Procrastination is an active process of always postponing or choosing to do something else, instead of the task that you should be doing. It usually involves ignoring an unpleasant, but likely more important task, in favor of one that is more enjoyable or easier.
Often, we are sometimes caught up in the Procrastination phenomenon. We procrastinate and squander away our free time and put off important tasks that we ought to be doing, and when it is indeed late, we panic and wish we got started earlier.
Don’t let procrastination take over your life, and also deny you great achievements that should have come your way.
Here, I will share a few tips on how to stop procrastinating.
1.) Break Big Task Into Little Steps
Often reason, why we procrastinate, is that subconsciously we find the work so overwhelming to carry out. Break the tasks into little parts, this will help you focus on one part at a time. This automatically becomes easy for you to execute.
A lot of folks always try to execute great tasks, because it often gives them the feeling that they are hard-working, but they fail to understand that most times accomplishing very big tasks without breaking them into bits can wear you out easily.
2.) Create Specific Deadlines
I have always felt that creating multiple deadlines for a task equates to laziness. But for a long time, I got to understand that having one deadline for your work, is like an invitation to procrastinate. That’s because we often get the impression that we have time and keep pushing everything back until it’s too late.
Mind you, creating multiple deadlines doesn’t mean you should go contrary to the completion/ Submission date. It simply means creating multiple deadlines before the exact completion date.
Break down your projects, then create an overall timeline with specific deadlines for each small task. This way you have to finish each task by a certain date.
3.) Hang Out With People Who Inspire You To Take Action
The companies you keep can influence you both positively or negatively. To avoid Procrastination, you have to be intentional with your company to ensure that you hang out with folks who inspire you to take action.
Identify the people, friends, families, or colleagues who trigger you, most likely the go-setters and hard workers, and hang out with them more often.
Soon their traits will rub off on you, and you will inculcate their drive and spirit too. I know for a fact that if you are privileged to spend 10 minutes with Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos, you will be more inspired to act than if you spent 10 minutes doing nothing.
4.) Seek Out Those Who Have Achieved The Outcome
Every area in life has people who have already achieved the outcome. What is it that you desire to accomplish here, and who are the people who have accomplished this already? These are the questions that you should often ask.
Make a conscious effort to connect with these achievers. Seeing their outcome is enough proof to you that your goals are very well achievable if you take action.
5.) Stop Waiting For A Perfect Time To Execute A Task
Often, we feel there is usually a perfect time to execute a task. The phrase “perfect time” is nothing but a mirage because there will never be a perfect time. You need to Jettison that thought because there is never a perfect time. If you keep waiting for one, you are never going to accomplish anything.
Perfectionism is one of the biggest reasons for procrastination. Are you waiting for a perfect time to accomplish that task that has been long overdue on your to-do list? That time is now, I know there might be some limiting factor, just get started anyway.
