The Things I Do To Stop And Overcome Procrastination Part 2

This is the last part of this article, to read the first part, click here: The Things I Do To Stop And Overcome Procrastination Part 1

The first part of this article showed ways on how to overcome the most common excuses that procrastinators say.

This second part will give you more tips on how to stop procrastination by finding a solution to the real reasons why we choose to delay doing things.

So let’s start.

Psychologists believe that procrastination is actually an individual’s coping mechanism when he or she is feeling anxious about doing a difficult or unwanted task.

You worry that you’ll make a mistake or perform badly, i.e. finishing an office report, fixing the leaking faucet in the kitchen, etc.

Or you simply feel lazy because the task doesn’t interest you much, i.e. balancing a checkbook, cleaning your room, etc.

ARE YOU FACED WITH A DIFFICULT TASK?

The solution is to again do what was previously advised, which is to break down the big task into smaller tasks to avoid getting overwhelmed.

Moreover, use energy management to schedule and budget your time. Big tasks usually require a lot of uninterrupted work to finish, and that is hard to get by these days.

So instead, just focus on getting one small thing done, step by step, in short bursts of productivity, until you finish everything.

ARE YOU FACING A BORING AND UNINTERESTING TASK?

Most household chores fall into this category, as well as a good number of personal finance to-do’s such as accounting your expenses for the day, keeping tabs with your budget and organizing your billing statements.

For this problem, I offer two solutions:

1. Pay someone to do it; or just
2. Focus on the reward instead.

The first one’s self-explanatory; but it’s only advisable if you can afford it. If however, you’re on a tight budget, then maybe doing your own chores is better than hiring a household help.

Which leads to the second solution… and that is to do the task with the end result in mind. Take your motivation from the fact that you’ll be in a better place after the task is done.

You could even set a simple, personal incentive for finishing the task.

Examples include treating yourself to a nice afternoon nap if you could finish all your chores in the morning; or allowing yourself to watch a movie this weekend if you can finalize your monthly budget this week.

STOP PROCRASTINATING TODAY

Procrastination is an enemy we all face. So don’t berate yourself whenever you get tempted into slacking off or get distracted into doing some unimportant stuff.

What’s important is that you realize that you can always change and become better, and just take it one day at a time.

Remember that breaking the habit of procrastination is a big task, and the best way to approach it is to gain small, everyday successes – this is the key, and the time to act is of course – NOW.

Want to know more about procrastination? Read Act Now, Procrastinate Tomorrow

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Photo credit: ayalan