How to beat procrastination

Have you ever been puzzled by why some gifted people never turn their dreams into reality, whereas others even with fewer talents make the same dreams true? While the first group puts chasing the dreams off, the second cultivates time, energy, hard work and harvests success. Delaying important tasks whilst keeping busy with other things is procrastination. Procrastination can be observed in any realm of life, can be related to both the things we have to do and want to do, can be both an occasional habit and a chronic issue.

Diving into the topic I discovered that procrastination is deeply connected with human psychology. By procrastinating our mind tries to avoid negative emotions associated with the task. But we end up with decreased productivity and feeling of guilt. To fight procrastination, one must know his/her procrastination habit. In a way one must ponder over how, why and when he/she procrastinates (keeping in mind that this habit may vary from case to case):

• How – what the person does instead
• When – situations the person procrastinates
• Why – what is the reason behind

Armed with information on the habit it is easier to choose the method suitable for the case.

Techniques to overcome procrastination can be grouped in two categories:

• Cognitive
• Organizational

Cognitive methods are various psychological manoeuvres to overcome procrastination.

• Accountability partner. Informing a person whose opinion one values about his/her plans and letting that person to check regularly on progress creates psychological responsibility to implement it timely. As otherwise, one may lose good opinion of the person he/she values. In some cases, it is even possible to include the accountability partner in the plan. For example, one can decide to run every morning. The chances are high the person will choose sleep over running every morning. But finding a running buddy ensures higher probability of sticking to the goal.
• Monitor the inner talk. Pessimistic self-talk demotivates to implement the dreaded task and negatively impacts the result. For example, one has to prepare an annual report on corporate sales but procrastinates as believes the data size is enormous or time is limited; or believes that he/she is not qualified enough to carry out the task. This mindset does not help. Accepting the reality and focusing on the implementation can save time and help to present better quality job.
• Create psychological barriers. Knowing “how” one procrastinates, he/she can create barrier in the way of the procrastination. Let’s put it clearer. For example, one spends too much time on social media instead of writing an essay. In this case deleting the apps on phone or even signing out can be helpful, as it would require an extra effort to get to the social media.
• Reward yourself. Subconsciously by procrastinating we avoid the unpleasant or hard task by doing something enjoyable. For example, quite often instead of studying for the exam one watches Netflix, listens to the music, or even reads some irrelevant but interesting article. This gives short lived satisfaction. To stay dedicated to a long-term goal or to implement a dreaded task it is recommended to reward the progress. For example, after finishing several chapters for exam one may listen to the music or watch a film… This gives enthusiasm to continue.

Organizational methods are different actions to take for completing the task.

• Set the environment. It is important to create “work-mode” environment to get into “work-mode” psychology. Leaving only the work-related files on the table, muting the irrelevant apps and minimizing the external distractions can help to focus on the priority tasks.
• Prepare a clear plan. Breaking an overwhelming task down into manageable parts and including them in To-do list helps to implement it. For creating doable To-do list steps, you can check my previous article.
• Take some time away. If despite trying for long time one cannot implement the task, stepping away for some time: going out with friends, exercising, taking a walk, and even changing the work environment may help to come up with new ideas to complete the task.
• Done over perfection. Holding perfectionistic attitude, one risks never implementing the task. There could always be a better version of the final project. The important thing is to present the project within required time frame and to use the time wisely while implementing.

It is also vital to remember that being angry or unsatisfied with oneself for procrastinating does not help and can lead to health problems like depression. Forgiving the past, forgetting tomorrow, concentrating on what can be done right now is the attitude to solve the issue. And keep in mind, even by unsuccessful tries one is on the way to the success. As the famous inventor and businessman Thomas Edison once said: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” This viewpoint helped him to invent the lighting bulb and gain success.