The definition of procrastination is when you are delaying doing something you need or want to do.
It is one of the biggest reasons people don’t start something new in their lives, I am sure everyone can relate to this when you sit there thinking I really should get started with that job but end up saying I will start it tomorrow. It's self-defeating behaviour.
Have you ever said things like:
I would start that, but I don’t have time today?
I don’t know how to do it so I will start it once I have learnt properly how to do it?
I will start that tomorrow!!
It takes a lot of effort for procrastinators to motivate themselves to do tasks they know they should be doing, and they also feel like others will judge them, this also puts them off starting something they want to do.
There are a few reasons we procrastinate, fear of failure, confusion with the task at hand, getting distracted by other things and fatigue.
I have written a list of ways that could help you defeat procrastination, I am not going to say it is an easy thing to do, but neither is sitting there constantly thinking about what you should do and then leaving it till it frustrates you.
Here are a few things you could try.
1. Self-discipline – work on your self-discipline by creating good habits, I use Fabulous it’s a lovely app that gets you on the way to starting good habits. I will be writing a more in depth blog about self-discipline very soon.
2. Write lists – write up a list of things you need to get done, you can even put a time scale on this list and reminders on your phone, so you keep reminding yourself the task needs to be completed.
3. Break down tasks into manageable achievable sections, trying to do a large task all at once can sometimes cause you to feel like you’ll never achieve it, simply break it down into smaller tasks.
4. Celebrate completing a task, no matter how small it is. This embeds a positive feeling in your brain that will make you want to do more tasks to get that great feeling again.
5. Make even the most mundane tasks as fun as possible, for example when you must clean the house, but you find it hard to stay focused put your favourite songs on and dance whilst you do it, throw rubbish in the bin as if the bin was a basketball net and the brush like a dancing partner. This all may sound a bit silly, but it does keep you going.
6. Try involving a friend, partner or co-worker in your decision making and for moral support, we all need a bit of a positive boost now and again.
The bottom line is if there are tasks that need to be done remember if you put them off it could end up being harder work then if you just got up and got on with the task at hand, and if you need some support in getting that task done then ask someone to give you a hand. Teamwork makes the dream work.
I hope this has helpful, your feed back is important to me comment below with your stories or experiences of procrastination, and of course if you need any assistance don’t hesitate to contact me. sarahpage@outlook.com