways we can combat these things so that we stop procrastinating and increase our work output. Here are 10 simple ways to help you combat procrastination:
- Ask yourself why you need to do this task. Knowing clearly why you need to complete a task is important for finding motivation to complete the task.
- Make the task your first priority, and do it before you start ‘anything’ for the day.
- Just start. Usually if you just start trying to complete the task you will usually find that completing the task is quite easy.
- Don’t worry about perfection, or getting every little detail perfect because you can always fix it up later.
- Try and get rid of distractions even if this means disconnecting your internet or finding a quiet space somewhere away from your normal work area.
- Keep it as simple as possible. If you start messing with the little details you’ll start confusing yourself
- Tell yourself you only need to do 10 minutes. You’ll quickly find that you easily put 20-30 minutes in if not more, and if you don’t you still made a start.
- Put something you have no desire to do at the top of your list. This way you will not put it off by completing the tasks below it.
- Think about why you’re doing the task and what excites you about it.
- If you don’t have a good reason and you just can’t seem to stop perhaps it’s better not to do it and to put it on the backburner. You’re wasting too much time not doing a task when you could be doing other important things.
If you follow all of these steps there is a good chance you will overcome whatever mental hurdle that is holding you back. The main things you need to remember though, and your greatest weapon against procrastination is the reason why you need to do the task. If you don’t have a good enough reason why you want to complete the task you’ll never complete it.