At some point of our life, procrastination happens. It is somehow inevitable, people tend to delay or to make everything falls into the last minute and the result, all the works are rushed. Dealing with procrastination is sometimes hard, you try so hard to do the things that you need to do, but then, sometimes you lose.
Productivity is highly needed in every works; this is the opposite of procrastination. But of course, even the productive people also face procrastination at some point. But these people can beat the battle against procrastination because they use some strategies. Understanding procrastination will help you to know the things that you might miss if you continue this habit.
An article from Entrepreneur shares the 11 ways on how to overcome procrastination.
1. Figure Out Why
Try to think of a reason why you are not on the mood to work, or why you feel like you want to procrastinate the whole day. If this happen, take a break and give yourself some time to think, or eat something that can boost you mood. While on a break, reflect on the things that you did that may probably caused why you procrastinate. In the end, when you figured out the reason, inch by inch, your productivity will go back.
2. Remove Your Obstacles
Before you begin your work for the whole day, think of the things that may probably hinder your productivity. Get rid of these things for a while, or if necessary, check only your phone and e-mails if there is an important matter. But if these may lead you to distraction and there is nothing important to check on it, much better if you keep it for a while and check it during break time. Doing this can help you to be active because you avoid the distractions.
3. Jump Right In, No Matter What
Making a first step is one of the biggest challenge. However, you can conquer this if you overcome your own fear in starting everything. No matter what happen, start your work and begin to focus. When you are already in the process of doing something, your mood will automatically boost and will cause you to be productive throughout the day.
4. Cut Holes In Your Project
Sometimes, procrastination begins when you think that your project is big. You tend to think that it is difficult to finish it. You think of many ways on how to begin, which is already a form of procrastination. Instead of doing this, try to find some ways and begin your work. Making some actions rather than thinking without doing is much better that anything else.
5. Work In The Right Environment
Your working environment creates a big impact with your work; choosing the wrong spot with a lot of distractions will lead you in wasting your time. Choose the best place, or probably your preferred working area.
6. Enjoy Small Victories
Be proud of your victories even if it is small. In a research, enjoying such things develop some kind of androgen receptors in the brain, hich will keep you motivated in everything that you do. Appreciating achievements is like telling yourself that you do not have any time to procrastinate because there are a lot of thing that are yet to come. Motivating yourself is really one of the way to be active.
7. Get Real
Be real with the goals that you want in your life. Making some kind of unrealistic goals will let your mood to die and this will cause procrastination. But if you keep and set your mind with your real goals, this will boost your mood and you tend to love your work easily.
8. Take Control Of Your Self-Talk
When you keep on talking to yourself and promise that you will not procrastinate anymore, the result might be opposite at all. In a study, saying the thing that you will not do will only give you an opposite reaction because the mind sometimes gravitate the things that you do not want to do. The only tip for this is to change your mindset, think of sime positive things rather that forcing yourself the things that you do not want to do. This will fix your thoughts and your mind will set you into different direction.
9. Don't Be A Perfectionist
Being a perfectionist is not good at all. Some people loves brainstorming, sharing ideas, and making discussions. However, this will only freeze the time and if the idea is not perfect, the plot of the work will change. As a result, perfectionist always have a blank page. Author Jodi Picoult describes the importance of getting rid of perfectionism as: "You can edit a bad page, but you can't edit a blank page."
10. Focus On Results
Do not focus on the challenges, focus on the result of the challenges. If you keep on thinking about the difficulties, you tend to lose your faith on yourself. So it is better if you think of the things that will lead you to success rather than your failure.
11. Forgive Yourself
If you procrastinate today, forgive yourself. But then, you need to make an assurance or at least think of the ways that next time, there will be no room for procrastination.
There are also five tips on how to increase your productivity to reduce procrastination, scared by Jobs & Hire.
