how to overcome procrastination
10 Simple & Effective Time Management Techniques to Beat Procrastination
With simple and easy-to-follow time-management techniques, you can easily overcome the procrastination habit.
1. “Active” in Your Spare Time
2. Divide the work into little chunks
3. ‘Short-Time’ things first
4. Get Started somewhere
5. Take Little Breaks
6. Stop Notifications for a While
7. There’s ‘No’ Perfect time
8. De-cluttered Workplace
9. Schedule & Prioritize
10. Better Idea than Avoidance
Procrastination is normal. You don’t have to feel guilty about it. To beat procrastination, allocate a specific time or a few hours in a day to do the things that you like to do.
In this way, you won’t be thinking about them while you are set to work seriously. But, the concern here is if we keep procrastinating, it puts a question on our credibility. We need to draw the line somewhere.
Good time-management skills can help you treat procrastinating habits a lot better.
1. Do things that matter to you:
Most common reasons behind habitual procrastinators are, they always end up in the middle of things they don’t like and enjoy. It could be the work, the studies, business, environment, people, places, etc. Start by doing things that matter to you. Decorate your places in the way you like. Socialize. Add more positivity.
2. Don’t think too much:
Start. Get into action. Bring the courage to take the first step. Thinking too much before beginning any task further supports the idea to postpone and procrastinate.
3. Don’t have high expectations:
Being a habitual procrastinator, take things slowly. And don’t hold yourself by having too many expectations. Be humble in your approaches.
4. Not Freedom. Not Willpower. But Simplified Systems every day:
If you want to beat procrastination, rely on simple routines and systems every day. Systems here are having accountability, self-targets, self-goals, deadlines, etc. to stay on track. Freedom fuels your procrastination. And willpower will not get you anywhere because you aren’t mentally prepared to begin a task. This is where procrastination happens.
For habitual procrastinators, following simple-routines and systems will help in overcoming procrastination rather than the “freedom” and “willpower” which are delicate factors for you.
5. Beating procrastination is an ongoing process
Understand and accept that overcoming procrastination is an ongoing process. It needs a push every day. We cannot break procrastination over-night. People think it all goes away saying “tomorrow is a new day. I have the will. I’ll finish all my tasks”. Well, it doesn’t work like that. Procrastination needs some fixing time. Those who can’t wait and look for immediate results will become inconsistent. They procrastinate again. Procrastination takes time, solid routines, and a little push daily to overcome.
It is said that
“We procrastinate when we seek higher-level needs. But, to overcome procrastination, we have to acknowledge, address, and fulfill lower-level needs.” We procrastinate if we feel like we don’t meet a lofty standard of needs.
Abraham Maslow came up with 5 Hierarchy of Needs. An individual should move upward, starting from level 1. It is how one can minimize procrastination habits.
5 Hierarchies of Needs:
Level 1: Psychological Needs
This is the basic and first level an individual needs to function well. It includes life-essentials like food, water, clothing, shelter, home, sleep, etc. Maslow suggests that an individual has to fulfill this basic-need first to move to further levels.
Level 2: Safety Needs
When psychological needs are met, individuals move for safety needs like a friendly society, safe/secure environments in work and home, medical care, financial security, a sense of freedom to express themselves, emotional security.
Level 3: Social Needs
If L1 and L2 are met, individuals feel comfortable to move to social needs like friendship, trust, acceptance, affiliations, and look for emotional-comfort and belongingness.
Level 4: Esteem Needs
Esteem-needs cover all important aspects like skill-developing, earn reputation through work, independence, respect from others, and the like.
Level 5: Self-Actualization (Top Level)
The need to prove themselves, fulfill their potential, being creative, developing interest are different ways of self-expressing. The interest to do what they like, to follow their passion, pursue what they desire becomes prominent at this level.
What we infer here
Maslow suggests that “Procrastination will be “none to a minimum” in the lower-levels (since it covers necessities) than higher-levels (L4-L5)”.
Unless an individual address and fulfill L1-L3, they will be highly procrastinating in higher levels like L4-L5 which encloses your work, projects, education, business, etc.
Abraham Maslow's strategy of fulfilling needs plays a role in understanding the reasons for procrastination.
1. Invested everything into your business?
By investing your life-savings on your business dream, you will be more prone to avoiding the risk that could lose money. It leads to delayed decision-making. Undertaking challenging projects or orders will become highly debatable. You procrastinate and focus only on existing business-setup.
How to fix this procrastination reason?
