We are all beaten by the bug of procrastination once in a while. But it can have negative effects if it goes on for a prolonged period. So, how do we beat this bug?
Read on to find out.
1. Identify Your Obstacles
Oftentimes, we procrastinate because we think there are too many obstacles along the way. But a more practical approach would be to identify these obstacles. Make a list of them so you can tackle each one. Are these some of your reasons to procrastinate?
Does stepping out of your comfort zone scare you?
Is the task too large that it overwhelms you from starting?
Are you worried that you will get distracted by your phone or your friends or family?
To get out of your comfort zone, you may want to check out this article: 9 Valuable Lessons You Learn By Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone
Keep reading to tackle the other two.
2. Set Realistic Goals
Setting realistic goals helps you stay consistent in my opinion. Now, what are realistic goals?
Suppose, you want to start learning a new language alongside your job or college. You will have to set aside some time in your schedule to practice it every day.
Staying consistent with the practice would mean you dedicate a set time and follow it each day. If you happen to set a time like 2 hours/day when you very well know that you won't be able to give it that much time, you lose out. This is not a realistic goal.
Instead, taking out 15min a day to practice is more realistic and is definitely achievable. You would feel a sense of achievement after practising it every day as well as you have achieved your goal.
3. Set Fake Deadlines
When you're doing something on your own, more often than not, you do not have to report to a manager or have tight deadlines. This makes you do the task in your own sweet time. Instead, if you set fake deadlines for yourself, you end up doing it.
I procrastinated creating this website from scratch for over 5 months, but one day, I gave myself a 15-day deadline and I ended up creating the website and started posting an article each week.
The fake deadline gave me the drive to complete the task at hand. This works for me every time. I hope you try it out and let me know if it worked for you as well in the comments below.
4. Announce Publicly
If you have a social media account, put out a story that says you're going to work out 5 times a week. Share your workout statistics every day. What happens when you post this, is you have now publicly announced your workout.
To keep yourself accountable, you will end up doing it each day. This is a lot of fun and you never know, somebody else may get motivated and follow you along too. You could become accountability partners for each other and motivate each other to work out every day!
5. Break it Down
If you feel overwhelmed with the mere size of the project in hand and this is what is making you procrastinate? An approach that is extremely practical is to break it down into consumable steps.
If we take the example of learning a new language, the steps would be:
To learn the alphabets
To learn the grammar
Learn to form short sentences
Practice speaking and then conversing.
When you break down the project into actionable steps, it is clear what needs to be tackled first. This gives you a direction and an action plan to move forward with your forward.
Ticking off these steps one after the other would be your biggest drive. You will end up finishing the project sooner than you anticipate. Trust me on this!
6. Follow The 2-Minute Rule
David Allen speaks about this rule in his book "Getting Things Done". This rule says that "If it takes less than two minutes, then do it now".
Do the task at hand for two minutes. Often, the most difficult task is to just start. Once you get started, you will end up working on it for longer than two minutes. This works! Do give it a shot.
7. Celebrate Small Wins
If you were able to consistently work on the project for a month or more, have a little celebration. It would give the motivation to work with more passion in the next steps. Life is all about the little wins. Isn't it? Make time to celebrate these tiny wins.
8. Don't Beat Yourself Up
It's ok if we procrastinate once in a while. Don't be too hard on yourself for procrastinating. Instead, rest up and come back to work with vigour. Also, don't chase perfection. As Sheryl Sandberg Says: “Done is better than perfect.”
Which of these steps are you going to implement? Let me know in the comments section below!
I would be happy to read them. Also, let me know what is your way of beating procrastination? It would certainly help me and others that are part of this community.
Until next week,
Hugs!
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