We are all affected by procrastination at one time or another. Sometimes it can last longer than we expect we let it become a habit.
I know that when I procrastinate there is a good chance it's because I'm not happy or finding enjoyment in whatever it is that I'm working on. We won't talk about how long I procrastinated this blog rebrand ha! This can apply to everything from work to your favorite hobby.
Understand why
Before you can start fixing your procrastination habit it's good to understand why you're procrastinating. There are a lot of times we procrastinate when we should be practicing some self care.
The past week and a half I realized every night after dinner I was sitting there just watching The Hills and online window shopping until bed. I couldn't figure out at first why I was doing it. Kevin realized that I was actually working some longer days, there were a couple of stressful work projects, and some stressful happenings with my family.
Once I was able to sit back, decompress and refocus myself I felt much better. Take some time if you need it. Figure out what works best for you and do it!
Eliminate distractions
There is no easier way to procrastinate than getting distracted by the TV, your phone, or even someone else who lives with you.
I know one of my big distractions is TV. Since I like having some sort of background noise it's easy to switch from it being background to taking over my focus. What is your big distration?
Take some time to understand your distractions, maybe even ask your spouse or a friend. I bet you'd be surprised at their answer. Once you've identified what it is take steps to avoid the distraction.
Break it down
After you've eliminated those pesky distractions now it's time to break down that thing you've been procrastinating it will be much easier to get started.
I had been thinking about a blog revamp for a while but it was so overwhelming and I didn't want to think about all the changes and decisions. Well guess what 4 months of procrastinating and here I finally am! I sat down and broke into more manageable parts. That finally allowed me to tackle it.
Create a to do list
This goes hand in hand with breaking it down. When you're finally able to break it down be sure to make a to do list so you're accomplishing everything.
If you need to break it into multiple lists that's ok too. You don't want to end up with a huge, overwhelming to do list that will put you right back to procrastinating. Right now I've got two to do lists for the home projects we're working on. I've got one for the painting projects and another for organizing projects I want to tackle. It would be overwhelming to have it all on one so I've broken it into two.
If you're still worried about your to do list check out some to do list mistakes you should be sure to avoid.
Set a deadline
I know that there is nothing like a deadline at work to get me going. I'm sure many of us are the same way.
Don't just set yourself a deadline and keep pushing it back. That doesn't help anyone! Make sure you hold yourself accountable. Or better yet enlist someone to help keep you accountable.
One of my best friends and I try to share our daily to do lists with each other several days a week. At the end of the day we have to check back in and show what we've crossed off. For me it's a great way to be accountable because I don't want to text her with some lame excuse about why I wasn't able to check most or all of it off.
Tackle the important items when you're at your best
For most of us we tend to know when we're at our peak performance. Some people are morning people, they can get up at 5am and spend the first several hours of the day tackling everything under the sun.
Maybe you're a night person. Either way use this knowledge to your advantage and get those really important tasks done during your peak time.
If you aren't sure when you're at your most productive start paying attention. Keep track for a couple a weeks and you'll be able to figure out what your best time is. I'm sure the people in your life have some opinions about that as well.
Procrastination is something we do! Don't beat yourself up about it. What is important is that we are able to overcome the procrastination and accomplish our goals.
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