10 Tips to Beat Procrastination and Regain your Time

Procrastination is part of being human; we all do it. But it stands in the way of being able to move ahead personally and professionally. Procrastination can be the source of regret down the road when we end up saying ” If only I had….”  There is good news though. We can, by thinking differently, change our way of doing. We can become more productive and add value  to our time. We can find the time to do what is important and add value to ourselves and others.  Below are 10 tips to help with overcoming procrastination.

(1) Find the Big Picture

What is really important? How do we really want to spend out time and how does this fit into our overall picture of how we see our life? Having a clear understanding of our values, beliefs and dreams (vision for our life) can help us decide what is important to do (where and how does it fit into helping us move forward?). We can ask ourselves whether our activities are helping us to move forward or keeping us in the same place.

(2) Having a Plan is Good

Having a plan for each day is a great weapon against procrastination. The plan doesn’t have to be elaborate, but just enough to help us understand why we got up and what we are going to to do each day as well as what we are hoping to accomplish in order to say we have had a good day at the end. For example, we can set  a general goal for the morning, one for the afternoon and one for the evening.

(3) Don’t forget to Sweep the Deck

There is nothing like having a clean space (mental and physical) to help us think clearly and sort things out. When we clear up this space, we can then decide what’s important next and do just that.  Having clutter around us and in our lives can be overwhelming and cause us to hit the pause button on what we need to do to move forward. Getting rid of clutter will help us fight against procrastination.

(4) Get Some Big boxes

When I do big cleaning, I like to have big boxes to put things in. Filling the boxes makes it look like I am making progress.  The same thing can be true for our big projects – the ones that are important and take time to do. Here, the big boxes are big blocks of time which we can reserve for accomplishing these tasks that require more time. When we specifically set aside blocks of time for these projects, we lower the stress level because we can focus just on getting one job done or moved forward.

(5) Big Boxes for Big Things, Little Boxes for Little Things

To continue with the above analogy,… have “boxes” to fit the task at hand, So, clearing up a big block of time for the big (and important) tasks and fitting the smaller (and less important) tasks into smaller time blocks is a good way to help us get the jobs done in their proper priority.  In practical terms, this could mean setting aside 1 or 2 hours of the day (more if needed) and reserving this time only for what is important (the big jobs) to do. Then we can fit in the smaller and/or less important tasks/activities around our priorities.

(6) We Can Be Productive without Being Busy

Being busy is not the same as being productive. Busyness cause stress and can leave us feeling tired and wondering where the time went. Productivity, on the other hand, leaves us with a sense of satisfaction that we have accomplished what we set out to do.

We will always have time to do what is important and never have enough time to do everything that we (or our boss, our professors, or anyone else) think (s) we should do. Rather than looking to “get it all done”, we could look at doing that which will add value to ourselves and those around us. How can we work to bring value to others and make the most of each day?

(7) Undo the knots

What is preventing us from doing what we feel we need to do or should do? Are we letting distractions pull us away? Are we allowing ourselves to be overwhelmed by expectations?  Are we allowing fear to block us from doing what we could be doing to move forward?  Whatever the case, it is important to identify the “knot” and untie it in order to be able to focus and drive forward.

(8) Let’s Talk to Ourselves

By talking to ourselves, we can regain control. We can tell ourselves no to listen to ourselves (if that makes any sense) and our excuses.  Often one of the main reasons we put off what we should be doing is because we talk ourselves into and out of doing it. We come up with excuses why we can’t our shouldn’t do what we need to do and what is important to do.  we also allow others to distract us from our priorities. So, let’s stop listening to ourselves and start talking to ourselves.

(9) Eat the Elephant Properly and Promptly

It has been said that the best way to ‘”eat an elephant” is one bite at a time. This is great advice for any job/task we need to do but don’t quite know where to start.  It is best to start at the beginning. If possible, break down the task into smaller steps and  work progressively. Of course, it is also good to actually begin. If we don’t begin, we don’t finish.

(10) Ignore the Shiny Objects

It is often the ‘Shiny Objects” – the interesting distractions- that keep us from doing what we need to do.  they nay seem important, urgent and sometimes even fun at the time, but they will steal our time away from us. Another day goes by and we end up feeling even more anxious and overwhelmed because we didn’t do what we told (promised) ourselves we would do.

We can be kind tom ourselves and just do what we are able to do. It really is okay to say no to ourselves (and others) and not feel guilty about it.

When all is said and done, much more is said than is actually done.  At the end of the day, it is our life and our time. What we do with our life and our time is really up to us. Life is for Living!

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Diana’s passions are family, travel, self-improvement, living a debt-free/financially free life.  She also loves hanging out with family, friends, and being with her dog Skye. you can connect with her at livingandstuff.ca

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