Procrastination is not easy to overcome, which is why many people struggle with it for a long time. If you want to overcome procrastination, you have to identify your skills and enhance them correctly to convert your weaknesses into your strengths and start benefiting from them. People often wonder how they can overcome procrastination and what needs to be done. I will let you in on some effective secrets that work well to overcome procrastination, increase productivity and lead you on the path to success.
Empty Your Mind
You need to clear up physical clutter so that you can work more effectively or do something productive - it's the same with your mind. If there are a lot of thoughts in your head, this won’t help you in any way, making it tough to focus on one particular topic because there are so many things going on in your head. To begin your journey against procrastination, you must learn how to control what you think about and prioritize your thoughts. It may sound silly, but some people procrastinate over the smallest things and waste time complaining instead of doing something about it. You need to understand that there are two situations in life - the ones you can control and those you can't. Here’s what you need to remember - you are only in control of your thoughts, and no matter how much you would like to change how a person thinks about you or what they say about you, it’s not in your hands. So instead of worrying about what people say, try diverting that energy into doing something beneficial for yourself. Stressing about situations you can't control makes no sense because it will make you feel bad, and you will continue procrastinating. The best way to get back at people who talk about you or make you feel bad about yourself is to complete something and become successful. To do that, you must start by clearing your thoughts, prioritizing what's important, and making your mind sharper.
2. Prioritize Your Work
While the first step in prioritizing your work is to clear your mind and ensure that you only focus on what is essential, you need to spend the time to sort out results based on what is more important or less important. There are very repetitive tasks you will have to do daily, and these will be the regular tasks you must get done.
If you want to make the most of your time, you should try to finish up your regular tasks faster so you have more time on hand and energy to focus on essential tasks that can help you succeed. There are many things on which you will waste time regularly, and you may want to figure out where you are investing that time so you will be able to cut down on the distractions and prioritize more effectively. Prioritizing your tasks also helps you identify where you are eating up your time and how small changes in your routine you can give you more time to focus on becoming successful. When you prioritize your time and there’s an important task, you can focus on it more effectively; this means that you are putting in quality and quantity towards the task, thus increasing the chances of being highly successful.
3. Break Down Your Time
Instead of working consistently for an extended period, you need to break down your tasks into multiple sections that are no longer than 15 to 20 minutes each. After each successful completion of a task, you can move on to the next. With this method, you can focus on small portions of the bigger job and ensure that you get them done well. Fifteen minutes seems like a small amount of time to finish work, but you start focusing more effectively. This helps to increase your productivity without putting too much stress on you. You must take a break between your work sessions, meaning if you have three back-to-back tasks, you must give yourself one break before you resume the fourth task. This not only helps you in terms of energy, but it also helps you calm your mind and focus as you did on the first task. Time management is essential when beating procrastination, but you need to realize it takes time. Make it a habit to break down specific tasks into multiple portions to better use time.
4. Don't Pressure Yourself.
Let's face it; we all have so much to do yet so little time that it can be daunting. You need to draw a line every day and decide that this is how much work you can handle and nothing more. When you take up too much work or more work than you can handle, it affects your productivity and quality of work, which means it will take you nowhere. There is a difference between working smarter and working harder, which is why you need to limit the amount of work you do based on your ability to cope and your time. Sometimes a task could be completed in less than 2 hours, but it could drain you out of your energy completely, which means you need to rest before starting a new task, especially if you want to get it done just as well as you did the previous task. Just because something can be completed in 2 hours doesn't mean you take up multiple such jobs for an 8-hour work schedule. Remember, you need to account for break time too. Most of these tasks will be done during your peak hours, and it will be the cause of low energy levels and lack of focus. Breaks are important, and you must consider how long your body takes to relax before you get back to work to maintain quality.
5. Eliminate Distractions
If you need to complete specific tasks within a limited time frame, you may want to eliminate all distractions in your work environment. One of the biggest distractions these days is the internet. If you need to sit down and write, you may want to pretend that you are in an airplane and the internet connectivity is minimal. It would be best if you also acted that your cell phone does not function. This will allow you to work without interruption and keep you very focused.
Putting your phone away can help increase productivity to a great extent. Not only does it allow you to focus better, but you save a ton of time and also manage to get the job done faster when your phone is away.
Try Various Methods
If you have been working hard and are not getting the right results, then you need to try and change your working style. What may have worked for someone else will not necessarily work for you. Instead, always look to innovate with your work and do something different daily. When your working style becomes monotonous, it will reflect in the results. Changing your working methods regularly will ensure you always stay excited about your work and have different ways to work with every time.
Living by the book may not be the best solution for everyone. While some things work well, they might not be the best solution for others. It may take a while to find something that works, so keep experimenting with different methods until you find your stride, and once you do, stick to it.