3 Effective Ways To Handle Procrastination: My Strategies
Effective Ways of Dealing With Procrastination and Getting More Done
“Let me wait a little more; I’ll get it done soon.”
This is obviously one of the languages of procrastinators.
I can tell you for real that I’ve made this statement a lot of times, and I can’t for sure tell you how often I’ve heard it from people around me.
I’ve experienced and heard a lot of pitfalls as a result of this act of procrastination. Many individuals overlook the process of tracing the underlying cause of this action, making the whole situation even worse.
Oftentimes, procrastination is associated with laziness, but in reality, it stems from fear of failure, lack of motivation, depression, anxiety, and sometimes burnout.
Who are you?
As humans, it is normal to shy away from ugly labels and identify with the beautiful ones. I wouldn’t want to be identified as a procrastinator when, indeed, I’m one—it's normal!
As far as humans are concerned, procrastination is common. There is no one person who hasn’t been a culprit. Irrespective of your level of discipline, you have been guilty.
Think about it! Before now, you had delayed an action that’s all up to better your life, and you may still do. We’re humans!
But the very first step to start solving a problem is to first realize there’s a problem.
You’ll only be deceived if you want to get rid of procrastination without admitting you’re guilty of the act.
What lies in front of you but tries to keep you away? Whatever it is, is it boring, hard, too big, or scary? Start from here and find out which category it falls into.
Are you out of motivation, depressed, anxious, or fearful? What exactly is your reason for procrastinating? Get to know!
Swallow the pills
Many times, the process of getting what we truly desire isn’t fun, and in most cases, we don’t love it, and that’s fine.
We don’t have to love the process, but we have to go in anyway.
We only procrastinate on matters that are important to us. We wouldn’t bother ourselves if they weren’t important, and we may even forget about them.
The questions we need to ask are: How valuable are these things to us? Will they affect our lives in any positive way? Why do I really have to do this? What will be the underlying penalty if I fail to do this?
Giving genuine answers to these questions can sometimes be scary, but you have to be sincere with yourself if you must leave your comfort zone.
This has helped me a lot of times to jump out of bed and carry out my tasks.
Chop in bits
We’re often scared to carry out tasks because we have a very big view of them. We look at it as being too complex.
As long as you keep having this view of your task, you’re bound to drag your feet and may even lose out.
Irrespective of the tasks that lie ahead of you, break them into smaller pieces and take them one step at a time.
During my days at the university, I encountered this a lot of times and scaled through using this technique.
Assignments were inevitable, and working on mini-projects was the custom.
I worked with deadlines for each project and made moves at intervals. Each time I worked, I had goals to achieve, and I made sure to achieve the goals.
This helped me show up before the deadlines.
Set deadlines and show up
Although we own our lives and are responsible for the actions we take, we still choose to have limits and set boundaries if we must get things done.
Setting boundaries and deadlines somehow affects and propels us to wake up and carry out our responsibilities.
You’ll keep dragging your feet if there is no time limit to achieving your goals.
This has been a surefire way for me to get things done, no matter the task that lies in front of me.
I simply grab my calendar, get my pen, and tick off specific days I should be done with each goal, and in some cases, I give penalties if I don't catch up.
When the deadlines are set, I’ll be forced to show up and begin work!
Final thoughts
Conquering procrastination is a personal journey that demands self-awareness, discipline, and effective strategies.
By implementing the three methods I’ve shared—admitting you’re guilty, breaking tasks into smaller steps, and setting deadlines—you can transform procrastination into productivity.
Thank you for reading! If you found this content interesting, consider following me. Want to reach out? Feel free to connect on LinkedIn