- Try to have a secondary income niche. There are entrepreneurs and small-business owners who work and do their business.
- The initial business may not be profitable. It’s another reason to have the second income to take care of your needs.
- Before you invest everything, analyze all the risk factors associated. Backup money.
Not willing to risk money or lose investments makes small-business owners and entrepreneurs procrastinate.
2. Feel exhausted?
Sometimes running your own business can frazzle you. Customer-services could be slammed. Checking the warehouse, undertaking bulky-orders, problems like slow web-pages, customers not going past the homepage, etc. can all happen at once. The brain procrastinates because it likes to skip the stress that’s happening.
How to fix this?
- Delegate your tasks. Small-business owners have this issue because they would be compactly staffed. The owner might handle 80-90 percent of work.
- Take breaks. When you resume your work, you will have more focus.
- Plan your day. Be clear about the tasks you want to achieve today.
- Convey what you can handle.
- It’s okay to send “we will get back to you” sometimes.
You can’t handle everything every time.
3. Social-Media:
If you feel like procrastinating, go to your official social media handles. Start interacting with your customers. Get to know what’s happening. You might resume your work with an active mindset after a friendly conversation with customers.
The ground reality with running small-business could be entirely different, but these simple tips and ideas could help you.
"The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same." -- Colin R. Davis
1. One POMODORO Cycle:
Complete 1 POMODORO Cycle. Study for a solid 25 minutes, take 5-10 minutes break and resume the study for the next 25 minutes. One POMODORO cycle is over by now. Make it an everyday routine. Give priority. By following this technique, you will have some productive work done every day. The chances of gradually reducing your procrastination and concentrating on studies become possible.
2. Momentum through Quick Wins:
Feeling quick wins and seeing visible results means you are more likely to keep doing it instead of procrastinating. Ex: Prepare a Study To-Do list. Make sure you have ticked off 2-3 tasks. This gives you the momentum, a feeling of accomplishment. You will continue further instead of procrastinating.
3. Overcome Fear:
One reason students keep procrastinating with their studies is, ‘the fear of forgetting’. Don’t put off your studies because you are afraid that ‘what if I remember nothing, so let’s do it last minute’. This only leads to a heavy burden. Start early. Spend 20-40 minutes for your studies daily. Something is better than nothing.
4. Revising Techniques:
Mind-mapping concepts, flow-charts, doodles, diagrams, quick-notes, acronyms are few easy revising techniques for you. Bringing subjects to papers via notes gives you an advantage in understanding and grasping. When you open again, just by seeing the notes, you will understand concepts better. Good revision techniques will help students overcome procrastination and focus on their subjects.
5. Bring the Study-habit:
The habit of studying is important. Try setting it. For starters, try following the ‘1 Pomodoro technique’. When you don’t feel like studying, your ‘regular study-habit practice’ will start you to at least take the book. Reward yourself. Savor quick-wins. It keeps you stay motivated.
Ready your mind to Work a little harder to overcome your procrastination with studies.
1. Start by Being Reasonable:
If you are a procrastinator and trying to overcome your procrastination habit, here’s a simple solution to start. “Be reasonable”. When you set reasonable goals, you can easily convince your procrastinating-mind with “It seems easy. We can do it. ”. You will become ready to work on the task. You will definitely “Start” something related to the task. Be reasonable with your expectations.
Set reasonable accomplishments for yourself daily or weekly or for the month. Be Flexible in giving sufficient time to yourself to complete tasks. Don’t push yourself too hard, don’t expect perfectionism, and don’t be strict in getting the results.
2. Know how to get things done:
Two important reasons for our procrastination is:
- We procrastinate when we don’t know how to get things done.
- We procrastinate when we don’t have the right resources or the right tools to get things done.
Sort these two pointers and you can overcome procrastination.
For Ex: Imagine you are given a task to complete. But you don’t have the resources, tools, and knowledge to do the task. What will you do? The procrastinating-mind will tell you to postpone. It reasons with you about how there are no resources and it’s impossible to get things done. But the brain will not say, “Hey, start somewhere. Maybe seek help”.
3. Zeigarnik Effect:
The Zeigarnik phenomenon is helping many people in overcoming their procrastination habit. All you have to do is Just Start the work. Even if you procrastinate, The Zeigarnik effect takes place i.e. your mind keeps thinking about the unfinished tasks. It somehow reminds you even if you forget about it. When there is a push inside from your brain, you are likely to finish the task at least to get rid of the constant reminder.
1. Zeigarnik Effect for Procrastination:
The Zeigarnik effect is a psychological phenomenon.
