Do you have a problem with putting things off for another day? It’s not uncommon to feel overwhelmed and want to avoid specific tasks, especially if you’ve already got a full plate. Everyone does a little bit of procrastinating, but it becomes a real problem when your to-do lists grow longer each day from pushing things aside. It’s time to quit procrastinating!
Twenty Habits to Help You Quit Procrastinating
If you’re the master at procrastinating, then it can cause you a great deal of distress in your life. While you may buy yourself a pass for the current day, it can cause you significant issues down the road.
Thankfully, there are some ways to manage these issues by developing habits to help you feel more accomplished. Here are the best methods to help you quit procrastinating and get things done.
1. Use Positive Affirmations
Start your day by giving yourself a boost of positive energy. Tell yourself things like:
- I will accomplish all my goals.
- I am productive.
- I’ll do a great job showing my talents.
- There is no one better suited for this job than me.
- I will enjoy work today.
You will be amazed at what reiterating your worth and developing a positive mindset can do for your day. According to the National Institute of Health, using these affirmations can alter the brain and make you more productive.
2. Rewarding Yourself
You work hard, so you deserve to have a little treat on occasion. Why not buy yourself that new outfit you’ve been wanting or those stunning shoes? When you get everything done that you have on your goal list, then you deserve to be rewarded.
3. Surround Yourself with Positive People
Your inner circle says a lot about who you are as a person. If you don’t have a positive group of people surrounding you, it can cause your morale to suffer. Surround yourself with highly motivated people so that they can rub off on you.
4. Don’t Over Complicate Things
Why is it that people tend to overcomplicate things? Stop making your job more difficult than it is. It would help if you work smarter, not harder, so incorporate a few techniques to enhance your day.
5. Quit Beating Yourself Up
You’re not going to be perfect no matter how hard you try. If there are times when you tend to feel like you’re not getting everything done, then it’s okay to take a breather. Sometimes life throws you curveballs, and you need to learn to roll with the punches.
6. Keep Your Goals in Mind
As you go through your day, keep your goals in mind for the day, week, and month. By looking at the big picture rather than all the small details, you can save yourself from becoming overwhelmed.
7. Divide the Work
It’s okay to ask for help if you need it. There is only so much that one person can do. Once you learn that dividing is the way to conquer, you will ease some of your stress.
8. Make to Do Lists to Help Quit Procrastinating
If you tend to forget things, and you have so much on your plate that it’s hard to keep it all straight, then you may benefit from making lists. According to NPR, making lists helps you get your head around the more significant tasks, and it also brings a sense of satisfaction when you can see what you’ve accomplished.
9. Calendar Your Tasks
Keeping a calendar can help you to be more productive. Thanks to the advances in technology, you can keep your schedule at your fingertips. When you learn not to overbook your days, then it can help avoid issues with procrastinating.
10. Use A Mentor
Do you need someone to help you plan your schedule? A mentor is a great person to have on your side, especially one who is a master at getting things done.
Look around your office and find someone who is especially good at meeting deadlines and never delays. This person is one who you can aspire to learn their ways.
11. Accept Your Imperfections
One of the most significant issues that people have is that they strive for perfection. The problem is that no one is perfect.
You’re going to mess up, and there will be days when nothing gets done. Learn to embrace your imperfections, and don’t put yourself on a guilt trip every time you fall behind.
12. Set Realistic Goals
Perhaps the problem isn’t you can’t get everything done, but you’re setting unrealistic goals for yourself. Each person has a limit as to what they can handle in a day. If you’re putting too much on your plate, then you are setting yourself up for failure.
13. Use the 80/20 Rule
Categorize your tasks according to what’s most important. Also, make sure you do the difficult tasks first. When you do the 20 percent categorized as the hard stuff, then the other 80 percent will come easy. Oddly enough, people tend to do the more straightforward stuff and put off those more challenging tasks.
14. Get A Grip and Get It Done
How many times have you told your children to stop whining and get their room cleaned? If they had stopped crying about the chore, they could have already been done. How much time are you wasting complaining and feeling sorry for yourself as your overwhelmed?
Just like a child, most adults could already have those tasks done by the time they’re done complaining and fretting over them.
15. Identify Your Pitfalls
One way to divide and conquer your list is to identify any pitfalls you have during the day. If you know that one of your most significant issues is being sleepy after lunch, then make sure you do the jobs that require your undivided attention first thing in the morning.
16. Learn to Say “No.”
One of the reasons you’ve become the master procrastinator is because you don’t know how to say no. If you’re always taking on more than you can handle, then it’s understandable that you will fall behind. You will empower yourself to feel more accomplished when you stop taking on so much extra stuff.
17. Get Up Early
Many people find that they feel better when they get up earlier. If you work from home or have a flexible schedule, you will find that getting up helps keep your circadian rhythm in sync. When you start sleeping in till noon and staying up late, you will feel terrible.
You’re made to sleep when it’s dark and awaken when it’s daylight. According to the National Institute of Health, the circadian rhythm helps control things like your memory, decision-making processes, and blood pressure.
18. Change the Environment
Your environment could be the reason why you tend to procrastinate. If you need white noise in the background because silence is deafening, then it’s not going to do you any good to sit in an eerily quiet room.
On the other hand, you may be a bundle of nerves if a radio is blasting some peppy tune while you’re trying to work. It would help if you had an environment that is conducive to productivity.
19. Stop Making Excuses
How many excuses do you make to avoid doing some tasks? If your list of excuses is longer than your to-do list, then you need to alter your perceptions. Remind yourself that the job isn’t going to go away, and you’re just prolonging the inevitable.
20. Use a Detailed Timeline to Help Quit Procrastinating
It may help you to make a detailed timeline of your day. For instance, you can schedule things like:
- 8-10 am. Work on budgeting for next month
- 10-12 am. Create a schedule for employees
- 12-1 pm. Lunch
- 1-3 pm Financial meeting with the board of directors
- 3-5 pm. Make customer phone calls regarding billing
When you put your day into neat and tidy boxes, it’s easier to get things done. If you only allow yourself two hours for budgeting next month’s numbers, then you know you must get this task done in the allotted time frame.
Final Thoughts on How to Quit Procrastinating
Before you beat yourself up over your procrastinating habits, you need to look at the big picture. You may be avoiding things because you have too much on your plate, you don’t know how to say no to people, and your environment is not conducive to productivity.
When you make a few adjustments to your day and develop some new habits to increase productivity, you will feel more accomplished. Try implementing a few of these things into your work week and watch how you’re able to fly through your assignments with ease.
The great thing is that you can use these tips in more than your work life. Students can use these suggestions as well as a stay-at-home parent trying to run the house. Anyone who needs a boost to get more accomplished can find that these habits will help keep procrastinating at bay.
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