Procrastination. What is to procrastinate? Procrastination (if you don't know already) is an act of delaying or postponing something: be it any task or action to be taken.
Well, humans are not made perfect so we all are prone to falling prey to procrastinate often. But, I'm not here to encourage that instead try to help you avoid it by providing some of the ways to avoid procrastination.
Delaying something or postponing it for later or someday can be bad for you in every aspect from affecting the quality of the work done to the possibility of the task being affected due to unseen future events.
Therefore, one should not rely on tomorrow. Procrastination despite the short-term relief, can cause distress, stress, health, anxiety, and psychological problems in the long run.
Read Also: Great Leaders Are Continuous Learners
Some Ways To Avoid Procrastination
Let us start with some of the ways to avoid procrastination, so I'm going to list them out below for you. If you feel you procrastinate enough, you should try these tips out.
1. Schedule Yourself, Make a Timeline
It is always a good practice to get organized by making a list of the order of things or tasks to be done first and exactly how much time are you going to dedicate to it as this will save your time and you keep track of time and the overall tasks.
2. Make a Deadline
Why do we do and complete the task at the end of the day at the eleventh hour? This is because at that time we get under pressure and feel bound enough to do that first priority.
What if you don't have a submission date or deadline of the task, then what, are you going to do it after eternity. Therefore, make a deadline even if you don't have one, and stick to it, this will keep you on track.
3. Stop Yourself From All Distractions
As you know, one of the main causes of procrastination is distractions. We deviate from the mission because we take into account whatever the hell is happening around, stop that.
Clear your mind, and think as if nothing's happening around more important than what you already have on your plate to finish. Sit quietly in a room or a suitable place and keep yourself away from social media, games, TV, or anything that can be a distraction, even people.
4. Do the Hard Stuff First
Doing the hard stuff first will keep you consistent on the task since it will take time to be completed obviously than the rest of the tasks. This way, after completing the hard and difficult ones first will make you more confident enough to finish the rest in time and you will do that.
However, if you do the easy ones, then, you might lose concentration and strength(after being done with them) for the hard stuff, and then eventually you will delay or postpone them. So, the difficult tasks first.
5. Take a Break
After being done with half of the tasks to be done, if you feel exhausted or have lost all concentration, then have a little break to take your mind off and refresh yourself with replenished energy.
Go out, move around, take some air but remember that you're not done yet, eat something, listen to some music, and then come back. You will be a lot better with more energy.
6. Drop the Excuses
” I have to rush to the… ” or “I need to do this… first” or “I have to have the mind and mood for it” etcetera. Drop these excuses and just DO IT.
You might feel the need to be in the right mood and wait for it but trust me this is procrastination all along initiating itself like that. It'll make you wait and wait till you feel bad in the end. The right time never comes, trust me.
7. Reward Yourself With Incentives
Incentives given to anyone and getting the work done can be useful. So, why not use this tactic on yourself. Let's say you have to do a task and want it to be done in time, just tell yourself that after doing the task you can watch an episode of The Big bang Theory or that new Netflix show but don't binge on them or you can check social media, but this should be contingent on you having finished the job you set out to do. Remember, staying on schedule as mentioned before is first priority.
8. Tell Someone About Your Aims or Goals
Letting someone close know about your tasks or goals can be helpful as it will help you in being consistent and succeeding in it in order to make an impression or to be ready if others ask the status of your course.
9. Integrate It, Break it Down
Sometimes the job at hand is lengthy or requires many steps to be done. In such a situation, procrastination gets an easy way in, and we don't want that.
The solution is to chunk it down into smaller tasks done in intervals, this way you wouldn't think of facing the job head-on but step-by-step. This strategy helps especially when you have to write a lengthy assignment of many words.
10. Stop the Atelophobia(Perfectionism)
Well, this happens a lot to me, personally, I used to feel that everything has to be perfect in order for me to delve into the task I'm supposed to do. And, thus it leads me to wait for the right things and mindset for the task – task done under pressure and at the last minute.
This, all-or-nothing approach for doing any task is not the right way. Nothing is ever perfect for you to start or complete any job. Don't wait, just DO IT.
I find it helpful to get my hands into the task and start no matter what and this helps me to go on. There are other ways to avoid procrastination I'm sure but I hope you find the ones I shared helpful.