We all fall victim to procrastination at some point. Maybe you planned to start your day with some writing and found yourself watching puppy videos an hour later. Or maybe you had design edits to make but chose to deal with that “pressing” Slack conversation instead.
However procrastination hits you, it’s safe to say that there’s nothing worse than putting things off that we know we need to get done.
If we can’t rely on long-term goals and logic to keep us motivated, what can we do to overcome procrastination?
Step 1: Forgive yourself to break out of the cycle of procrastination
It may be surprising, but studies have found that procrastinators who feel bad about their habit are more likely to procrastinate in the future. More than just getting behind on our tasks, the spiral of shame and guilt is what pushes us into the procrastination doom loop.
To get out, we first need to slow the cycle down. That means forgiving yourself for procrastinating in the past.
Step 2: Break your goals and tasks down into smaller chunks
Smaller goals are easier to start and stick with. Every time your brain crosses something off a list you get a hit of dopamine. The more regular you can keep this going, the more likely you are to keep up with your goals and not procrastinate.
Step 3: Track your progress to stay motivated and push through
“Most of us make advances small and large every single day, but we fail to notice them because we lack a method for acknowledging our progress. This is a huge loss.”
So when your brain starts to feel overwhelmed and wants to procrastinate, you can remind it of how far you’ve come and how good you’ll feel when you finish it all.
Everyone hates the stress of procrastinating. But we know procrastination is an emotional management problem, rather than a lack of willpower or a struggle with time management.
So, when you catch yourself putting off work try to do a few things:
• Focus on action over emotions
• Bargain with your inner self
• Forgive yourself when you slip
We can’t banish procrastination entirely. But we can definitely make it less appealing.
