How can I stop procrastinating?

How can I stop procrastinating? I don’t have a problem coming up with ideas for how to improve my situation. Instead, I seem to have a problem putting my ideas into practice. It’s almost as though I want to put obstacles in my own way, to stop my own success. Maybe you can spot patterns in your own behaviour that seem to limit you in the same way. It seems paradoxical, and slightly crazy, so why do we do it, and how can we stop?

Protection

It’s not easy to stop procrastinating. Our minds want to protect us from pain, or the fear of failure. One way that procrastination achieves this is that if we never get around to starting something, we can’t possibly fail at it. Rationally, you can see that this is a terrible way of protecting ourselves, so we need to make a commitment to allow our rational self to get involved in the planning process instead!

Structure

To avoid procrastination, we need to set ourselves clear goals. We need to know exactly what we are trying to achieve, and why. This will give us the momentum to continue if we start to feel our motivation sapping.

There’s no point creating a plan that looks too far ahead, as it will be out of date almost immediately. Instead, we need to make an action plan for today only (or tomorrow, if you are like me, and you find that you are more productive and creative in the evening). This allows us to focus on the most important areas first.

It’s really important to break the plan down into clearly defined tasks, and to have a schedule. I use a diary for this, to break the day into chunks of time which I allocate to particular tasks, and this works well for me. I can tick off the tasks as I achieve them, and it gives me a sense of satisfaction to see my progress.

The tasks should follow SMART principles, meaning they should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. The aim is not to set yourself impossible challenges so that you fail at the first hurdle. That is no way to motivate yourself. The process needs to be enjoyable, or you won’t keep it up. Make sure you allow yourself plenty of breaks, and time to relax. Set yourself up to succeed!

Intention

The very fact that I have written down my action plan makes it real. It is no longer a vague plan in my head. I have committed my intention to paper, and it is there in black and white, staring at me, if I choose to ignore the plan and procrastinate instead. I can’t bargain with myself and pretend that something else is more important, and allow myself to put the task off like I always used to in the past.

Having a structure to follow is useful, but it is also important to be flexible. We are living through a pandemic, and nothing is normal at the moment. Be kind to yourself if things crop up which mean you need to reschedule. Just make sure that you aren’t making excuses as a way to put off things that you don’t want to do.

Accountability

A way of improving your chances of success further is to get yourself an accountability buddy. This is a person you confide in about the next steps that you intend to take. In return, you listen to their plans, and hold them accountable if they don’t complete them. The very fact that you have verbalised your plan to someone else makes you more likely to commit to completing it.

It is important to choose your buddy wisely. Rather than picking a family member, you should choose someone who is not emotionally involved in your project. That way, you can be honest with each other about your plans, and whether you were successful in everything you planned to achieve since you last met, without fear of judgement.

Who would you pick as your buddy? Why don’t you see if you can inspire each other to become more productive and successful? You might manage to get rid of your procrastination habit once and for all. You would never need to wonder “how can I stop procrastinating?” ever again. Imagine how great that would feel!

Project 365

Do you often wonder to yourself “How can I give up my job?”

I do, and I have put into action a project to do just that. Project 365 has begun. The countdown to freedom has started. 361 days to go!

I have set myself a goal of publishing an article on my website every day this year, to document my journey from employment to self-employment. Why not check in on a regular basis to see how I am progressing?