8 Ways To Fight And Overcome Procrastination.

This post may contain affiliate links

Today we’re going to discuss 8 ways in which we can fight and overcome procrastination.  Are you ready? 

Procrastination is like a sore throat; it’s a symptom with many possible causes. Unless you know the cause, the treatment for the symptom might make things worse.

No matter how highly productive one can be, procrastination can strike anyone, and once it gets hold of you, it can be very difficult to shake off. 

One common reason why we procrastinate continuously is :

It’s an easy coping mechanism.

When we procrastinate, we’re avoiding emotionally unpleasant tasks, and instead, we go for something that provides a temporary mood boost.

Today I wanted to say that if you’ve been struggling with a bad procrastination habit, I know how that feels. In this well-explained post, I have 8 steps you can take that will help you beat procrastination. These strategies have worked for me, and I think they’ll work for you, too. 

Are you ready? Let’s start.

8 Steps to Beat Procrastination.

#1

Always Set Deadlines

There are times when we aim to do things without a deadline, so we tend to get the “do it later” syndrome. 

Solution:

For this, set yourself a timeline for each task to ensure that you finish everything by the end of the day.

#2

Always Ensure You Have a Clear Vision of What and How You Want Things Done

Sometimes, you don’t know where to start, how to do something, or even what to do next. This may mean that you’re experiencing overwhelmed, confused, or disorganized feelings. 

In this scenario, you find yourself putting off the activity because you’re not sure what the first step is. 

Always ensure you have a clear vision of what and how you want things done.

#3.

Try and Imagine or Visualise the Benefit of the End Result.

I use this trick a lot: Visualize how great it will be to get everything done.

Imagine and visualize the benefit of the work being done. Connect it to a good feeling. You’ll be motivated to complete the task. Just imagine how proud and happy you will be once you finish the work or activity! 

#4

Learn to Break Things Down. (Simplification)

List the steps involved in the task and define them as concisely as you can. Write this down and stick it somewhere you can see it easily. The key here is to break down the larger activity into much smaller, manageable tasks to prevent getting overwhelmed. Simplification.

#5

Practice to Beat the Fear of Failure

There are times when we procrastinate things because of a deep-rooted fear of failure. We put off doing things and plan to do them later, which acts as a temporary protection mechanism. In the short-term, procrastinating makes us feel better. 

Solution:

Understand and accept that failure is not the end of it all. Sometimes we make mistakes, but we learn from them and most of them can be fixed. It’s better to try than to put it off, which may lead to the task never getting done or only getting done after the deadline.

#6

Keep Your Perfectionism In Check

When you’re a perfectionist, you’re always having too high expectations and nothing can be “just okay” to you. 

Being a perfectionist can really hinder your personal productivity. After all, most perfectionists are prone to procrastination. 

What’s even worse is that you might be struggling with perfectionism without even knowing it. All you do is wonder why you aren’t making progress in your life, yet you’re doing everything you can.

Solution

Aim to do your best. Sometimes, good is enough, so be happy with the outcome. Accept that there is no such thing as perfect, and even those who you think have it all are met with challenges from time to time. Try and learn to accept good enough and work with that from now on. It’s much better than getting nothing accomplished.

#7

Eliminate Your Common Distractions.

Imagine you want to finish a work report or any other task but you keep getting notifications from your phone so, you constantly switch from one focus of attention to another.

Solution:

We live in a world full of distractions. But, with self-discipline, handling these distractions can be easy. To beat procrastination, eliminate all as many distractions as possible while you’re completing an important task. Doing this will give you a 100% focus on the task at hand and you’ll be able to finish it much faster.

#8

Understand Your”Why”

Sometimes, all you need is a chance to reflect and think about why you feel a certain way and what the underlying problem is. One of the best ways to do this is a self-analysis with the questions below.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Is there anything I’m afraid of?
• Why am I putting this off?
• What impact will not doing this task have on me?
• What’s stopping me from doing this?
• What’s the benefit of doing the task versus not doing it?
• What can I do to take the first step?

The key to tackling procrastination is understanding what’s causing it and quickly taking the best action to overcome the situation. 

Conclusion

Always remember that procrastination is a serious issue that, left unresolved, can cause issues in your life. Start taking action today. 

Did you like this post? If so, I can help you move to the next stage of productivity by sharing with you 3 productivity secrets that will improve your life.

But first, tell me, do you feel easily overwhelmed by the amount of things you have to do every day? Enter your email and I’ll send you 3 secrets you can use to finally start getting things done — even if you’ve read all the books on productivity and nothing has worked!

An Exercise:

Name two reasons why you keep procrastinating on your to-do list. Make sure you comment below so I can hold you accountable.