​Anti-Procrastination Tips


We are all familiar with the procrastination phenomenon. When we procrastinate, we squander away our free time and put off important tasks we should be doing until till it’s too late.  And when it is indeed too late, we panic and wish we got started earlier.

 
You have a deadline looming. However, instead of doing your work, you are fiddling with miscellaneous things like checking email, social media, watching videos, surfing blogs and forums. You know you should be working, but you just don’t feel like doing anything.
 
  1. Break your work into little steps
Part of the reason why we procrastinate is because subconsciously, we find the work too overwhelming for us. Break it down into little parts and then focus on one part at a time. If you still procrastinate on the task after breaking it down, then break it down even further. Soon, your task will be so simple that it will be easy to achieve and you will wonder why you didn’t get started earlier!
 
  1. Change your environment
Different environments have different impact on our productivity. Look at your work desk and your room. Do they make you want to work or do they make you want to snuggle and sleep? If it’s the latter, you should look into changing your workspace.
 
  1. Create a detailed timeline with specific deadlines
Having just one deadline for your work is like an invitation to procrastinate. That’s because we get the impression that we have time and keep pushing everything back, until it’s too late. Break down your project  and then create an overall timeline with specific deadlines for each small task. This way, you know you have to finish each task by a certain date. Your timelines must be robust, too – i.e. if you don’t finish this by today, it’s going to jeopardize everything else you have planned after that. This way it creates the urgency to act.
 
  1. Eliminate your procrastination pit-stops and FOCUS
If you are procrastinating a little too much, maybe that’s because you make it easy to procrastinate. The key to beating procrastination is focus. We often give ourselves too many things to do and become overwhelmed. Start by choosing just ONE thing that you’ve been procrastinating and make a commitment to complete that task in the next week.
 
  1. Take Immediate Action
Once you’ve narrowed it down to one task, you must take immediate action. Today. If it feels daunting or you don’t think you have enough time to complete the task, do the Five Minute Miracle below.
 
  1. Five Minute Miracle
This is one of the best techniques for people who struggle with procrastination. The Five Minute Miracle involves asking yourself; “What action can I take in less than five minutes TODAY that moves this forward even the tiniest bit?”
Once you’ve identified a small action, set a timer for five minutes and spend five minutes working on the task. Research shows that once you start something, you’re much more likely to finish it. This is due to unfinished tasks which are more likely to get stuck in your memory. (This is also why our mind gets stuck in a loop thinking about all the things we haven’t yet completed.)
At the end, it boils down to taking action. You can do all the strategizing, planning and hypothesizing, but if you don’t take action, nothing’s going to happen.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/vanessaloder/2016/04/15/10-scientifically-proven-tips-for-beating-procrastination/#6623eed3296a
 
https://www.lifehack.org/articles/featured/11-practical-ways-to-stop-procrastination.html

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