Procrastination: How do we fix it?

Last week we looked at some of the reasons why we procrastinate (time inconsistency and avoidance). This week we’re going to look at how we fix it.

Reward yourself:

We tend to procrastinate over things we don’t like doing, so why not pair them with things that we do like doing?

Save your favourite music for when you go for a run.

Put on that new Netflix show while you’re doing the ironing.

Allow yourself a treat after you finish doing your weekly meal prep.

It doesn’t really matter so much what the reward is, just make it good enough to get you to actually do what you should.

Schedule it in:

Too often we leave starting our disliked tasks up to chance, but ‘When I get to it’ and ‘Yea soon’ are not definitive, so our brains will find it difficult to know when these fictional times start!

Figure out how much time you need to complete the task, then schedule that in to your day/s or week/s.

By doing this we are making a decision to get started, and most likely will, as if we don’t the guilt will be more uncomfortable than the task itself.

Also, make sure you don’t do anything else in that time-period, otherwise you will trick your brain into thinking you were productive and the problem will persist.

Take little bites:

Sometimes the sheer enormity of the task in front of us is our main barrier.

‘Getting fit’ is such an ambiguous and staggering concept, where do we even begin?

We start by breaking each task down into something easier to handle.

You don’t have to run a marathon, you just have to do a 15 minute walk/jog today.

You don’t have to write a novel, you just need to write 300 words today,

You don’t need to overhaul your diet, you just have to get 2 more serves of veggies every day this week.

By breaking each task down into manageable little bites, we can reduce our perception of its size and therefore tackle it much easier.

Countdown:

The dreaded countdown is a staple of parenting the world over.

'I'm going to count to 3 and both of you better be in the car by the time I'm finished!'

Gives me chills just writing it!

But, our parents were onto something.

By defining the initiation parameters of a task we are removing the uncertainty that surrounds it and giving it a definite start time, in 3 seconds.

So, the next time you need to start something you don't want to do, give yourself a countdown.

Tell yourself, 'Turn off the shower in 3,2,1, go.' or 'Get out of bed in 3,2,1,go.'

By starting with small things and sticking to it consistently, you create a habit loop, which you can then apply to much bigger things.

Hopefully this article has given you a little bit of insight into procrastination and a few helpful tips to combat it.

The good news is that by reading this article you're already battling your procrastination.

You’ve taken that first step, and you know what they say about the journey of a thousand miles…

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