5 STEPS TO BEAT PROCRASTINATION

5 STEPS TO BEAT PROCRASTINATION THIS YEAR

Procrastination is putting off what can be done now for later.  Everyone experiences procrastination every once in a while.  Some people only procrastinate a few times a year, while others procrastinate every day.  If you are a person that has a terrible habit of procrastinating, than procrastination can be very detrimental in the long run, if it is not for you already.  I fight with procrastination daily.  Everyone has different reasons for procrastinating.  My biggest reason for procrastinating is doing tasks that I absolutely hate.  Have you had the one task that you hate, but you know it is something that has to be done frequently, like cleaning the bathroom or exercising?  When I start procrastinating because of a task that I completely hate doing, I have to have long talks with myself to get me to do whatever it is that I do not want to do.  I also have to follow these 5 steps that I am going share.

1. Plan, plan, plan

Planning is one of the most important things that helps me with procrastination.  Since I am naturally an over planner, once I plan the activity that I do not want to do in my schedule, I make sure it gets done.  I am one of those people that has a to do list for ever thing.  If I write a task down to be completed, I want that particular thing to be x'd off my list within a day or two.  So planning helps me with completing tasks that I do not want to do.

2. Try to find the fun in it

What ever task that your dreading to do, make it fun.  For example, earlier I told you I hate cleaning out bathrooms, but I hate when the bathroom is dirty.  So, when ever I clean the bathrooms I always listen to music, talk on the phone or dance.  Those are some things that I love to do, so I incorporate them into my day while I am cleaning the bathrooms. 

3. Break bigger tasks down

Our house has 3.5 bathrooms.  Downstairs we have one full bathroom and one half bathroom.  Those two bathrooms are the ones that are used regularly, so I have to clean them once, sometimes twice a week.  The other two bathrooms upstairs are not used all the time so I only clean those once every two weeks, but cleaning bathrooms can be time consuming so that is why I have to break the cleaning schedule down into different times.

4. Just do it 

At times you have to just bite the bullet and get the task done.  There are times that I just get it done without thinking how much I do not like the task.  Think about the consequence of not getting the task at hand complete and that thought can be a motivator to get the task done quickly.  When you notice something that takes a few seconds to do and doesn't have to be planned, like taking out the trash, just go ahead and get it done.

5.Rest!!  

Yes I said it, rest! Remember, we’re only human, so if you don’t get a goal accomplished, do not beat yourself up about it, especially if you have been working hard to get it done.  It is ok to move that particular task to the next day.   If you need to take a quick nap to get energized to complete a task and be more productive, than that is perfectly fine.  There’s nothing more pitiful about a procrastinator than a tired  procrastinator.  It just makes you procrastinate even more.  So make sure you get your rest!


Everyone procrastinates every now and then, but if you have a serious problem with procrastination like I tend to at times, I hope these steps above can help you.


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