11 Ways To Prevent ProcrastinationI will do it tomorrow. I'll start next week, next month, next year. When I have more time I will do it. When the children are holder, I will have more freedom and I can get started. I will have more money next month and I can make it happen then.
Does any of these words sounds familiar to you? Do you find yourself using these words from time to time? Worst are you using them right now because deep inside you feel it's true. Do You feel it's your reality? Do you know ways to prevent your procrastination?
Procrastination comes in many levels. You can be very productive at work for your boss and be a huge procrastinator at home in your own life or vice versa. Usually the first scenario is the most common. We work hard for a boss because we know we don't have a choice because we will lose our job if we don't. But at home, no one is there to hold us accountable so we get lazy. There are solutions, ways to prevent procrastination
Most people are procrastinators or lazy. (BTW Procrastinator is a nice word that defines lazy) Just look at the amount of successful people vs. the number of people that are not. There are some physical and mental reasons that make us a procrastinator. Physical as in tired, exhausted and mental as in mindset, having a certain perception of a task you have to accomplish. Let's explore how we can fight our procrastination so you can achieve your goals and dreams no matter how big or small they might be. Below is 11 ways to help you prevent procrastination.
The first 2 ways to prevent procrastination are physical:
I strongly believe it starts here. If you are not healthy, you will have less energy to accomplish your tasks and more likely to procrastinate. Start exercising. I don't mean for you to become an athlete but to exercise. Take time to exercise 3-4 times a week. Do some kind of exercise. It could be a walk around the block, a bicycle ride etc. etc. Any type of exercise will boost your energy level.
The next physical way to prevent procrastination is: Look at your eating habit. Do you eat a lot of junk food? About dessert, do you have one every night? Do you have to always finish your dinner plate? Eat smaller meals and less junk if no junk food at all. The more you eat, the more you feel full. The less likely you will feel like doing anything. Don't wait until you are hungry to eat anything. If you wait until you are hungry, you are likely to eat something that is not healthy.
The next 9 ways to prevent procrastination are Mental:
This is how you view the task you need to accomplish. This is the level of urgency you give your to do list. Here's the 9 reasons why you don't complete the tasks you need to. The tasks that will move you towards accomplishing your goals and how to fight it;
Ways to prevent procrastination #1
Unpleasant task: This task is usually perceived as not fun or not enjoyable. These usually are nowhere near as bad to complete as you think. Schedule them first thing when you get up and get them out of the way. (May be give yourself a reward when completed)
Ways to prevent procrastination #2
Indecision: A lot of people don't take the next step because they can make up their mind on what to do. The worst thing to do is to not make a decision. You may make the wrong decision but you become a lot smarter in the process.
Ways to prevent procrastination #3
Fear of Failure: This is probably the biggest one. Especially for those whose goals are to invest in themselves like a business. They lack confidence and the fact they are afraid to face the consequences of a failure.
You feel this way because you are focusing on what will happen if you and when you fail. You have to reverse that. Focus on how you will feel when you succeed. How will that feel, where will you be, who will share it with you? Every time a negative thought comes to your mind, you have to take a step back and re-focus on how you will feel when you succeed.
You may fail at first but it is not your goal that fail but your plan. Just change the plan, never change the goal.
Ways to prevent procrastination #4
Lack Of Interest: When you have absolutely no interest in a task to accomplish, you must reward yourself after you did it. May be your task is to paint your house, may be it is to do the spring cleaning. Whatever it is, reward yourself. May be it is going to your favorite restaurant, may be a weekend at the beach etc. etc.
Ways to prevent procrastination #5
Perfectionism: This happens a lot in my line of work. People want their website to be perfect so it never goes live. May it is an article or a video they are working on and it is never good enough.
Set deadline for yourself to have your task finish and commit to yourself to do it by that date. Do not deviate. Maintain your standard but also realize is that 80% done is better than never having it done.
Ways to prevent procrastination #6
Hostility toward your boss: If I had a nickel for every time this happened to me I would be super rich today. Who likes their boss today... The mindset you want to use here is to find another reason to get that task accomplished so you are now not getting it done because your boss told you to but for something worth doing for. May be you are doing it because it could help you advance your career. May be it's because your co-workers would benefit from it etc. etc. Just find another reason to motivate you to complete the task.
Ways to prevent procrastination #7
Distraction or lack of focus: For some people, it is very hard to be and stay focus. Create a to do list for yourself. Use an A B C system to mark the priority of the tasks that needs to be done. Start with what is more important and go down the list. Commit yourself to not stop your project until finish.
Ways to prevent procrastination #8
Unimportant tasks: The problem with unimportant task is they will become important very soon and a lot harder to handle later. Figure out the cost or time it will take to do it now vs. if you wait until it becomes an important task. Schedule a time to do it and do it. Do not deviate.
Ways to prevent procrastination #9
Environment: We all have life that takes us away from what needs to be done. It can be work, kids, time etc. etc. It is critical that you schedule time for your to do list and when you are in that schedule time, that nothing can distract you so you can be as productive as you can. Leave the emails for later. Don't answer the phone. (if important, they will leave a message) Stay away from social media and if you have kids, come to an agreement with your spouse so he/she will look over your children while you get your things done.
Procrastination is the biggest challenge you will have to face, your worst enemy. Use these 11 ways to prevent procrastination and once you have beaten your own laziness, oops I mean procrastination, nothing will stop you. Yeah, you will stumble a few times on your way to success but when that happens, just wipe yourself off and get right back on the horse.
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