Most of us are aware of procrastination or the habit of deferring work at hand and have all faced it sometime or the other. We know at the back of our minds, we have some pending work, but still do things like talk to friends, scroll through messages, or watch video clips and such other things and delay the work until it is too late! The job finally never gets completed, or, even if finished, its quality gets compromised.

 

With work pending at the back of your mind, you can neither relax nor enjoy the time! It can tarnish your image as a person who is capable of completing work in time. This can further hamper your productivity along with your creativity and much more. Research shows that various kinds of factors can contribute to procrastination, which includes personality traits, emotional regulation, decision-making approaches, time perspectives and biological factors, too.

 

Tips to help you…

Identify the causes

Taking away all potential distractions will not solve your problem. So, you can start by being honest with yourself and understand how your procrastination begins social media, popcorn, cheese sandwich, Netflix? To get rid of the usual distractions, you must change your environment.

Select a place where you can get into a work mode and feel more responsible. To be focused, you can choose a quieter place like a library. Do not connect to the Internet if you do not need one and stay away from social media and other apps that may tempt you. You can allow yourself to take breaks every half an hour or so, when you can spend a few minutes to check your phone or whatever keeps you away from work.

Set up small goals

Many a time, the very thought of completing a huge task may seem distressing. Getting started may become a tall order. But breaking up the same task into smaller and realistic goals can be quite helpful. You can try to make a list of goals that can be achieved easily and with small deadlines—15-20 minutes. For instance, instead of setting a goal like ‘I’ll exercise between 11 am and 1 pm’, set up goals like ‘I’ll do 10 sit-ups, 10 pushups and walk for 10 minutes’. Take one step at a time, so that you can make steady progress and complete your work well within time. These small actions will help you complete the entire work before you even realize it. And, once you get started, you are not likely to stop very soon.

Organize jobs at hand

It is very important for you to have a detailed schedule and deadline. This is because the time you choose to complete each small step will also inspire you to keep at your work and reach the final goal with flying colors. So, select your daily weekly and monthly goals according to priority on the list of your work goals. As you witness your progress, it will also motivate you to keep improving and, in the end, the task will be over whether it is a project work at office, or repair work at home.

Try to be focused

One good way to overcome procrastination is to focus on some of the easier tasks at hand which you can finish first. Also, make sure to have the resources you require to reach your goal. If you put your mind to it, by organizing your tasks, you will be able to identify the ones that are easy to finish. With this, you will start to build your confidence and gain some momentum.

Keep out distractions

Your work desk or study environment may not be helping you to deal with your procrastination. Distractions can easily disrupt your progress, whether it is having your phone nearby or having the TV on in the background. These can add to your stress levels and worsen your procrastination. So, if you are finding it difficult to focus and be productive, allow yourself to do whatever you are doing with a purpose and try to find out how significant it is for you.