Once you start a task, your brain remains alert until the task is finished no matter how many days have gone by. The brain will stay alert and keep reminding you that “You still have to finish the work”.
Start your work. Finish to whatever levels that you can. The Zeigarnik effect takes over. It keeps reminding you to finish the task despite your procrastination. People try Zeigarnik-Effect to overcome procrastination.
2. Pick Pearls from Rubies:
When you cannot decide “what to do first,” “where to give importance”, and “which task to pick first and execute” there comes procrastination.
This ‘Pick pearls from rubies’ is a simple trick. Both are precious, but White-Pearls standout from dark-rubies, right? The same goes here. Among multiple tasks, pick one that stands out, saying, “I am important. I cannot be postponed. Do it now.”
3. Avoid 3 Things:
Avoid “Fear of Failure,” “Fear of Judgements, negative feedback,” and “Perfection.” These three are the culprits taking away your productivity and making your procrastinate.
4. Dealing with time:
Time-consuming works can start procrastination. To overcome it, divide the tasks. Finish one or two tasks. It will motivate you to continue. By dividing and executing tasks, you will get some work done instead of procrastination.
5. Quick Rewards:
It’s a psychological fact. When rewards, appreciations, and recognitions are far away and not soon, people procrastinate. It can meddle with their motivation. Offer yourself some rewards for completing a task to overcome procrastination and mental-exhaustion.
6. Self-Compassion:
It’s psychologically accepted that “When an individual becomes unable to handle negative emotions, they begin procrastinating” without their knowledge. But, if they offer themselves ‘self-compassion,’ it induces positivities like motivation, self-worth, and optimism. Self-compassion helps in eliminating mental distress.
1. Is it an Active Procrastination?
Are you deliberately postponing tasks and works? It means you are an active procrastinator. It shows that you want more important things to get done, and hence, you procrastinate.
2. You need to have accountability:
A simple calendar-reminder or an alarm can hold you accountable. Deadlines, targets, and goals are another set of accountability partners for you. If you are dealing with a work that is not of your interest, the best way to overcome procrastination here is to have accountability.
3. Thoughts. Feelings. Behaviors. Situations:
It’s a proven fact that your thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and situations have an effect on procrastination habits.
Surroundings: Positive, energetic surroundings can make you get up and do the work. A cluttered, disorganized space can bring laziness, leading to procrastination.
Thoughts & Feelings: If your thoughts are filled with demotivation, disinterest, stress, etc. you procrastinate due to no apparent will power and mental focus. If there is negative, demotivating, and low self-confidence feeling, you cannot do good work. Eventually, you procrastinate.
Behaviors: Seeking comfort over hard work, looking for complete freedom over zero-accountability, are few behaviors that people have. When such behaviors are tested with solid work, they procrastinate.
Before you start working, try to bring positive thoughts, feelings, surroundings, and behaviors. You can overcome procrastination.
4. Eliminate Guilt:
Guilt makes you even more unproductive when it comes to procrastination. Overcome your guilt by starting slow. Accomplish a set of daily tasks. Make this a habit without any excuses. In time, you can easily overcome guilt and procrastination.
5. Interest:
The best way to overcome procrastination is to engage yourself in things you like. At the least, you need a minimum level of interest and motivation. When there is disinterest, you tend to procrastinate.
There are many studies carried out on procrastination. Questions like "How to overcome procrastination" were given a study. A study shows how our brain works with respect to procrastination. Each person has a different way of procrastination. Read on to know-how procrastination works.
For instance, when you eat great food, your brain is energized. The brain sends a signal of positive energy. The chemical responsible is called dopamine. Dopamine signals the brain that a certain activity is good. Furthermore, it indicates the brain to do it often.
Another study related to the same is people who smoke. People are aware of its negative effects. Yet, they go ahead with the habit due to the dopamine. When the brain starts seeking happiness from an activity, it wants more of it.
Procrastination has similar effects. When your brain starts to enjoy this activity, it becomes habitual. Such habits could have negative effects on your life. Similarly, when you start lazing around, it becomes tough to follow a disciplined life. Our brain works in amazing ways. Hence, it is important to train them.
There are no rules when it comes to procrastinating. While some do them often, others do it rare. Furthermore, such activities make you lose out on opportunities. You lose time and energy.
