Kick Procrastination Out of Your Life
4 simple ways to kill the villain
Procrastination is the villain of our Productive life. We are aware of it. But we still love it.
I was the kind who would do the work only if it gets me a grade or a reward right after I complete it. Otherwise, I would nicely put it in the Let’s do it later pile. The pile got bigger and bigger and crushed me well. That was a scary story.
Procrastination was ruining my productive life cycle while I chose to ignore it. In the habit of postponing things, I messed up with my important work as well. But I received my wake-up call, finally.
This is how it begins…
Procrastination is like a credit card: it’s a lot of fun until you get the bill.
Starting a new task without finishing the current one opens the door to Procrastination. Do not take up a new assignment while leaving the current one half-worked. You may pile up the work and lose enthusiasm to finish it. And sometimes it might remain unattended.
Having hands full with all the work might take you down the path of Procrastination. When you give yourself too many tasks to do, you end up doing nothing. You feel stressed out only with the thought of completing them. The result is Procrastination.
Setting up all the things before starting your work like sharping pencils, cleaning up the desk, making yourself a snack, or getting a drink would make you look organized. But you are delaying the work in an obvious way.
Especially when you had a long-break from hectic work, getting back to the usual pace is quite demanding. That is one good situation your brain will remind you of Procrastination.
To come out of this cycle of Procrastination, you need to find your pattern and break out of it. Catch yourself postponing the work or finding excuses to put it off. Procrastinating the work will only multiply the burden. We know this, but we do it anyway.
How to Beat it
Put the Damn Phone aside
When your Mom says that she is going to burn the phone alive, it may sound violent. But you know your phone deserves it. We all admit at some point it’s only reason for our ineffectiveness. Still, we don’t want to let it go.
Put your Digital Hypnotizer away from you while working. No matter how loud it notifies you, kindly ignore it. You have more important things to do than checking out your mobile.
Reward Yourself
Humans are proven to work more efficiently when offered incentives. Rewarding yourself is the best way to keep up with the work without postponing it. Fix a schedule with little breaks in between. When you complete a task, get yourself a small snack, listen to your favorite song, or take a quick walk as a reward. But not for too long. Open a window to allow the cool breeze, but don’t get carried away by it.
Reminders
Paste some written notes all over your workplace or at your study desk to remind you of the noble work you go to do. Write something funny but motivating lines that can lure you into working. Remind yourself how important it is for you to complete it. Think about the aftertaste you are going to get when you are done with it.
A mobile app can be used to remind yourself of all the tasks you have to do. Use it only if you can resist your Phone’s charm. Remember, it is not your work friend.
Go right at it
I get it. You want all the things ready beforehand when starting work. Like a pen, a notepad or a drink, and many such. But when you get too occupied in focusing on such secondary things, you neglect your primary job. You may even lose interest after all the pre-activities you did to start the work. Start the work right away without any delay. Avoid all the pre-work rituals unless you couldn’t begin the work without it. Just go right at it. And take care of those little things later.
Putting off things once or twice when you are exhausted, or least interested to work, is understandable. Do not make a habit of it.
Procrastination is the impostor of our life, sabotaging our productivity right under our nose. Let’s kick it out by focusing on the things that matter. Prioritize your activities and stick to the plan. Your inner sloth would tell you to postpone the work. Shut it out. Think of the satisfaction you would get when you accomplish the task right on time.
