Your deadline's just around the corner. You know you should be working, starting a project or doing something useful but you just don't quite feel like doing. Instead you spend hours on social media, games, blogs, forums and you know just "stuffs" that are not quite productive but enjoyable. That's procrastination.
It is a slow disease. You won't feel the effects today but you'll regret it tomorrow. Sooner or later, procrastination will hamper your life and your job. For those who dream to be successful, procrastination must be out of their life. I myself was once a procrastinator. But I overcame it through consistent effort.
Follow these 7 steps and follow them consistently, not just today or some Sunday. Follow them consistently, you'll definitely be a better person. I know because I did.
- Know that it's just a habit. Be conscious.
Everybody knows it's a habit. But what most people fail to realize is that habits, as can be learned, can be unlearned and replaced by other habits. Another thing about habits is that, the more you practice them, the more get addicted to them. So next time you try to procrastinate, be conscious that you are encouraging your habit and you are getting more addicted to it.
- Replace the habit with 'do it now' habit.
So how do you not procrastinate? You do it now. It's the habit just opposite. Build the habit of doing it now. Instead of saying 'tomorrow', say 'today'. Instead of saying 'later', say 'now'. Just act. Move. Work. Just do it. And be conscious that it's a habit. And habits do take time to build. Especially, replacing addictive habits do take a lot of time. So start small but don't stop.
- Keep goals with deadlines.
Now, this is important. If you want to get to the top, keeping goals is essential. Make goals. Draw reasonable deadlines. Don't pressure yourself too much. Keep a single task per day, or more if you want but complete them. Don't leave your task incomplete. Start small but complete the tasks. Don't go too hard on the beginning, else you may stop doing it in a few days.
- Break the task down.
One of the popular reason we avoid our work is that it's too difficult or tough or large, whatever, you get the meaning. So the remedy is breaking the task down to small pieces. If you want, you can further break down a piece into further pieces. That way, you'll be able to complete the task over time, joining it piece by piece. Your mindset will change from "Damn! that's difficult !" while looking to your big task into "Damn! that looks easy! I can do it today !" while looking to its first piece.
- Be in an inspiring environment.
Surround yourself with people who inspire you to overcome procrastination, motivate you to progress and be successful. If you surround yourself with procrastinators, you'll be one of them in no time. Not only people, surround yourself with books, ideas and knowledge that motivate you. Keep your working environment clean and inspiring. Would you feel more like working in a dirty table ? I guess not.
- Don't seek to be perfect.
Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.
It is okay to be imperfect. Nobody becomes excellent in a matter of few days. It takes time. And it is okay to make mistakes and miss something here and there because we are humans. We all do that. But one thing that is not okay is giving up. Make mistakes, learn from them, make slow progress, but don't stop progressing.
- Reward yourself.
Appreciate your efforts. When you decided to read this, you just made yourself more better than thousands of other people. And when you start working against procrastination, you'll set yourself apart from millions of people. Be happy on your achievements, be it small or big. This will encourage you to keep going. Take breaks if you need. Enjoy some time. But don't get carried away.