Scientists have found two sides of the brain that explains procrastination. People who have a larger amygdala have poor control over actions. There are also gender factors. Men are not likely to start a task. On the other hand, women do not wish to do unnecessary tasks. Though reasons may change, it may affect lives. Moreover, it is known to affect productivity. You miss out on chances. Procrastination is also known to affect relationships.
What does procrastination mean?
Procrastination is defined as the act of postponing or delaying something due to various factors. Additionally, it can also be termed as avoidance to get a task done which needs to be met at deadlines. The reasons for the same could be an intentional delay or habitual delays.
Procrastination could have negative consequences and effects. However, when you delay a task for a good reason, that isn't called procrastination. In other words, when you delay any task without any reason, that is when it is said to be procrastination. For example, if a person is responsible for collecting the reports, which includes new reports as well. The individual may claim to give it more time in order to study and achieve an accurate report. However, most of the tasks do not get better with delays.
What are the benefits of stopping procrastination?
Overcoming procrastination is quite an inner struggle that needs to be dealt with. Stopping procrastination can help us in multiple ways. Here are some of the benefits of how you can stop procrastination.
1. Self Discipline
Studies show that procrastination is not a time management issue. One of the main causes of procrastination is lack of self-discipline. A great way to build up your self-discipline is to work on beating procrastination. Procrastination is the thief of time.
2. Greater Work Performance
It is known that individuals who don't procrastinate have better work performance. When you work with dedication, discipline, and responsibility, you are known to have a better work performance.
3. Lower Stress
When you stop procrastination, it leads to lower stress and anxiety. Additionally, when you finish work on time, you can be relaxed and stress-free. Completing a work can be difficult, but delaying it could have more complex consequences.
You need to get rid of the fear of failure first to avoid procrastinating over it.
Here are some tips which will help you to get rid of the fear of failure:
• View the task as a challenge.
• Whenever fear is possible in the task, think as if it is a challenge to you.
• Find some benefits from past failures. There are always some benefits or lessons you get from past experiences. Use those skills or lessons this time and start the task.
• Treat yourself good when you face any failure.
• Failures are the part of life so there are always some lessons hidden which help you to complete the other task more efficiently.
Here are some of the tips which will help you to get rid of the fear of failure. Some tips you may find tough but try it and you will get some absolute results within some days.
Firstly, we do it procrastinate because we are lazy. We procrastinate because we are afraid.
We do it because we are afraid of:
• We think that our efforts are not enough.
• We’ll fail.
• We’ll succeed.
• We are not enough.
• If it won’t be perfect, then what’s the use?
There are many reasons though but here are some tips for scheduling your day which will help you to void procrastination:
First of all, set goals.
• Make a good schedule.
• Have some breaks in between which will refresh you in between the work.
• Prioritize your work.
• Reward yourself after every task.
• Make a short to-do list.
• Find a good workplace.
• Avoid distractions.
• Give some time to socialize. This will help you to remain fresh and full of energy.
Here are some tips which will help you to destroy procrastination. Give some time to yourself and take enough time to complete the task. Don’t afraid to take small steps as well as they can lead you to complete the whole task with confidence.
The fear of failure is the main reason for procrastination. People often procrastinate as they get afraid of failure in the task given to them. This may lead people to avoid finishing the task.
19 things we can do about it:
1. Avoid distractions.
2. Work on your habits.
3. Use the tools you like.
4. Review your goals regularly.
5. Make it public.
6. Use a short to-do list.
7. Use the right works.
8. Make it fun.
9. Set a reward for completing a task that resists getting through.
10. Break the work into small and specific tasks.
11. Manage your energy and not your time.
12. Do not afraid to leave.
13. Track your time.
14. Learn to say no.
15. Take a small first step.
16. Routines help.
17. Make decisions.
18. Stay calm.
19. Don’t panic.
1.“Eat an elephant” have heard it so many times from our parents, isn’t it? It means to divide and work. Yes, it is true whenever something seems difficult or impossible to try this technique and see the difference.
2. Don’t wait to it immediately: instead of giving up and looking for a good chance or mood to do a particular task, do it quickly. Once ignored, the time never comes this why it is said, whatever you want to do; do it now.
3. Start doing that task you find interesting.
4. Remember, when you avoid work for some other day, you make it difficult for yourself. Because late you are the more you have to finish.
5. Don’t expect too much from yourself in the beginning. No one is born perfect or genius, so set your goal small.
We all procrastinate things when we get so stressed about failing or incomplete task after hard work. But procrastination is really bad if we get into the habit of it. Here are the four ways to help everyone who avoids things for any reason.
