- Do you look at your to-do list and see a few nagging tasks that have been sitting there for a while?
- Do you sit at your computer to work and then realise an hour has gone past with your just surfing the internet and social media?
- Is your house super clean because you have been putting something important off?
These are all signs of procrastination, which is “the action of delaying or postponing something”. Procrastination happens to most people from time-to-time, but there are ways to address it.
1. Figure out what is holding you back
Before you do anything else you should take a moment to think about why you have been procrastinating. Is it fear? Are you feeling overwhelmed? Do you feel unprepared? Worried about the outcome? Anxious about your abilities to deliver?
Knowing why you are procrastinating will help you to address the issue properly, but also try and reduce future procrastination.
2. Visualise the best outcome
That four letter word is back again – FEAR. Fear plays a major role in procrastination. For me personally I know the things I naturally put off tasks where I am worried about the outcome. This could be the conversation where you are worried about the person’s response or not starting a task because you are worried the final outcome won’t be as good as you would like.
In this situation you need to change your mindset. Instead of thinking about the worst outcome, consider the best. The person doesn’t shout/scream/get angry/cry or the end result is fabulous. If you are already telling yourself the worst scenario you are making that task even more daunting than it needs to be. Be kind to yourself and image the best outcome.
3. Break the task down
Sometimes the reason you are procrastinating is that the task at time is too big. This makes it too daunting that you just avoid it all together. In this situation look to see how you could break the task down further. Are you able to turn 1 big task into numerous smaller tasks, which feel much more manageable?
4. Increase the rewards
I am a big fan for rewarding yourself. If there is something you have been putting off for a while, then sitting down to finally do it is a big deal. You should reward yourself for putting in that hard work, or facing your fear… so up your reward!
5. Accountability
If in doubt create a degree of accountability. Tell someone you trust about the activity you are avoiding. Let them know what it is and when your deadline is.
I would love to know if you procrastinate and what you do to over come it. Let me know in the comments below.