In a nutshell, procrastination is the act of delaying work for later. We’ve all been in situations where we’ve put off doing something because we can’t find the motivation. According to mind tools, procrastination is an active process. This means that you choose to do something other than what you know you should be doing.
We procrastinate for many reasons. At work it could be a lack of motivation, or work-related stress. In your personal life it could be distractions, overthinking or a fear of failure.
Overthinking Build Up Walls
And make you afraid to take chances. The first step is the most important; don’t get stuck in the cycle of putting things off. Avoid creating a reality in which you are thinking about what you want. But you are not doing anything about it. It is a fact that the hardest things you have to do in life will always be affected by your own emotional resistance. It makes you want to hide away from your goals and put them off for your future self to deal with. My tips on how best to tackle procrastination are:
Aim for “Good Enough”
It’s a common mistake to have high expectations about your own capabilities. Setting your expectations too high can make a task look complicated and you’ll want to delay it. Producing quality work takes time; it might take several iterations to get to where you want it to be. You won’t know how the work is going to turn out until you get started. In most cases, things that are worth doing will take time. It’s ok to get stressed, frustrated, or discouraged at times; it’s all part of the journey.
Work in Small Chunks
Having long lists of things to do can be daunting and overwhelming. We have all heard it before: to work smarter and manage your time, you need to plan. Make a to-do list the night, or in the morning before you start your day, for the week, or sometimes months in advance.
I’m terrible at planning or following instructions instead of writing a to-do-list. I focus on prioritising what I need to get done for the day. I write key actions as a reminder sometimes while I’m actually working on the task itself. This helps me focus on what needs doing. Within the time I have available rather than getting distracted by what’s on my to-do list.