1. It is important to learn that you are getting into the habit of it. You might be avoiding things for so many good reasons without knowing that the task is actually important. Find the reason behind why are you procrastinating first to help yourself.
2. Take time because you are a human being and there’s nothing we can do immediately things doesn’t happen suddenly, try and you will make it. Start doing your important tasks first no matter how hard it is divide and work on it.
3. Well; when we are being under observation how fast things get done isn’t it? You can try the same method ask someone to remind you daily it can be your alarm or your friends or anyone.
4. Motivate yourself daily with good thought and see how things get easier. Tell yourself you can do everything and see how easy it is to deal with procrastination.
Maintain a good house environment, students get easily distracted by the fights between parents and it might become the reason for avoiding things that shouldn’t be avoided. Find out the reason you have been avoiding things for. Are you afraid of something? Maybe you are disorganized and can’t find where to start from? As soon as you identify the reason behind something you can find a solution to it and change things.
Do it today itself. Everyone, the most organized people sometimes procrastinate things. It is really a very bad thing to fall for, sometimes the common procrastination can have a detrimental impact on your life. Here are the 5 most effective ways to cope with procrastination.
Create your working list, divide the work in order from the beginning. Get started from where you feel comfortable. Pay attention to the task as per your schedule. Turn everything off that you thing might distract you from your task. Such things are mobile, TV or any social media.
Every individual has a set of priorities in life and his entire life centers around it. The basic priorities can be any one or more of the following, Name, Fame or Popularity, Money, Power, Family and/or Love.
Procrastination results in failure. Students must know that avoiding studies may lead their future into obscurity. Here are 6 effective tips for every parent to follow to help their kids stop procrastination.
1. Keep things that you feel can distract them from studying, it can be anything.
2. Maintain a good house environment, students get easily distracted by the fights between parents and it might become the reason for avoiding things that shouldn’t be avoided.
3. Set a time table for their study and everything else, so that it’s used only for that purpose and nothing else.
4. Diet: yes it is the most important thing that every parent must look after. Good and a portion of healthy food with some exercise helps the student stay focused on their studies. It reduces the chance of procrastination.
5. Don’t stress them too much, it may distract them and students lose their interest in studies. As a result, they postpone things very easily.
6. Parents can sit with their kids, motivate them to work hard so that they don’t get tired while studying and procrastinate.
1. Music are not just loved b people, it has the power to boost our brain. Listen to the song that you feel will motivate you.
2. Find out the reason you have been avoiding things for. Are you afraid of something? Maybe you are disorganized and can’t find where to start from? As soon as you identify the reason behind something you can find a solution to it and change things.
3. Prepare your do-list but don’t just add anything. Add things much important and you think is good for your future. Just delete the things out fully because the main reason behind procrastination is too many works to do.
4. Bet with someone, ask somebody to watch your task out. These things can be really helpful to beat procrastination. Betting with someone fills us with encouragement and we are more likely to do the task with enthusiasm.
5. Another way to motivate ourselves for any task is to make it fun and not a burden. Reward yourself with something when a particular task is completed, you can complete your task with someone. Make your work fun to avoid procrastination.
Discover 5 effective tips for overcoming daunting tasks you've been avoiding. Learn strategies to boost productivity, motivation, and accomplish your goals.
1. The key point to overcome procrastination is the focus, start from just one thing you have been avoiding.
2. Don’t stir or avoid things for some other day, if you have a task to complete, do it today itself.
3. Once you identify a task, start it and focus on it for at least five minutes. It’s scientifically proven that once we start on something, it’s much more likely to finish it up.
4. Give yourself a short period of breaks in between to relax so that you don’t get bored and tired. Do a power hour; it helps us stay focused on all the distractions.
5. Forgive yourself and move ahead in life. It’s said that the more you forgive yourself, the more you can beat your current procrastination.
There is no such way as I have mentioned before to overcome procrastination so, don’t wait for a miracle. Do what you feel should be done and seems important and profitable to you.
Procrastination is not something that we do eloquently, it is something we get into the habit very slowly. But once it becomes the habit it can actually be very harmful to our future.
We postpone things for our pleasure and sometimes just because we have the fear of the failure. Without knowing that it’s harmful and can affect our dream or an important task.
If you are here looking for a way to stop procrastination I must ask you to stop wasting your time. There is no such thing that will help you decide what is good for you. You yourself must be wise enough and do what you think should be done for your betterment.
There are so many ways to stop it so but the most effective way to stop procrastination is to do your work. Be wise and stop reading articles on these things and get into your work.
