- 1. Make a list of tasks
- 2. Divide the task into parts
- 3. Stop justifying yourself
- When to start acting
- For future tasks - Set a deadline
- For overdue tasks - Get started today
- For deadline tasks - Get started right away
- What leads to procrastination
Procrastination is when the person is pushing his commitments for later, instead of taking action and solving the problem right away. Leaving the problem for tomorrow can become an addiction and make the problem snowball, in addition to compromising your productivity in studies or at work.
Basically, procrastinating is putting off some task that needs to be solved as soon as possible, because it is not a priority, or it is not a topic that you like or are in the mood to think about. Some examples of procrastination are: not doing school work as soon as the teacher asks, leaving it to be done only the day before, or not starting to write the text you need because there are always other things more important, or more fun, that need to be solved before you start "wasting time" on that boring text.
Some great tips for overcoming procrastination and starting your tasks as soon as requested are:
1. Make a list of tasks
To start well, and stop procrastination, what you can do is list all the tasks that need to be done and define the priority they have. This makes it easier to decide where to start. But in addition to making the list, it is necessary to carry out the tasks in order to go over the list with what has already been done. This gives you an extra boost to get everything done in a timely manner.
2. Divide the task into parts
Sometimes the task can seem so big and complicated that you don't even know where to start. In this case, the best strategy for not leaving until tomorrow what can be done today is to divide the task into parts. So, if the teacher asked for a paper on a certain topic, you can define your topic and structure the chapters one day, search the bibliography the next day and start writing the other day. In this case, the problem is being solved little by little and cannot be considered procrastination.
3. Stop justifying yourself
Those who like to procrastinate are finding a thousand reasons not to do what they need right away, but to be able to stop pushing the problem with the belly, you need to stop trying to find reasons not to do it. A good strategy may be to think that no one will do the task for you and that it really needs to be done, and the sooner the better.
When to start acting
Setting a deadline is an excellent attitude to resolve the issue. Even if the teacher said that it is to deliver the work by the end of the month, you can set a new goal and finish the job next weekend, or at least finish half the job.
To combat the art of procrastinating, nothing better than starting right away. Even if it is a topic that you don't like, it is better to start soon and finish the task than everyday thinking that you still need to solve it. If you encounter any obstacles, don't delay and move on anyway. If the problem is lack of time, think about sleeping later or waking up earlier, or taking advantage of a holiday or weekend to accomplish this task.
When there is no deadline to perform a certain task, such as having to go to the gym, start a diet, or read a book that your friends said was wonderful, for example, what you should do is take action and start now.
Leaving this type of task for later can harm physical and mental health, because it can drag on for many years, causing intense discontent with life and even depression. In this case, the person seems to become an onlooker of his own life, but the solution is to take control, take the reins and act immediately.
What leads to procrastination
Usually procrastination arises when the person does not like a task and is therefore pushing for tomorrow, because he does not want to focus his attention on that, at that moment. This may indicate that she is not satisfied with the task that needs to be done.
But a good way to stop procrastination permanently is to think further. This means that you need to think about the meaning that that completed task will have in your future. So, instead of just thinking about that 'boring' job that your teacher asked for, you can start thinking that to have a better future you need to finish your studies and for that, you need to deliver the work on time.
