Procrastination can ruin your productivity. You are delaying the inevitable and you could have earned more time making your work better if only you started earlier and did not procrastinate. There are several reasons why people procrastinate. Instead of burning years of therapy sessions looking for reasons why we procrastinate, it is best to find ways to beat it. Here are some of the common ways to beat procrastination and get more productive today.
Set your goals
Knowing what your goals are will give you a better picture why you need to do things today instead of delaying it further. Break things that you have to do and focus on the urgent and important ones. Do you have to really go to the barber today when there is tons of paperwork to do? Determine your big goals and put them front and center. Ask yourself which of your activities for the day are the most important and urgent.
Write them down
Thinking about the important things is not enough. You need to write your goals down. Creating a roadmap of the things you need to do will give you a clear idea where you are now and where you are supposed to go. It gives you a degree of accountability especially when things are not going through because of your procrastination.
Regroup when possible
When you put your life in your work you may burnout like a supernova at the end of its life. It is best to strike a work-life balance when possible. Remember that you need your body at optimum levels because you need it to work. Don’t just put premium on the future but pay attention to the present as well. If you need to take a backset to rest and recover do it but never forsake the goals.
Reward yourself
Giving a reward for milestones is a great motivator. For example, treat yourself with sugar-free ice cream after doing all the important and urgent tasks for the day. This will keep your eye on the prize which is fulfilling your stated goals. Make sure that the rewards that you give yourself will not hinder your work rate. If the prize will make you procrastinate at some point in time then it is not a reward but a nasty temptation that will ruin your ultimate goal.
Ditch the distractions
Do you open Facebook at the office? If you are not allowed to do social media while at work there is a good reason for that. It can be a distraction. Instead of putting time finishing up, you spend time on doing Facebook which will not help your cause. If you need to tweet or update your status do it on your appointed social media time.
Procrastination is a global phenomenon. It not only leads to much stress and anxiety among individuals but it can also prevent one from achieving his goals in life. It transcends, race, color, religion and gender. Hurdling procrastination is a good way to become better and even earn a promotion. Big or small, getting over it can reap you great rewards.